Vol. 4

No. 9

In this issue...

Restaurants:

Isadore Lampel


The Jewish Encyclopedia:

Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee


Family Clubs:

Schlanger Cousins Club


Calendar:

Mar. 26: Remembering Kaufmann's


Community:

Shantytown

Jewish Daily Forward exhibit

Mystery portraits


Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries, Memorial Plaques, Books, Newsletters

Restaurants:

Isadore Lampel

A restaurant isn’t just a menu. It’s a place, with an atmosphere. 


The most beloved restaurants are fused to their addresses. Just walking by the spot, years or even decades later, can summon memories of past meals.


But that’s the view from the present, looking back.


In the moment, especially in their heyday between the wars, the world of local Jewish restaurants was dynamic. There were always new owners, new partners, new staff, new customers, new addresses, new names, new menus.


Here’s a great example: Isadore Lampel.

In his 35-year career, Lampel ran at least half a dozen restaurants in downtown, the Hill District, Uptown, and Squirrel Hill, and he worked on the staff of many others. Some were partnerships, some he ran alone. Some lasted years, some only for a few weeks. His career intersected with many of the other restaurateurs we’ve profiled so far this year.


Lampel emigrated to Pittsburgh from his native Hungary around 1910 and quickly entered the local restaurant industry. After a decade in restaurants, he partnered with Louis Caplan in 1921 to acquire the Uptown location of Canter’s Restaurant at 1229 Fifth Ave. and start Caplan & Lampel. Following in the tradition of Canter’s Restaurant, Caplan & Lampel served as a ticket office for local Yiddish theatrical productions.

Advertisement announcing the opening of Caplan & Lampel’s restaurant at 1229 Fifth Ave., formerly Canter’s Restaurant. Includes notice of catering service.

—from Jewish Criterion, August 26, 1921 [Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project]

Caplan & Lampel ended around 1923 and 1924. In October 1924, Lampel started the short-lived Gold & Lampel at 961 Liberty Ave. downtown.


The partnership appears to have dissolved within a month, when Lampel went into business with Alex and Ethel Stark as Lampel & Stark. They operated restaurants simultaneously at 961 Liberty Ave. and 1347 Fifth Ave. The partnership dissolved the following year. The Liberty Avenue location became Stark’s Restaurant, and the Fifth Avenue location became Abrams & Friedman.

Advertisement announcing the opening of Lampel & Stark’s Restaurant and Lunch Room at 1347 Fifth Ave. Notes “Hungarian style dishes.”

—Jewish Criterion, November 7, 1924 [Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project]

Lampel relocated to Uniontown, Pa. in 1925 to run the Commercial Restaurant at 87 W. Main St.


Having spent so much time on Fifth Avenue, Lampel would have been familiar with the many Jewish wholesalers in that district. Perhaps he heard the gripes of traveling salesmen, complaining about the lack of good deli in the small towns they visited throughout the region. The Commercial Restaurant specifically targeted these Jewish salesmen.


Either it didn’t work, or Lampel tired of small-town life. He returned to Pittsburgh the following year to start Lampel’s at 1336 Fifth Ave. in partnership with Ethel Stark. Their partnership ended in 1929. Throughout the early 1930s, when business loans would have been scarce, Lampel worked at various local restaurants, including Caplan’s. 

ABOVE: Advertisement announcing the opening of the Commercial Restaurant at 87 West Main St. in Uniontown, Pa. Advertisement specifically targetted to travelling salesmen.

—Jewish Criterion, May 15, 1925 [Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project]

Advertisement for Center Café and Restaurant at 1830 Center Ave., under the management of Abe Brody and Isadore Lampel, formerly of Caplan’s. Lists specials and services.

—from American Jewish Outlook, July 16, 1937 [Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project]

Finally, in 1937, Lampel partnered with Abe Brody to start the Center Café and Restaurant at 1830 Center Ave. It was the former home of Weinstein’s Restaurant, which will discuss in greater depth in the months to come. The Center Café and Restaurant was directly across the street from the Irene Kaufmann Settlement House. The partnership ended in 1939, and Lampel continued the business independently as Lampel’s Restaurant until 1944.

By then, the Jewish population had migrated to the east. In partnership with a Mr. Goldberg, Lampel started L&G Restaurant at 2016 Murray Ave., taking over the new Squirrel Hill location of Abrams & Friedman’s. Lampel again went independent from 1946 until his death in 1950, renaming the business I. Lampel’s and later Lampel’s Restaurant.

Do you remember Lampels?

Isadore Lampel

Next week: Abrams & Friedm

All year, the Rauh Jewish Archives is highlighting Jewish restaurants in Western Pennsylvania. If you would like to donate a material from a Jewish restaurant, or just reminisce, contact the archive or call 412-454-6406.

Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee

Banner commemorating 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate by Vincentian Academy.

—Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee Records [2016.82]

The American Jewish Committee was founded in 1906 to advocate for Jews all over the world. It expanded its mission in the mid-1940s to foster better relationships between communities and to advocate broadly for human rights. The Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Jewish Committee was formed in late 1945 or early 1946, one of several local chapters of the national organization.


The American Jewish Committee-Pittsburgh Chapter developed curricula, hosted public events, sponsored research initiatives, and fostered relationships between the Jewish community and others in the area. Its best-known projects included the Executive Suite program to integrate private social clubs, the Catholic-Jewish Educational Enrichment Project (C-JEEP), Christian-Jewish Dialogues, and Hands Across the Campus. The organization gave the annual Louis Caplan Human Relations Award (later the Caplan-Leiber Award) to an area high-school student committed to improving interfaith relations. 

American Jewish Committee
The Jewish Encyclopedia of Western Pennsylvania brings together numerous online resources into a clearinghouse for conducting research about Jewish history in this region. As we migrate information to this new website, we’ll be announcing new entries and resources in this section of the newsletter.

Family Clubs:

The Schlanger Cousins Club

Notice of the first annual picnic of the Schlanger Cousins Club.

—Jewish Criterion, August 3, 1956 [Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project]

Max and Fanny Schlanger immigrated to Pittsburgh from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1880s. They spent much of the 1890s living in New York City and returned to Western Pennsylvania around 1901, joining the small Jewish community of Lawrenceville. They had eight children: Mildred, Dora, Ida, Eva, Ruth, Sadie, Harry, and Fred. By the 1950s, both parents had passed and the children were dispersed, living in various parts of the city as well as out of state. They formed the Schlanger Cousins Club in 1955. By the time the club held its first annual picnic at the Schenley Park Bowling Green in August 1956, it had 75 members from Western Pennsylvania, New York, Washington DC, and Chicago. The latest notice for the club was published in May 1958.


Known surnames in the Schlanger Cousins Club include Carpe, Chamovitz, Cohen, Rothman, Schlanger, and Siegler. Known meeting places include the Schenley Park Bowling Green, the Paul Carpe residence at Sunset Drive in Homestead Park, the Robert Chamowitz residence at 6641 Rosemoor St. in Squirrel Hill, the Paul Cohen residence at 4352 Stanton Ave. in the East End, and the Herbert Cohen residence at 5455 Beacon St. in Squirrel Hill.


No known records exist for the Schlanger Cousins Club. If you have information about the club or its members, please contact the archive.

Family Clubs
Calendar

March 26:

JGS-Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives present:

Once More Under the Clock: Remembering Kaufmann's

Photograph showing Kaufmann's Department Store on Smithfield Street in downtown Pittsburgh, during construction, July 19, 1913.

—from "Progress Photographs, Kaufmann’s Department Store [2008.0040]

Kaufmann’s Department Store holds a special place in Pittsburgh memory.


Kaufmann’s iconic clock, its decorated window displays, its special cultural exhibits, its dynamic promotional offers, and of course its beloved Tic Toc Restaurant, Arcade Bakery, and Vendome boutique—all recall a golden age of downtown retailing history. Starting from a small menswear store on the South Side in 1871, Kaufmann’s grew to become the largest department store in downtown Pittsburgh. In the years since its flagship building on Smithfield Street passed into new use in 2015, three books have been written locally about the legendary department store and the family behind it.


In Once More Under the Clock,” a special presentation hosted by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives, the authors of all three books will offer insights into Kaufmann’s Department Store and the Kaufmann family. They’ll also share their favorite discoveries from the vast collection of Kaufmann’s materials held at the Rauh Jewish Archives.

The program will begin with a talk from journalists Marylynne Pitz and Laura Malt Schneiderman, authors of the new book “KAUFMANN’S, The Family That Built Pittsburgh’s Famed Department Store" (University of Pittsburgh Press). The book traces the Kaufmann family’s tremendous influence in the Pittsburgh region as retailers, philanthropists, and patrons of the arts and architecture. It also tells the decades-long story of the struggles and successes of a Jewish immigrant family in Pittsburgh.

Following the talk, Pitz and Schneiderman will join a panel discussion with Letitia Savage (author of the 2016 book "Kaufmann's: The Big Store in Pittsburgh") and Melanie Linn Gutowski (author of the 2017 book "Kaufmann’s Department Store." Together they’ll trade stories and insights from their research. Each author has chosen a selection of materials from the Kaufmann’s Department Store collections, all of which we be on display for one-day only.

The program is Sunday, March 26 from 11-1:00 p.m. ET. This is a hybrid program. It is designed for in-person attendance but will have a virtual option.


This program is possible through the support of the William M. Lowenstein Genealogical Research Endowment Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.

Register

Marylynne Pitz is an award-winning journalist covering art, architecture, books, and history. She was a member of the news team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Tree of Life shooting in 2018. She has won five Golden Quills, an Inland Press Association award for investigative reporting, and a Matrix Award. A native of Indianapolis, she has lived in Pittsburgh since 1980.


Laura Malt Schneiderman is a journalist and web developer in Pittsburgh. She has won seven Golden Quills and was part of a team that won the Scripps Howard Edward J. Meeman Award in 2011. Originally from Saint Louis, she has worked in journalism in Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.


Melanie Linn Gutowski is a historian and museum educator based in the Greater Pittsburgh area. She is the author of the pictorial histories “Pittsburgh’s Mansions” and “Kaufmann’s Department Store” (Arcadia Publishing).” A self-professed “Gilded Age geek,” Melanie is continually fascinated by American and European history and culture from 1865-1920, especially robber barons, historic homes and decorative arts. Melanie holds a Master’s degree in professional writing from Chatham University and a Bachelor of Arts in French and history of art & architecture from the University of Pittsburgh.


Letitia Savage published her first article while still in college, a chapter for an engineering book on the effects of oil spills on marine organisms. She continued freelance magazine writing while working as an environmental consultant, primarily on hazardous waste cleanups for the military and the USEPA. In addition to contributing environmental and gardening articles to Country Journal, she wrote about horse training and horse keeping for many national horse publications, including Chronicle of the Horse and Horse Illustrated. After years of magazine writing, Letitia published her first book on Kaufmann’s Department Store in Pittsburgh for Arcadia Press in 2016. She and her husband live in a pre-Civil War farmhouse that they restored in Sewickley.

Community

From the Pittsburgh Playwright Theatre Company

SHANTYTOWN

The Ballad of Fr. James Cox: A Musical

Father James Cox was the pastor of Old St. Patrick’s Church during the Great Depression. He printed the first food stamps, fed almost 3 million people, led a major march on our national’s capital with 25,000 jobless, and was even nominated for President. He was one of the first preachers on national radio, defended Jewish Americans, and went head-to-head against antisemites.


But who was the man behind it all?


“SHANTYTOWN: The Ballad of Fr. James Cox” explores the forgotten tale of Fr. Cox and celebrates what he accomplished—his courage, his ideas, his love for his people, his rise to near sainthood, and his survival of a federal trial for a lottery scam.


The musical also considers Father Cox's longstanding friendship with Henry Ellenbogen, using materials from the Rauh Jewish Archives.

Performances runs March 11-26 at Madison School, 3401 Milwaukee St.

Book, music and lyrics by Ray Werner

Composer and Music Director: Dwayne Fulton with arrangements by Mike Gallagher, Bruce Foley, Jerry McCarthy and Walter Woodward

Directed by Gregory Lehane

Learn More

From the Jewish Studies Program

PRESSED: Images from the Jewish Daily Forward

Detail from front page of Jewish Daily Forward, including photograph showing President and First Lady Kennedy, 1960.

Founded in 1897 on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the Jewish Daily Forward became the most widely read Jewish news source anywhere. By the 1920s, this Yiddish-language daily had more readers than the New York Times. With rigorous reporting, incisive editorials and powerful commentary, the Forward chronicled the events that affected immigrants eager to earn their place in American life. This was the paper read by congregants from its neighborhood’s many synagogues, by families squeezing into tenement apartments, by sweatshop workers and pushcart vendors. Its articles were debated on park benches and at local haunts like the Garden Cafeteria and the Royal Café, its discarded pages then used to wrap fish for Friday night Sabbath eve dinners. The Forward’s ideals have been held dear for generations of readers, not just on the Lower East Side but across the country and around the world.


The new exhibit Pressed at Hillman Library on the University of Pittsburgh campus looks into the vast Forward archive to present a selection of metal plates used to print photographs in the paper from the 1920s to the 1960s. These plates are accompanied by prints made just for this exhibition. These prints have rendered the images with greater clarity than they had as dotted, halftone prints in the newspaper. The Forward pages on which some of these images appeared are also displayed. These pages are enlarged and reproduced from microfilm and photographs because printed copies of the newspaper have not been preserved at the Forward or in any other archive, although they occasionally pop up at auction or in private collections. Together these images of strikes and activists, Yiddish theater stars and baseball players, daily life and historic moments, present the depth and breadth of this singular publication, its audience and Jewish life in America and around the world.


Pressed is organized by the Forward in collaboration with the Museum at Eldridge Street, and hosted by the University of Pittsburgh Library System and the Jewish Studies program. It will remain on display through April 2023.

Learn More

From Rodef Shalom Congregation

A mystery in primary colors

The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle reports on an effort by Rodef Shalom Congregation to identify two people from a pair of mid-19th century portraits in the congregation's holdings. Do you recognize these two people?

Read More

Research Tools

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

The Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project contains digitized, searchable copies of four local English-language Jewish newspapers between 1895 and 2010. It is a valuable tool for researching almost any topic about Jewish history in Western Pennsylvania. For a primer on using the website, watch our video.

Watch

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

Use

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project in 1998 to preserve burial records from Jewish cemeteries across the region. Over a period of fifteen years, the information was compiled into a searchable, online database containing approximately 50,000 burial records from 78 Jewish cemeteries throughout the region.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project

The Rauh Jewish Archives launched the Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques Project in 2020. The goal was to create a comprehensive collection of burial records from memorial boards at synagogues across the region. Volunteers are currently transcribing these boards and records are being added monthly to our online database. The database currently contains almost 400 listings.

Use

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

Use

University of Pittsburgh librarian and Rauh Jewish Archives volunteer Laurie Cohen created this comprehensive bibliography of the Rauh Jewish Archives library holdings from 1988 through 2018. It lists nearly 350 volumes arranged by type and then by subject. This a great tool to use early in your research process, as you’re surveying available resources on a given subject.

Rauh Jewish Archives Newsletter

The Rauh Jewish Archives has been publishing a weekly newsletter since 2020. The newsletter contains a variety of articles about local Jewish history, including much original research not found anywhere else. You can find and read every issue—more than 150!— in our new index.

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[IMAGE: Marian Schreiber and employees at the Schreiber Trucking Company, c.1943—from Schreiber Family Papers and Photographs, MSS 846.]

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