Agudas Achim North Shore is an historic, cathedral-style, former synagogue in Chicago.
Built in 1922, and designed by noted architects Dubin & Eisenberg, Agudas Achim is the last example of the Cathedral-style synagogue extant as a Jewish house of worship in Greater Chicago. It's builders were successful in business and the professions and were committed to constructing a functional as well as aesthetically pleasing building. Their affluence allowed them to build one of the most beautiful Synagogues ever constructed in Chicago. Costing nearly $400,000 to construct (over 5 million dollars today), the Synagogue houses a sanctuary which can accommodate nearly 2,000, a social hall, office space, a chapel and classrooms.
In the late 1940's a large religious school building was constructed adjacent to the Synagogue, creating a complex that was able to serve a significant Jewish population. In the 1950's, Agudas Achim had a High Holy Day attendance approaching three thousand with a youth service held at a local movie theater!
Tarnished but structurally sound, this 90-year old synagogue needs a great deal of repair to make it fully functional. Its current congregants, mostly seniors from the former Soviet Union, require a center to meet their religious, cultural, social and medical needs. In addition to this population, the advent of gentrification in Uptown augers well for the infusion of young Jewish families into the Congregation. Agudas Achim must muster its every strength to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
