Congregation of Moses Synagogue

431 E. South Street

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