KAM Isaiah Israel

Chicago


The synagogue is a domed masterpiece in the Byzantine style with acoustics that are said to be perfect. Staff provide tours by appointment on weekdays; they're free, but donations are welcome. Outside, KAM's lawn has been transformed into a micro-farm that raises food for people in need on Chicago's south side.

The congregation is one of the Midwest's oldest, founded in 1847 as Kehilath Anshe Ma’ariv (KAM). In 1971 it merged with another reform group, Isaiah Israel, to become KAM Isaiah Israel.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chicago attractions

1. Obama's House

0.03 MILES

Among the handsome manors lining S Greenwood Ave is the redbrick Georgian-style home at number 5046, where Barack Obama and his family lived from 2005…

2. Muhammad Ali House

0.18 MILES

Muhammad Ali lived for a time in this large brick Tudor home, less than a block from his spiritual mentor Elijah Muhammad.

3. Elijah Muhammad House

0.28 MILES

Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam, built the 21-room mansion at the corner of Woodlawn Ave and 49th St in 1971. Louis Farrakhan, the group's…

4. Hyde Park Hair Salon

0.46 MILES

You can visit Barack Obama’s barber Zariff and the bulletproof-glass-encased presidential barber chair at the Hyde Park Hair Salon. Staff don't mind if…

5. Smart Museum of Art

0.62 MILES

Named after the founders of Esquire magazine, who contributed the start-up money, this is the official fine-arts museum of the University of Chicago. The…

6. Hyde Park Art Center

0.64 MILES

Hyde Park Art Center shows contemporary works by Chicagoans – many of them students (current or graduated) of the center's classes. There's usually a…

7. Nuclear Energy

0.7 MILES

The nuclear age began at the University of Chicago: Enrico Fermi and his Manhattan Project cronies built a reactor and carried out the world's first…