Chicago Loop Synagogue

Address: 16 S. Clark Street
Architect: Loebl, Schlossman & Bennet
Stained Glass Artist: Abraham Rattner
Sculptor: Henri Azaz’s “Hands of Peace”
Date: 1957
Style: Midcentury Modern
Neighborhood: Chicago Loop

Overview
The Chicago Loop Synagogue was founded in 1929 to serve the religious needs of Jews working downtown as well as Jewish visitors to Chicago. Among the last buildings constructed in the Loop as a dedicated house of worship, the synagogue’s current midcentury building at 16 S. Clark Street was designed in 1957 by the famous Chicago firm Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett. It replaced an earlier building on the same block that was lost to fire. The 1957 synagogue contains a world-famous stained-glass window on its eastern wall that was designed by Abraham Rattner. Above the entrance is a sculpture by Henri Azaz. The synagogue is included in Chicago’s Famous Buildings (University of Chicago Press, 1965) as one of the city’s architectural gems.

History
Initiated by a gift from the Midwest Branch of The United Synagogue of America (today the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism), the Chicago Loop Synagogue was organized in 1929 by Attorney Maurice J. Nathanson, who served as the first president. It was the first business men’s synagogue in the world, established to serve commuters seeking kosher food and a place to pray during the workday. Today, it remains the only Loop venue to offer both services.

Composed largely of young businessmen and professionals in the Loop, the congregation had approximately 1,000 members in the 1930s and grew to about 8,000 in the 1950s. However, membership has declined steadily in recent decades, down to around 400 in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic, from roughly 1,500 back in the early 1990s.

In its early years, the synagogue rented different spaces around the Loop, including the Tacoma Building (1888-1929), the former restaurant that once stood on the site of the present-day building at 16 South Clark Street, and the Morrison Hotel at 15-29 S. Clark Street (demolished in 1965). After a fire destroyed the old building at 16 South Clark Street in 1953, the Chicago Loop Synagogue purchased the property and erected a new synagogue on the site. Inspired by the success of Temple Har Zion (1951) in River Forest, Illinois, the Chicago Loop Synagogue commissioned Temple Har Zion’s architects, Loebl, Schlossman & Bennett, the leading Chicago Jewish architects of Modernism, to design their new synagogue on S. Clark Street between Madison and Monroe.

The new Chicago Loop Synagogue is a three-story building that’s entrance on Clark Street is crowned by the bronze sculpture Hands of Peace (1963), by Nehemia Henri Azaz (1923-2008), an Israeli artist of international reputation. The sculpture, a gift of the family of Chicago philanthropist Henry Crown (1896-1990), depicts the outstretched hands of the priestly benediction against a textured background of scripture in both English and Hebrew. An early rendering of the building indicates that the façade was originally conceived with a large sculpted menorah, which would have formed a visual dialogue with the giant figure of Jesus on the crucifix sculpted on the façade of St. Peter’s Catholic church, built in 1953 right around the corner on Madison Street. Henri Azaz also designed the Ark, which stands toward the lower left of the stained-glass window.

Abraham Rattner (1895-1978) designed the colossal stained-glass window, Let There Be Light, on the sanctuary’s east wall, is considered one the most exceptional works of Jewish art of the 20th century and led one critic to describe the Chicago Loop Synagogue as “perhaps the most beautiful synagogue interior in the United States.” Rattner spent three intense years finishing this artwork. He visited museums and religious leaders and studied the Old Testament, Jewish symbolism and theosophy before finally developing the beautiful composition and color scheme. With Parisian artists helping, Rattner fabricated the window at Atelier Barillet, a leading stained-glass studio in Paris founded by renowned French stained-glass artist Louis Barillet (1880-1948). In the final stage, Rattner personally supervised the window’s assembly at the Loop Synagogue on a daily basis , ensuring that the installation was completed prior to the High Holy Days in the autumn of 1960.

Threats
Attendance at the Chicago Loop Synagogue has been in decline for many years. A significant percentage of Chicago Loop Synagogue congregants were Jewish professionals who commuted to their Loop offices and attended the daily morning services. Attendance has undergone a dramatic shift in recent years due to a wave of retirements and a shift toward remote work. The synagogue’s membership has fallen to under 400.

Matters worsened in the winter of 2025-2026, when a recent severe cold caused the synagogue’s boiler pipes to burst and placed additional strain on its already fragile finances. Under the leadership of Lynn Zoldan, the president of the synagogue, the congregation continues to explore creative ways to serve its community and help secure the building’s future.

Recommendations
Adaptive reuse and future development of the synagogue can be approached incrementally while respecting its historic character. Located in the DC-16 Zoning District, the synagogue has about 17-stories of unused air rights and is a contributing resource to the West Loop LaSalle Historic District as well as a documented HABS site. One option is to get internal reinvestment through the sale of air rights to fund building repairs and improvements. Any additional floors would require a setback from the existing streetwall to preserve the historic appearance of the original facade and cornice.

A second option is to explore the potential use of the adjacent property at 6-8 S. Clark Street. This four-story building, totaling about 14,000 square feet, which underwent extensive alterations and retained limited historic integrity, could provide additional program space and generate income for the synagogue without impacting its historic fabric.

For more ambitious, long-term growth, another option would involve assembling parcels extending to the corner of Madison Street, including the 23-story Art Deco office building at 105 West Madison Street. In addition to the benefits outlined in the second option, this approach would also allow for the stacking of historic tax credits and other development incentives.