Bertha F. Rauh (1865-1952), c.1945.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Friends at the Laurel Y Camp near Somerset, Pa., August 1942.  The YM&WHA began operating this youth camp in 1939, which opened to adult members and their families as a vacation destination during the month of August.  The camp closed in 1960 when the YM&WHA merged with the Irene Kaufmann Centers.

Spector Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

In the early months of the Civil War, the United States Sanitary Commission, a precursor to the American Red Cross, was established.  Local chapters in cities throughout the Union called for volunteers to give money and time to help soldiers in need.  Women were asked to sew uniforms, pack bandages, visit the wounded, and organize food donations.  A fundraising fair for the Sanitary Commission held in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1864 raised over $300,000 in donations for Union aid. Encouraged by the success of their work for the U.S. Sanitary Commission, several Jewish women of Pittsburgh continued their volunteer efforts after the Civil War as the Hebrew Ladies' Aid Society, which was chartered in 1865.

U.S. Sanitary Fair, Allegheny City, Pa., 1865.  Brunot Family Photographs, Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

Anne Jacobs Davis (1865-1952) arrived in Pittsburgh as a young girl with her family from Vladimir, Russia, in 1874.  She met and married Barnett Davis, a diamond merchant and jeweler, and, together, they raised ten children.  Davis is considered the "Mother of Montefiore" because of her vision and determination to establish a Jewish hospital in Pittsburgh.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

An Irene Kaufmann Settlement visiting nurse and patient in the Hill District, c.1920.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The first location of the Montefiore Hospital was a former mansion on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1908 

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Graduation class at the Montefiore Hospital Training School for Nurses, c.1915.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Tree of Life syngagogue on Wilkins and Shady Avenues in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, c.1970.  The congregation moved from its synagogue on Craft Avenue to this building in 1953.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

B'nai Israel Congregation bat mitzvah class, 1946.

B'nai Israel Congregation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Poale Zedeck synagogue on Shady Avenue and Phillips Street in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, c.1970.

Jewish Chronicle Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

This photograph of the Hebrew Ladies' Aid Society was taken in the 1870s on the steps of the Concordia Club, a Jewish social club in Allegheny City, now Pittsburgh's North Side, where many of Pittsburgh's wealthy German Jewish families lived.  Most of these families spoke both German and English and followed the Reform Jewish ritual at their synagogue, Rodef Shalom, then located on 8th Street in downtown Pittsburgh.  In 1880, this organization merged with the Hebrew Benevolent Society to help serve the needs of the many newly arriving Jewish immigrants who were fleeing persecution throughout the Russian Empire and Eastern Europe. 

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Jewish population of Pittsburgh's Hill District began to shift in the 1920s.  Many Jewish immigrants had built businesses and careers that enabled them to leave the crowded Hill District for the more affluent neighborhoods in Pittsburgh's East End.  A number of the synagogues that had been founded in the Hill District moved with their congregations, but two of the largest Orthodox congregations, Beth Hamedrash Hagodol and Beth Jacob, stayed in the Hill District.  They eventually merged, and, known as Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob, built a new synagogue on Colwell Street in 1965.     

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Gusky Orphanage and Home became one of the first affliated charities of the Pittsburgh Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in 1912.

Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Women who helped raise funds during the 1924 Montefiore Hospital Campaign Drive, 1924.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Paul Drindell drives a Hebrew Institute bus carrying, among others, Dr. Solomon Abrams (left), future executive director of the Institute and his brother, Dr. Ellis Abrams (extreme right), c.1922.

Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Beth Israel Synagogue on Pittsburgh's North Side, c.1910.

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

After fire destroyed the Washington Street synagogue of the Beth Jacob-Beth Hamedrash Hagodol congregation, a new synagogue was dedicated on Colwell Street in 1965.  In 2008, the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob synagogue was razed to clear the way for the construction of the Consol Energy Center. With the funds from sale of the property, the congregation purchased and renovated the former Central Blood Bank on Fifth Avenue to serve the congregation as its synagogue. The ark, which had traveled from the Washington Street Shul to the synagogue on Colwell Street, was installed at the new site. The congregation began services at the new site in September 2010.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Montefiore Hospital's Lillian S. Kaufmann School of Nursing opened in 1953 on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood.  The new facility, funded largely by the Kaufmann families and the Henry Kaufmann Foundation, provided housing for 170 nurses and faculty members, lecture rooms, laboratories, and an infirmary. 

Monefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the B'nai Israel choir, 1943.

B'nai Israel Congregation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Anna Spiegle Reingold (1899-1996) and her friend Sarah Rosenberg Novick, 1916.  These young women were founding members of the Young People's Zionist League in Pittsburgh and were active in the League's many activites.  Members of the League were issued small caps which were worn at public meetings and demonstrations.

Reingold Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Ohave Zedeck synagogue on the corner of Craft Avenue and Niagara Street in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, c.1980.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Esther and Jacob M. Gusky arrived in Pittsburgh from New York City at the close of the Civil War.  Jacob Gusky opened a small clothing store in Pittsburgh's downtown.  As Pittsburgh's population and wealth grew after the war, so too did the business, which became one of Pittsburgh's largest department stores.  Esther Gusky, along with her brother, Levi DeWolf, managed the store after Jacob's Gusky's death in 1886.  Esther Gusky left their home in Pittsburgh's North Side and moved to this mansion on Bellefonte Street and Fifth Avenue in 1891.

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

Operating room at Montefiore Hospital, 1908. 

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Described as "the most active volunteer" by the Jewish Criterion, Carrie Naumburg Cohen was a leader among the earliest Jewish women's charitable organizations, including the Hebrew Ladies' Aid Society.  Her father served as a cantor, reader, and teacher for the Rodef Shalom Congregation, and she married Josiah Cohen, Allegheny County's first Jewish judge.  Her charitable work often moved beyond the Jewish community.  She served on the Ladies' Auxiliary Committee of Pittsburgh Homeopathic Hospital, now Shadyside Hospital, along with the wives of George Westinghouse and Henry Clay Frick.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

United Jewish Fund president Emanuel Spector (left), Golda Myerson (later Meir), and Charles Rosenbloom (right) during an United Jewish Fund campaign event, 1948.  Golda Myerson visited Pittsburgh several times throughout the 1940s and 1950s to help generate support for Israel and the fundraising efforts of the United Jewish Fund.

Spector Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Mrs. Ida Ostrosky, Mrs. Robert Selker, and Lillian Grobstein, c.1970.

Ladies' Hospital Aid Society Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of the Beth Jacob Synagogue, built in 1901 at Epiphany and Townsend Streets in the Hill District, c.1965.

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Fundraising meeting of members of Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council, c.1955.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Daughters of Zion, c.1903.  Many young Jewish men and women formed clubs in support of Zionism soon after the movement was established in 1897.  The first American Zionist Convention held in Pittsburgh in 1903 was hosted by several local Zionist groups, including the Daughters of Zion.

Edwin Sable Photograph, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Freda Filner (on right) and a friend, c.1930.  Freda Filner and her husband owned Filner's Bakery on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District.  Mrs. Filner's cakes were "famous throughout Lodz and Bendive, Poland, in the years before the war." (Jewish Criterion)  Mrs. Filner donated baked goods from the bakery each week to the Lechem Aniyum Society.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Volunteers with the Allegheny Council of Jewish War Veterans and Auxiliary at the Spring Carnival of the Veterans Administration Hospital, Aspinwall, Pa., c.1950.

Jewish War Veterans Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Exterior view of the original Shaare Tefilah synagogue at 23-25 Miller Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1990.  The congregation moved from this building to a new location at 5741 Bartlett Street in Squirrel Hill in the late 1940s.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bickur Cholim Convalescent and Nursing Home at 208 N. Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's East End neighborhood, c.1965.  The Bickur Cholim Home moved to this location in 1958, and plans were made to extend the facility into the adjoining lot.  The expansion plan was never completed however, and the Home moved to a wing of Montefiore Hospital in 1967. 

Jewish Chronicle Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of the original Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue on Washington Street. It was built in 1892 and destroyed by fire in 1960.

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the Mulbish Arunim (to clothe the naked) at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House, c.1935.  These women volunteered their time to collect and distribute clothing to the needy.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Beth Shalom synagogue on the corner of Shady Avenue and Beacon Street, 1923.  The Beth Shalom Congregation began meeting in rented rooms at the nearby Orpheus Theater in Squirrel Hill in 1917.  The congregation completed construction of this synagogue, the first to be built in Squirrel Hill, in 1923.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Exterior of Adath Jeshurun synagogue on East Liberty Boulevard, formerly Margaretta Street, in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, c.2000.  The congregation moved from this location in 1996.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Amelia Earhart, the world-famous pilot, Bertha Rauh, and two unidentified women in Pittsburgh, c.1928.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Postcard of the Gusky Orphanage and Home, c.1910

Esther Gusky opened the Gusky Orphanage on Perrysville Avenue on Pittsburgh's North Side.  The location, then far from the city,  was chosen for its clean air and the benefits of the open countryside and the proposed Riverview Park located just one block away.  Operated by many volunteers and a small paid staff, the orphanage had many supporters, who donated money, clothing, blankets, and holiday presents for the children.

Esther Gusky soliticited donations from members of Rodef Shalom Congregation, the wider Jewish community, and others in the city. In 1902, Charles Schwab and Francis Lovejoy, both executives at U. S. Steel and non-Jews, each donated $5000 for needed improvments to the home.  In later years, the Rauh, Hamburger, and DeRoy families all built additions to the Gusky Orphanage, creating a facility that could accommodate nearly 100 children by 1920.

Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Frank and Seder Department Store, Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street, downtown Pittsburgh, c.1925.  Isaac Seder, a Russian immigrant, and his partner, Jacob Frank, opened their department store in 1907.  In later years, with the success of their Pittsburgh store, the partners expanded and opened stores in New York, Philadelphia, and Detroit.  By 1954, however, with the rise of suburban shopping malls, the department store and its branch locations were closed.

Seder Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the Friendship Club Ladies' Auxiliary, 1960.

Ernest Nachman Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Columbian Council's first program for adult immigrants was their Sisterhood of Personal Service.  Volunteers from the Columbian Council visited the homes of immigrant families, assessed their level of need, and helped them learn ways in which they could rise out of poverty.  The program continued as one of the many services provided by the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Papers, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Golda Myerson (later Meir) attends the United Jewish Fund Report Meeting at the Young Men and Women's Hebrew Association, 1949. 

Herman Fineberg Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

In-service representative at Montefiore Hospital, Diane Bosanac, RN, demonstrating bed-making techniques to "Volunteens," June 1970.

Ladies' Hospital Aid Society Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Cornerstone of Machsikei Hadas synagogue, now demolished, which stood at 1849 Wylie Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1990.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Montefiore Hospital's first location was a former mansion on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1908. 

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Fundraising committee of Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council, 1958.

The Beth Jacob Synagogue was built in 1901 at Epiphany and Townsend Streets in the Hill District, c.1965.

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Katherine Bauman Blank, member of the first class of nurses to graduate from the Montefiore Hospital Training School for Nurses, 1910.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Oliver Kaufmann (center) and others at the cornerstone laying of the original Y-IKC at Forbes Street and Murray Avenue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, December 9, 1958.

Jewish Community Center Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bertha and Enoch Rauh with their daughter Helen, 1891.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Dining room in the Montefiore Nurses' House on Centre Avenue, c.1925.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archvies at the Heinz History Center

Members of Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council, promoting the organization's work in supporting children's welfare and education in Israel, c.1955.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council, c.1950.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Groundbreaking ceremony for new building addition to the B'nai Israel synagogue, 1950.  The former home, located on the southern side of the synagogue, had been used for classes and recreational activities for several years.  This building was demolished to make way for the new synagogue addition, which was completed in 1953.

B'nai Israel Congregation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Concordia Club, 45 Stockton Street, Allegheny City (Pittsburgh's North Side), c.1890.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District was one of the first beneficiary agencies of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Pittsburgh in 1912.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Display of products made by Israeli women participating in programs sponored by Pioneer Women, c.1955.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Cornerstone laying for the new Adath Jeshurun synagogue on Margaretta Street in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, c.1922.

Adath Jeshurun Congregation Records, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Church on Lang and Hamiliton Avenues in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, which served as the B'nai Zion synagogue from 1941 to 1966, c.1975.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Soon after the Columbian Council was established, Cassie Weil, the wife of A. Leo Weil, led an effort to start a small religious school.  The program soon expanded to include classes in English for new immigrants and various evening classes for working adults.  In 1897, the Columbian School held classes at this location at 32 Townsend Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Torath Chaim synagogue at 728 North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood, c.1980.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Stogie workers in Pittsburgh's Hill District, 1907.  For the new immigrants staying at the Pittsburgh House of Shelter, finding work was the first step in establishing a life in America.  Arriving immigrants were often hired as unskilled laborers in small factories or stores.  Many young women found work in the cigar or "stogie" factories located in Pittsburgh's Hill District.

Courtesy of New York Public Library

Exterior view of the original Shaare Tefilah synagogue at 23-25 Miller Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1990. The congregation moved from this building to a new location at 5741 Bartlett Street in Squirrel Hill in the late 1940s.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Interior of the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob synagogue on Colwell Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1965.  After fire destroyed the Beth Hamedrash synagogue on nearby Washington Street, the congregation merged with Beth Jacob and together the two congreagtions built a new synagogue on Colwell Street, which opend in 1965. 

Jewish Chronicle Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Located on Locust Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, the House of Shelter provided temporary lodging for "poor immigrants and deserted wives and children." 

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

"Save Soviet Jewry" banner on display at the Shaare Torah synagogue on Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, c.1975.  The congregation's rabbi, Baruch (Bernard) Poupko was a founding member of the Pittsburgh Conference on Soviet Jewry and made several trips to the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s to negotiate with the Soviet government on behalf of the Jews living there. 

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

First graduating class of the Montefiore Hospital Training School for Nurses, 1910. 

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Dedication of the Council Lounge, a program of the National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section, at the Anathan House on Murray Avenue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, September 1963.  Bessie Anathan (center, front row) attended the ceremony along with (from left to right, back row) Ruth Frank, Jim Anathan, Joan Apt, Jim Frank, Joel Spear, Bud Lehman, Jerry Apt, and (from left to right, front row) Bob Frank, Barbara Frank Dane, Jane Anathan Lehman, Frances Anathan Spear, Carol Spear Williams, Janet Anathan, and Dell Anathan

Lehman Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Mothers and their babies participating in the annual "Better Baby Contest," 1924. To raise awareness of the importance of infant health and nutrition, the IKS held this contest and gave prizes to the healthiest babies as judged by doctors and nurses.  The contest was held annually on the anniversary of the opening of the Better Baby Clinic. The number of contestants grew from 508 babies in the first contest to over 1,000 babies in later years.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Dr. Daniel E. Jackson, son of Montefiore Hospital's first president, Henry Jackson, attending a tree planting ceremony in Palestine with the first graduates of the Nurses' Training School, later known as the Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing, 1921.  This was the first nursing school in Palestine and was supported by money raised in local Hadassah chapters throughout the United States. 

Courtesy of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.

Kaufmann Department Store on Smithfield Street, between Fifth and Forbes Avenues, downtown Pittsburgh, c.1900.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the B'nai B'rith Golden Triangle Chapter distributing a meal at the Jewish Home for the Aged, c.1960.  Since the first Pittsburgh B'nai B'rith lodge was founded in 1862, many additional lodges were established throughout the region to help support volunteer efforts and social service.  Women's auxiliary groups, later organized as B'nai B'rith Women's chapters, joined together in many volunteer activities.

B'nai B'rith Golden Triangle Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

In 1909, Henry Kaufmann (1860-1955) and his wife Theresa were asked to help fund a larger, professionally-staffed settlement house, to take the place of the overcrowded Columbian Council School and Settlement, a volunteer-run facility, which served the growing number of immigrants living in Pittsburgh's Hill District.  In memory of their daughter Irene, the Kaufmanns donated $150,000 for the construction of the settlement building on Centre Avenue and $40,000 toward an endowment. Known as the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, the building became the center of neighborhood life in the Hill District and one of the country's largest and most successful settlement houses.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Annie Jacobs Davis (1865-1952) led many charitable efforts in Pittsburgh's Jewish community.  Photographed here at the B'nai Israel synagogue in 1941, Davis founded the congregation's ladies' auxiliary and religious school. 

B'nai Israel Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the Zionist Council of Pittsburgh established the Zionist Institute in a rented building on the corner of Centre Avenue and Green Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District.  With proceeds from the successful 1903 Zionist Convention held in Pittsburgh, the Zionist Council purchased the building where young Jewish men and women could learn Hebrew, attend lectures and classes on Jewish history and literature, and participate in social events and theater.  The addition of a gymnasium in 1905 enabled both men and women to participate in active sports programs. 

Throughout the 1920s, as many Jews left the Hill District for East End neighborhoods, membership in the Zionist Institute declined.  When the facility closed in 1926, the sale of the building brought in nearly $30,000.  The funds were donated to help forty-five families establish a settlement in Palestine named Nachlath (Heritage of) Pittsburgh.  

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Young Peoples Synagogue on the corner of Denniston and Forbes Streets in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, c.1980.  In 1996, Young Peoples Synagogue moved into this building, which was used as a synagogue by the B'nai Zion congregation.  The two congregations shared the synagogue and later merged. 

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Serving sample prisoner's rations for Women's Plea for Soviet Jewry at Rodef Shalom synagogue, c.1975. 

Jewish Chronicle Collection, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Former residence on Denniston Street and Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which became the B'nai Zion synagogue about 1966, c.1980.  Young People's Synagogue (YPS) Congregation merged with B'nai Zion in 1996, and the YPS congregation continues to hold its services in this building.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bertha Rauh and members of the Department of Public Welfare in front of the Mayview Hospital bus, c.1928.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of attendees of a Jewish National Fund "box meeting," 1969. 

Jewish National Fund Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Annie Jacobs Davis (bottom right), president and founder of the Hebrew Ladies' Hospital Aid Society, with family and friends during a fundraising event.  Davis holds a cigar box filled with donations collected for the building of Montefiore Hospital.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the Keser Torah Congregation Ladies' Auxiliary, 1935.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Miriam Schonfield (1887-1934), c.1925. At age twelve, Miriam Schonfield volunteered as a teacher for the religion classes of the Columbian Council School in Pittsburgh's Hill District. 

Schonfield helped to expand the Council's religious school programs, which later became known as the Southwestern District of Pennsylvania Jewish Religious Schools.  She served as director for nearly 25 years until her death in 1934. 

Miriam Schonfield Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

United Jewish Fund Women's Division brunch held at the Schenley Hotel, 1949.

Herman Fineberg Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Mrs. Jack Wolk (left), Harriet Levinson (center), and Mrs. Herman Fineberg (right) at a "parlor meeting" of the United Jewish Fund Women's Division, 1949.

Herman Fineberg Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of Shulamit Bastacky, president of the Holocaust Survivors Organization of Pittsburgh, lighting a memorial candle at the annual Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) service at the state capital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1987.

United Jewish Federation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Montefiore Hospital nurses marching in the Armistice Day parade, 1924.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The children's ward of Montefiore Hospital, c.1920.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Exterior view of the original Shaare Tefilah synagogue, known as the "Big Russian Shul" at 23-25 Miller Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1990. The congregation moved from this building to a new location at 5741 Bartlett Street in Squirrel Hill in the late 1940s.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

In 1905, the Cneseth Israel Congregation moved to this building, a former Presbyterian church, located on Miller Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1990.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Interior of main sanctuary of the B'nai Israel synagogue on North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, c.1960.

B'nai Israel Congregation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Chofetz Chaim synagogue at 5807 Beacon Street in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, c.1970. 

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Drawing of planned extension to the Bickur Cholim Convalescent and Nursing Home at 203 N. Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's East End neighborhood, c.1965.  In 1967, however, plans for the extension were abandoned and the facility instead moved to a wing of Montefiore Hospital.

Jewish Chronicle Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Volunteers from the Ladies' Hospital Aid Society staffing the information desk at Montefiore Hospital, c.1970.

Ladies' Hospital Aid Society Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bertha Rauh being sworn into Mayor Christopher L. Magee's cabinet as Director of Public Charities, 1922.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of Rodef Shalom's 1901 synagogue on Eighth Street in downtown Pittsburgh.  The original synagogue was built in 1862 on the same location, but was replaced by this structure when the original building became too small.  The congregation continued to grow, and in 1907 a new synagogue was completed on Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, where it continues today as Pittsburgh's largest Reform Jewish congregation.

Corinne  Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Eleanor Roosevelt (far left) with Pittsburgh ORT members Helen Cohen, Doris Hirsch, Betty Yahr-Green and Joan Tanzer, c.1945.

Marga Silberman Randall Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Storefront of Samuel Silberstein's tinware business on Hamilton Avenue in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Homewood, c.1900.  Samuel Silberstein (1865-1932) immigrated to Pittsburgh from Vienna, Austria, in 1878 and settled in the Homewood neighborhood with his wife, Sara, and their children.  The Silbersteins were the first Jewish family to settle in Homewood and would have traveled out of the neighborhood to attend synagogue.

Reizenstein Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Tree of Life Synagogue on Craft Avenue, c.1946.  The Tree of Life Congregation built this synagogue in 1907 and moved here from its previous location on Fourth and Ross Streets in downtown Pittsburgh.  In 1946, the congregation sold this building to the Pittsburgh Playhouse theater company and moved to a new synagogue it had built on Shady and Wilkins Avenues in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Allegheny County Community Development Photographs, Detre Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement building located on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District, 1911.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Interior view of Torath Chaim synagogue at 728 North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood, c.1980. 

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Shaare Torah synagogue on Murray Avenue and Nicholson Street in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, c.1980.  The congregation and its rabbi, Baruch A. Poupko, led efforts to aid Soviet Jews overseas and raised awareness of Jews suffering in the U.S.S.R.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Mayor David L. Lawrence and two members of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Women's American ORT dedicate the "ORTmobile", Pittsburgh, 1953.  A fundraising endeavor for ORT programs, the ORTmobile traveled throughout Pittsburgh selling gently used clothing and household items.

Hahn Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Tree of Life Synagogue on Craft Avenue in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, c.1907. 

Jewish Chronicle Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Young women volunteering at the Jewish War Board and Y Canteen at the Young Men's and Women's Hebrew Association building on Bellefield Avenue in Oakland, 1943.

Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Pauline Hanauer Rosenburg, the first president of the Columbian Council of Jewish Women, c.1900.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Ambulance donated to Montefiore Hospital by the members of the Young Ladies' Sick and Relief Society in 1910.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Soon after the Columbian Council was established, Cassie (Mrs. A. Leo) Weil led an effort to start a small religious school.  The program soon expanded to include evening classes in English for new immigrants.  In 1897, the Columbian School held classes at this location at 37 Townsend Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bertha Floersheim Rauh (1865-1952), photographed here with her husband and child, helped to found the Columbian Council and served as its president from 1904 to 1919.  Her energetic volunteer efforts through the Columbian Council helped her move into local politics.  In 1922, she was appointed by Pittsburgh Mayor William A. Magee to serve as the city's Director of Public Charities, becoming the first women in the United States to serve in a mayor's cabinet.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Interior view of Torath Chaim synagogue at 728 North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Interior of the Beth Hamdrash Hagodol synagogue on Washington Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1950.  The synagogue was built in 1892 and destroyed by fire in 1960.  In 1964, congregation merged with the Beth Jacob congregation and together they built a new synagogue on nearby Colwell Street. 

Jewish Chronicle Photographs, RAuh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Kaufmann's Department Store on Smithfield Street, between Fifth and Forbes Avenue, downtown Pittsburgh, c.1900

Kaufmann's Department Store Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center 

This building at 1112 North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood served as the synagogue for the Cneseth Israel Congregation from 1946 to 1978, c.1990.  The congregation was first organized in 1905 in Pittsburgh's Hill District.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Volunteers from the Jewish War Veterans Post 49 Auxiliary and patients at the Spring Carnival of the Veterans Administration Hospital, Aspinwall, Pa., c.1950.

Jewish War Veterans Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Women lighting Shabbat candles at the Jewish Home for the Aged, one of the first beneficiary agencies of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Pittsburgh in 1912.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Approximately thirty children and four residential staff members moved into the Jewish Home for Babies and Children's new home on Stanton Avenue in 1943.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bessie Frank Anathan (1885-1976), c.1900.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Operating room nurse at Montefiore Hospital, c.1915.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archvies at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of the interior of the synagogue at 815 North Negley Avenue, c.1990.  The synagogue's bima (platform from which the Torah is read) and other religious artifacts from Machsikei Hadas were donated to the Heinz History Center when the congregation disbanded.  They are now on display at the Heinz History Center.

Machsikei Hadas Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Detail of stained-glass window in the former Cneseth Israel synagogue on Miller Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, c.1990.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Members of the South Hills ORT renamed Bower Hill Road, "ORT Road," to annouce the start of the South Hills ORT Spring Membership Campaign, 1967.

Marga Silberman Randall Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Hebrew Institute building on Wylie Avenue and Green Street in Pittsburgh's Hill District, 1922.

A Little Journey to the Hebrew Institute of Pittsburgh, Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

Meeting of Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council, c.1945.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Former Talmud Torah synagogue at 1908 Sarah Street on Pittsburgh's South Side, c.1975.

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Classroom of Hillel Academy on Beacon Street in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, c.1980.

United Jewish Federation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bertha Rauh at the construction site of a building on the Mayview Hospital grounds, c.1928.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewis Archives at the Heinz History Center

Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council member, Gloria Ebling, was elected to the national presidency of the organization in 1985.

Marjorie Moidel Papers, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

The Rauh family (from left) Bertha, Richard S., Enoch, and Helen B. Rauh, c.1900.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Children's health and welfare were principal concerns for the members of the Columbian Council.  Early efforts of Council volunteers provided immigrant families with home health care visits and instruction on infant care and nutrition.

Irene Kaufmann Settlement Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of the synagogue at 815 North Negley Avenue in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh, c.1990.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photograph of the four founding Kaufmann brothers and their wives, c.1890.  (top row, left to right) Jacob Kaufmann, Henry Kaufmann, Morris Kaufmann, and Isaac Kaufmann.  (bottom row, left to right) Augusta Kaufmann, Theresa Kaufmann, Betty Kaufmann,  and Emma Kaufmann.

Kaufmann Wolf Families Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

B'nai Israel Congregation bat mitzvah class, 1949.

B'nai Israel Congregation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Volunteers for the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh soliciting donations by telephone, c.1960.

Saul Weisberg Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Lillian Friedberg (1897-1978) served as executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council from 1943 to 1978.  She was a founder of the Allegheny County Council on Civil Rights and was an active member of Hadassah, Pittsburgh Chapter, and the National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section. 

Corinne Azen Krause Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Free loan societies, which granted small, interest-free loans to those in need, were organized among many ethnic and religious groups.  The East Liberty Ladies' Free Loan Association is pictured here in 1945.

East Liberty Ladies' Free Loan Association Photograph, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

B'nai Israel synagogue at 327 North Negley Avenue in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, c.1975.  The synagogue was first used in 1924, and the congregation moved from the building in 1995.  The synagogue was designed by Henry Hornbostel, Alexander Sharove, and Philip Friedman in a Byzantine style.

B'nai Israel Congregation Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Rabbi Joseph Shapiro Education Center of Poale Zedeck Congregation on Phillips Street in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood, 1956.  The building, constructed behind the Poale Zedeck synagogue, opened in 1956 and housed a nursery school, Hebrew school, and education and training programs for children with special needs.

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

Site of a new Y-IKC East End Center building at 735 North Negley Avenue, in Pittsburgh's Highland Park neighborhood, c.1966.

Jewish Community Center Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Sewing Committee of the Ladies' Hospital Aid Society, c.1940.

Ladies' Hospital Aid Society Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

In 1909, the congregation began planning construction of this building at 1849 Wylie Avenue in the Hill District.  

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center 

Members of the Tiphereth Israel Ladies' Auxiliary, 1940.

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

Adath Israel synagogue at 3257 Ward Street in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, c.1980.  The synagogue closed in 1993.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Delegates from Pioneer Women, Pittsburgh Council, attending a Pioneer Women national convention, c.1950.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Nathaniel Kann, Florence Reizenstein, Mrs. A. Karlin, and Mrs. W. Finegold (from left to right) at the United Jewish Fund Women's Division annual dinner, 1953.

Nathaniel Kann Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Gertrude Friedberg Seder (1883-1987), Pittsburgh, Pa., c.1910.  Gertrude Seder married Isaac Seder in 1904.  The couple owned the successful department store, Frank and Seder, in downtown Pittsburgh, and gave generously throughout their lives to local Jewish organizations and institutions. 

Seder Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Adath Israel synagogue at 3257 Ward Street in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, c.1980.  The synagogue closed in 1993.

Gerald Sapir Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Bertha and Enoch Rauh, c.1919.

Richard E. Rauh Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Anne Jacobs Davis (1865-1952) arrived in Pittsburgh as a young girl with her mother and siblings from Vladimir, Russia, in 1874.  She met and married Barnett Davis, a diamond merchant and jeweler, and together they raised ten children.  Davis is considered the "Mother of Montefiore" because of her determination to establish a Jewish Hopital in Pittsburgh.

 Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Advertisement for Gusky's Department Store, 1891.

Aggressive advertising and a dedication to good service contributed to the success of the Gusky Department Store, which spanned an entire block on Market Street in downtown Pittsburgh.  In 1904, however, the store fell into bankruptcy and closed, due in part to Esther Gusky's generosity with the family's fortune.

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center

Kaufmann's Department Store, Pittsburgh, Pa., c.1900.

Kaufmann Department Store Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center.

Anna Spiegle Reingold, in 1916, wearing her Young People's Zionist League cap.  Anna Reingold was a founding member of the Y.P.L.Z.  In addition to promoting the goals of Zionism, the League's young members also supported the American war effort during World War I by selling Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps.

Reingold Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, known as the "Washington Street Shul," was built in 1892 and destroyed by fire in 1960, c. 1955.

Beth Hamedrash Hagodol-Beth Jacob Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Photographed here with three of her five children, Pauline Wormser Frank and her husband William Frank were among the first Jewish families to settle in Pittsburgh.   After volunteering with relief efforts during the Civil War, Pauline Frank founded the Hebrew Ladies' Aid Society with other women from Pittsburgh's Rodef Shalom Congregation.  On her 90th birthday in 1905, she was celebrated in the Jewish Criterion as having been "a broadminded, progressive, tolerant woman, whose labors on behalf of the unfortunate have known neither creed nor color."

Frank Family Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

National meeting of Pioneer Women in New York City, 1955.

NA'AMAT USA, Pittsburgh Council Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center

Nurses in training at Montefiore Hospital, c.1920.

Montefiore Hospital Photographs, Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center