Temple Sholom [Reversal Original]
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Amateur documentation of a celebratory gathering at a construction site where a new building is being erected for Temple Sholom, a large Reform Jewish synagogue in Chicago.
Credits
Abraham Weiss (filmmaker); Edward Huhner Weiss (filmmaker)
Complete catalog record
Cfa collection: William O'Farrell Collection
Notes: The film starts with two opening titles that read “Let’s Look Back” and “A Glimpse of the Recent Past as Filmed by Mr. Abraham Weiss and Mr. Edward Weiss." In the reversal original in CFA's collection, these titles are printed on different film stock than the rest of the reel, with a 1940 date code. The remainder of the reel has a 1928 date code and is on diacetate stock. The first shot is of the steel girder frame of Temple Sholom's new sanctuary (located at what is today 3480 N Lake Shore Drive) under construction and a crowd of men and women in winter coats and hats. There is a close-up of the cornerstone of the temple, which reads “This stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God’s house, 5689 - 1928”. There are then various shots of individual people in the crowd. One of them is Rabbi Abram Hirshberg. Another is a man in a Boy Scout leader's uniform. A subsequent shot shows a close-up of a lintel stone with the words "Temple Sholom Center - Frankenstein Memorial" on it. Children, including Boy Scouts carrying the American Flag, walk under the lintel as they move through the construction site. A small group of people stand in front of a large sign reading "Coolidge & Hodgdon - Loebl, Schlossman & Demuth - Associated Architects." Cars are visible in the background as members of the crowd greet one another. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS: Abraham Weiss was born in 1870 and was a “pioneering commercial photographer” (per his wife Rose's 1961 obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times). His business, per a 1971 Sun-Times article about his son Edward H. Weiss, was the Horn Copying Company. Edward's 1984 Sun-Times obituary contains further detail: “Abraham Weiss was famous for his gigantic portraits of silent film stars for Balaban & Katz theaters.” He died in Chicago in 1952; services were held at Temple Sholom. Edward Huhner Weiss, born in Chicago in 1901, was a civic leader, portrait artist, and founder of the Edward H. Weiss & Co. advertising agency. After his death in 1984 a collection of his papers and photographs was donated to the Chicago History Museum.
Sponsor: Temple Sholom
Subjects: Judaism; Construction; Boy Scouts
Places: North America > United States > Illinois > Chicago > Lakeview
Language: English
Cfa elements: Reversal Positives, 192 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/48465
Notes: The film starts with two opening titles that read “Let’s Look Back” and “A Glimpse of the Recent Past as Filmed by Mr. Abraham Weiss and Mr. Edward Weiss." In the reversal original in CFA's collection, these titles are printed on different film stock than the rest of the reel, with a 1940 date code. The remainder of the reel has a 1928 date code and is on diacetate stock. The first shot is of the steel girder frame of Temple Sholom's new sanctuary (located at what is today 3480 N Lake Shore Drive) under construction and a crowd of men and women in winter coats and hats. There is a close-up of the cornerstone of the temple, which reads “This stone which I have set up for a pillar shall be God’s house, 5689 - 1928”. There are then various shots of individual people in the crowd. One of them is Rabbi Abram Hirshberg. Another is a man in a Boy Scout leader's uniform. A subsequent shot shows a close-up of a lintel stone with the words "Temple Sholom Center - Frankenstein Memorial" on it. Children, including Boy Scouts carrying the American Flag, walk under the lintel as they move through the construction site. A small group of people stand in front of a large sign reading "Coolidge & Hodgdon - Loebl, Schlossman & Demuth - Associated Architects." Cars are visible in the background as members of the crowd greet one another. ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS: Abraham Weiss was born in 1870 and was a “pioneering commercial photographer” (per his wife Rose's 1961 obituary in the Chicago Sun-Times). His business, per a 1971 Sun-Times article about his son Edward H. Weiss, was the Horn Copying Company. Edward's 1984 Sun-Times obituary contains further detail: “Abraham Weiss was famous for his gigantic portraits of silent film stars for Balaban & Katz theaters.” He died in Chicago in 1952; services were held at Temple Sholom. Edward Huhner Weiss, born in Chicago in 1901, was a civic leader, portrait artist, and founder of the Edward H. Weiss & Co. advertising agency. After his death in 1984 a collection of his papers and photographs was donated to the Chicago History Museum.
Sponsor: Temple Sholom
Subjects: Judaism; Construction; Boy Scouts
Places: North America > United States > Illinois > Chicago > Lakeview
Language: English
Cfa elements: Reversal Positives, 192 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/48465
Sources
- Chicago Film Archives · record ↗ — title, year, creator, format, color, sound, genre, description, credits, catalog record, video
Record added 2026-11-08 21:25:05