A brief history of Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community Center

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) has been a pillar of Pittsburgh for over 120 years, providing social, recreational, educational and religious services to families throughout the city.

There are now two JCCs (in Squirrel Hill and the South Hills), but the organization, originally known as the Irene Kaufmann Settlement (IKS), first opened on Centre Avenue in the Hill District in 1895. The center opened after thousands of Jewish families immigrated from Eastern Europe to Pittsburgh, a difficult transition that left many searching for a sense of belonging and familiarity.

The IKS was renamed the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh in 1999.

– Maggie Medoff, WordWrite