CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21, through Saturday, July 25, while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27. Click for more details on holds, program schedules, and returns during the closure. 

Notice of Public Meeting: Kalamazoo Public Library Board of Trustees | July 27 | 5:30 pm | Central Library/Van Deusen Room. The packet of information for the meeting can be found on the library’s website. 

Local History

Congregation of Moses Synagogue

431 E. South Street

431 E. South Street, Photo: Ryan Gage

One of the oldest buildings along E. South Street to have escaped the bulldozer was the home of the synagogue of the Congregation of Moses, one of two longtime Jewish congregations in Kalamazoo. According to the city directory, the religious organization moved into the long, rectangular building in 1907. They had previously been located in the 200 block of W. Main Street (Michigan Avenue). The red brick building has a pitched gable roof, arched windows, two buttresses on either side of the façade, and ornamental dentils underneath the cornice. In 1946, the congregation sold the building to the American Legion (Post 36), who occupied it until they sold the structure to the Kalamazoo Ballet Company in 1999.

 

Written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, February 2024

Sources

Local History Room Files

Subject File: Buildings – South, E., 431