Ballpark Synagogue

The modest synagogue was built in 1901 by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. The congregation was Orthodox for most of its history; in 1982 it became a Reconstructionist temple and was renamed B'nai Yisrael. In 2005, the Foundation sold the synagogue to Chris Wood for use as a residence; however the city decided to use the building or the land it stood on as part of its urban renewal efforts and bought the building from Wood in 2007 for $130,000. Criticism Robert Nevel, a Chicago-based architect who attended the synagogue as a boy, told The New York Times in 2015 that the reuse of the bimah (the central platform from which the Torah is read) as the location of the cash register felt like "accidental symbolism" and "sardonic commentary" on the antisemitic canard that Jews worship money. He also said that the design of the access ramp had "mucked up" the building's stone base, a distinguishing feature of early Chicago style architecture. ==Architecture==

The -story structure was designed in Romanesque Revival style. Finished in orange-brick limestone, it has a gabled roof topped by a large stone arch trimmed in white. Its three tall front windows are arched at the top and square at the bottom; a white metal panel with a design of pressed arches separates the top and bottom of each window. The name of the synagogue is engraved above the center window at the base of another arch-shaped design, with an oculus window at the center. On either corner of the front facade is a square brick tourelle with a corbelled base; each tourelle is topped by a pyramid-shaped metal roof with a Star of David finial. The interior design includes a main sanctuary with a balcony for female worshippers, several smaller rooms, and a basement that previously housed a mikveh. == See also ==