The Southwestern section of the Highway Interchange project contained mostly suburban neighborhoods. Unlike other residential areas that were densely populated, there was more distance that separated the dwellings. Upon the turn of the 20th century, this area didn’t have many notable structures, but there seemed to be a strong presence of religious life, specifically Jewish life. It was mainly synagogues that locals of this area flocked to for a sense of community.

1899 Sanborn Maps
1899 Atlanta Fire Insurance Sanborn Map 1

Communal Pillars

The Synagogue known as the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation, located at the corner of South Pryor and Richardson Streets, served its community in Atlanta and around the world. A memorial service was held in December of 1905, after news spread of Jewish murders by Russian assassins. The ceremony was called by the Central Conference of American Rabbis and was meant as a non-violent protest against the conditions in which Jews suffered in Russia. Congregation Rabi, David Marx, gave a brief speech and announced a national fund that gave proceeds to Jewish communities in Russia. Atlanta Jews contributed $2,000 to this fund.2

1905 memorial service

The Jewish community of these neighborhoods had a lengthy history, long before the interstate construction. In January 1916, The Hebrew Benevolent Synagogue celebrated its forty-ninth anniversary with a communal dinner and congregation meeting. The event was led by Isaac Schoen, president of the congregation, and Rabbi Marx who had been the communal rabbi for twenty years. Markx gave his annual report to the community, urging his congregation to discover, “nobler ideals and works,”. 3 Marx continued to say in his report that the community will never be bankrupt in their spirituality, because new members are constantly being introduced, such as the children of current or previous members. The main idea of this report was to express how much the congregation has grown since being established almost fifty years ago.

1916 article of 49th anniversary

Today, the interstate highway is located where this integral synagogue once resided. The highway impacted Atlanta in countless ways, but its impact on the Atlanta Jewish community will never be forgotten. What used to be thriving residential neighborhoods, full of religious life, is now only recognized as part of the highways’s many lanes.

  1. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Atlanta, FultonCounty, Georgia
    . Sanborn Map Company, 1899. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01378_005/. ↩︎
  2. “MEMORIAL SERVICE HELD.: HEBREW BENEVOLENT CONGREGATION HELD MOURNING SERVICE AT JEWISH TEMPLE LAST NIGHT.” 1905.The Atlanta Constitution (1881-1945), Dec 05, 10. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/memorial-service-held/docview/495966765/se-2. (Accessed April 7, 2024) ↩︎
  3. “HEBREW BENEVOLENT CONGREGATION WILL CELEBRATE 49TH ANNIVERSARY.” 1916.The Atlanta Constitution (1881-1945), Jan 11, 6. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/hebrew-benevolent-congregation-will-celebrate/docview/496920016/se-2. (Accessed April 6, 2024) ↩︎