Barely a year later , the Great Chicago Fire drove many homeless Jews into their neighborhood , and membership grew rapidly . In 1892 , the congregation merged with the Anshe Kalvarier shul ( whose building had been demolished when 12th Street , now Roosevelt Road , was widened ) and adopted the name , " Anshe Sholom Congregation . " In 1894 , they retained their first Rabbi , Abraham Samuel Braude zt " l , who served until his death in 1907 , and the shul took its place in the top rank of Chicago Jewry . It was long known unofficially as " the Mariampoler Shul " and also informally as " the Straw Hat Shul . " In 1910 , two great events occurred : the congregation brought Rabbi Saul Silber zt " l to Chicago , and moved west into a new shul building at Polk and Ashland ; a magnificent domed building by Chicago architect Alexander Levy . However , the Jewish community was moving farther west into the Lawndale district , and the Ashland neighborhood soon dried up . So they opened a branch on Homan Avenue and during the 1920s , sold the Ashland Avenue structure to a Greek Orthodox Christian congregation which still functions to this day . They soon built a grand new edifice at Independence and Polk . In that era , the West Side was called " Little Jerusalem , " and Jewish life enjoyed a golden age of growth , vigor and prosperity . It was also at this time that Rabbi Silber helped to establish the Hebrew Theological College and served without salary as its first President , while continuing his leadership of Anshe Sholom until his death in 1946
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel