Vol. 4

No. 28

Restaurants:

1321 Fifth Ave.

The Jewish Encyclopedia:

Alexander Fink

Yahrzeit plaques:

Temple Sons of Israel (DuBois)

Calendar:

TODAY: Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld

Aug. 2: Aaronel deRoy Gruber

through Aug. 13: Green Book

Community:

"How We Got Here"

Under the Dome of Rodef Shalom

JCBA "Road-Trip"

Mystery portraits

Research Tools:

Newspapers, Cemeteries,

Memorial Plaques, Books,

Population Figures, Newsletters

Restaurants:

1321 Fifth Ave.

If you’ve driven down lower Fifth Avenue recently, you may have noticed some construction in the 1300 block. In November 2022, a two-alarm fire damaged 1315 Fifth Ave.

That block contains a cluster of three buildings, dating back more than a century. This week, we’re looking at the history of the middle building: 1321 Fifth Ave. From the 1890s through the 1970s, this building went through three distinct phases. 

The first phase lasted from 1896 through 1921. In those early years, 1321 Fifth Ave. was home to a series of medical practices, including one overseen by Dr. Luba Robin Goldsmith. Goldsmith was the first woman to graduate from the school of medicine at the Western University of Pittsburgh (University of Pittsburgh).

The third phase in the history of 1321 Fifth Ave. ran from the 1930s through the 1970s. In those decades, the building was home to a series of shoemakers and a few general stores.

[TOP] 1321 Fifth Ave., today.

[BOTTOM] 1321 Fifth Ave., Sept. 21, 1928.

—from Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection

University of Pittsburgh Archives & Special Collections 

[715.287842.CP] (online—Historic Pittsburgh)

Advertisement announcing opening of Reichbaum’s restaurant at 1321 Fifth Ave. Copy reads, “First Class Restaurant. The Finest and Most Beautiful Jewish Restaurant in Western Pennsylvania.” Listed as “distributor for the Hebrew National Sausage Co.” (Jan. 5, 1923)

—from Jewish Criterion

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

In between those phases, throughout most of the 1920s, 1321 Fifth Ave. was home to a series of Jewish-owned restaurants. Reichbaum’s occupied the building from 1923 through 1925, first under the ownership of Abraham Reichbaum and later under Adolph Rapaport. The restaurant had relocated from a building on Logan Street, just around the corner. We looked at that location a few months ago, in our profile of Richest’s Restaurant.

Advertisement for M. “Buck” Gefsky’s restaurant at 1321 Fifth Ave. Notes ownership of S. Kahn, specials, and charcoal grill. (Dec. 18, 1925)

—from Jewish Criterion

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Meyer “Buck” Gefsky took over in 1925. Gefsky was one of the stars of the Coffey Club, which is widely considered the greatest Jewish basketball team in Western Pennsylvania during the amateur era, as well as a contender for the best in the region, and even notable nationally. By the mid-1920s, the Coffey Club legends were marrying, having children, and aging out of the sport.

Gefsky continued to play and coach basketball locally into the late 1920s, but he started this transition away from athletics by entering the restaurant business in partnership with S. Kahn. He left the business after a few years and found greater success in the banking world on lower Fifth Avenue.

Advertisement for Little Hungary Restaurant at 1321 Fifth Ave. Copy reads, “Knedel and Kremslich Like Mother Used to Make." (Apr. 8, 1927)

—from Jewish Criterion

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

Abe Brody occupied 1321 Fifth Ave. for a some time in 1927, and then Joseph Blau and Mrs. Joseph Klein ran the Little Hungary Restaurant from the location. This was a different dining establishment than the Little Hungarian Restaurant that operated in Squirrel Hill in the 1940s and 1950s. Finally, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, Victor Silverman opened a butcher shop at 1321 Fifth Ave. and seems to have leased some of the space for a restaurant.

Next Week: The Y

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:

Alexander and Eva Fink

Black and white portrait of Alexander Fink.

—from "Golden Anniversary, Tree of Life, 1864-1914.

(online—Historic Pittsburgh)

Alexander Fink (d.1892) was a Jewish merchant and philanthropist in Pittsburgh in the second half of the 19th century. Alexander and his wife Eva Fink arrived in Pittsburgh from present-day Lithuania no later than 1850. Fink was elected president of Shaare Shamayim Congregation in 1852, after other “Polanders” left to form Beth Israel Congregation.

Following a stint in New York, the Finks returned to Pittsburgh in the early 1870s. He was named president of Tree of Life Congregation in 1872 and the Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1876. Fink led both organizations through important transitions in the 1880s. He was also a founding director of the J. M. Gusky Hebrew Orphanage in 1890.

Although less documentation survives for his wife, her obituary suggests she was equally prominent in women’s organizations of the day. Our entry for Alexander and Eva Fink includes a bibliography of known sources about their lives and careers in Pittsburgh.

Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaque Project update:

175 records added

Memorial board from Temple Sons of Israel in DuBois, Pa.

The Western Pennsylvania Yahrzeit Plaques database now contains 2,204 records from eight institutions. We recently added 175 plaques from four memorial boards from Temple Sons of Israel in DuBois, Pa. Following the sale of the Temple Sons of Israel synagogue earlier this year, the physical boards and plaques were relocated to Beth Sholom Congregation in Johnstown, Pa. The plaques were transcribed by Richard Levine and updated by Eric Lidji. 

We are actively transcribing yahrzeit plaques from congregations from throughout the region. Each month, we’ll use this space in the newsletter to report on additions to the database. We are currently working through a backlog of nearly 20,000 individual records. The more help we have, the quicker we’ll go. 

We’re currently looking for one or two volunteers who can read and transcribe Hebrew names and Hebrew dates. Work can be completed remotely or in-person at the Archive. To volunteer, email us or call 412-454-6406.

TODAY:

JGS-Pittsburgh presents:

"Stumbling Stones, Commemoration, and Family History"

with Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld

Searching for the history of his house, Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld stumbled upon the dramatic history of a Jewish family and a son who was murdered in Auschwitz. With the help of surviving relatives and by doing archival research, Bijsterveld was able to reconstruct the family’s past, while reconnecting scattered family members at the same time. As a result, they were able to place a stumbling stone, create a documentary film, and write a book.

In this talk, Bijsterveld will sketch the wider context of the changes in the Dutch memory culture of World War II and the Holocaust. This can be characterized as a transformation of remembrance to a more individual approach, doing justice to the agency of the people involved as well as to the nuance and paradoxes that come with every family history. The stumbling stones are a case in point, as these exemplify this transformation.

Recently, the focus has shifted from a single narrative on the Holocaust in the Netherlands to multiple narratives. Research on life and family histories is essential to further this approach. This asks of the (family) historian to strike a balance between personal involvement and professional attitude.

The program is TODAY from 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET. This is a virtual program, occurring exclusively online. The program will be recorded, and the recording will be made available to current JGS-Pittsburgh members.

“Stumbling Stones, Commemoration, and Family History” is a collaboration between the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh and the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center. Please register online. 

This virtual program is free for JGS-Pittsburgh members and $5 for the general public. To become a member of the JGS-Pittsburgh and to receive a free membership code for this program, please visit its website.

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

Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld (1962) was trained as a medieval historian and is professor at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. He studied at the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen (1980-1986) and graduated at the University of Amsterdam (1987). In 1993, he received his PhD (cum laude) at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. For research and teaching, he was affiliated with the Université de Liège (1988-1989), Princeton University (1994-1995), the Max-Planck-Institut für Geschichte in Göttingen (1997), the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (1998-1999 and 2006), Venice International University (2011), and the Humboldt Universität Berlin (2018). 

Since 1999, he has held the funded chair for the Regional History and Ethnology of Brabant at Tilburg University. As member of the Department of Sociology and professor in the University College Tilburg, he teaches on nationalism and regionalism in Europe, regional history, medieval history, the philosophy of history and memory, and the representation of traumatic histories (Public and Applied History). Under his supervision, 23 PhD students have completed their PhD so far. At the moment, he supervises three PhDs working on Holocaust and World War II history. Since 2011, he has been involved in the placing of stumbling stones (Stolpersteine) in his hometown Tilburg.

He published widely on the medieval history of the Low Countries and on the interplay between history, cultural heritage, and (regional) identity. Since 2011, he focuses on the history and the memory culture of the Holocaust. In 2012, he was involved in the making of the documentary film Here was Bertram: In search for a lost life. In 2016, he published House of Memories: Uncovering the Past of a Dutch Jewish Family (Hilversum: Verloren), which appeared in Dutch as Ons huis. Op zoek naar een Joodse familie in Tilburg in 2020.

August 2:

A Celebration of Aaronel deRoy Gruber

The Irving and Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation recently donated the kinetic outdoor sculpture Alumascape III to the Westmoreland Museum of Ar in Greensburg, Pa.

In celebration of the donation, the foundation’s Executive Director Brittany Reilly will speak about the life and work of artist Aaronel deRoy Gruber at the museum on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 3 p.m. You can learn more about the sculpture at the museums' website, and you can research Aaronel's life in the Aaronel deRoy Gruber Papers [MSS 335] at the Rauh Jewish Archives.

Alumascape III, photographed by Walt Seng, 1980.

—from The Irving & Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation Archives.

through August 13:

The Negro Motorist Green Book

“The Negro Motorist Green Book” was a travel guide listing restaurants, gas stations, department stores, and other businesses that welcomed Black travelers. In an era of Jim Crow laws and “sundown towns,” the Green Book offered critical, life-saving information and sanctuary for Black individuals and families traveling the country. Harlem postman Victor Green started the publication in 1936, based in part on a similar volume published in Yiddish for Jewish travelers. The Green Book continued annually through 1967.

The new exhibit “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” on display in the McGuinn Gallery of the Heinz History Center through Aug. 13, tells the story of this landmark publication and its impact on the nation’s rising Black middle class in the middle 20th century. The exhibit also reveals the world of the Green Book in Pittsburgh with artifacts from hotels, jazz clubs, restaurants, and more than 30 local businesses listed in the Green Book, including the Terrace Hall Hotel, Harlem Casino Dance Hall, and Palace Hotel. The exhibit features images from the Melvin Seidenberg Photographs at the Rauh Jewish Archives and the Charles “Teenie” Harris Archive at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Community

From the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh

"How We Got Here"

Each family is unique. 

Each family has its own traditions, its own spirit, and its own dynamics. 

Despite all these differences, every Jewish family in Western Pennsylvania has at least one thing in common: They all have a story about how they got here.

Perhaps your family sailed in steerage across the Atlanti in the 19th century.

Or perhaps your family drove the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a station wagon in the 1960s to work for the universities and hospitals during Renaissance.

Or perhaps your arrival into one of the many Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania involves marriage, or conversion, or a surprising DNA discovery.

Each of these stories is special, and each contributes to the larger story of our community. To collect and honor these origin stories, the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh is launching a new initiative called “How We Got Here.” To participate, just write a short account explaining how you or your ancestors came to settle in Western Pennsylvania. All stories are welcome.

Stories will be eligible for inclusion in the JGS-Pittsburgh’s monthly newsletter Z’chor and also for preservation in the Rauh Jewish Archives. For more information about this initiative, or to contribute, contact Eric Lidji.

From NEXT Pittsburgh

"What's Under the Dome at Rodef Shalom?"

NEXT Pittsburgh's Boaz Frankel visits with archivist Martha Berg to discover the secrets of Rodef Shalom Congregation's historic Fifth Avenue synagogue.

From the Jewish Cemetery & Burial Association

"Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania"

The Jewish Cemetery and Burial Association of Greater Pittsburgh has released a new documentary showcasing Jewish cemeteries in Western Pennsylvania.

“Road Trip: The Jewish Cemeteries of Western Pennsylvania” is a one-hour tour of the many cemetery properties overseen by the JCBA, as well as an overview of the organization’s ongoing work to care for these sacred burial grounds. The video is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate these special Jewish cultural sites in our region. The video includes many historic photographs and documents from the collections of the Rauh Jewish Archives. 

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?

Research Tools

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.

Western Pennsylvania Jewish Cemetery Project

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 more than 2,000 listings.

Rauh Jewish Archives Bibliography

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.

Jewish Population Estimates

Looking to figure out how many Jews lived in a certain part of Western Pennsylvania at a certain moment in time? This bibliography includes more than 30 estimates of the Jewish population of Pittsburgh and small-towns throughout the region, conducted between 1852 and 2017.

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.