- Spertus Institute
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies is one of the leading Jewish organizations in
Chicago , Illinois. Not affiliated with any single branch ofJudaism , Spertus includes the Spertus Museum, a sizeable library (Asher Library), and the degree-granting Spertus College (North Central Association of Colleges and Schools ). Originally founded in 1924 as The College of Jewish Studies, Spertus has long focused on training Jewish educators. The Spertus Museum was founded in 1968. The Targ Center for Jewish Music and the Chicago Jewish Archives is another part of the campus. Together with the Catholic diocese of Chicago, since 1987 Spertus sponsors TheJoseph Cardinal Bernardin Center for the Study of Eastern European Jewry. [Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, [http://www.spertus.edu/aboutspertus/spertushistory.php "History of Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies"] , [http://www.spertus.edu www.spertus.edu] , 2008, accessed 25 July 2008.]New Facility
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies reopened on November 30, 2007, [Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, [http://www.spertus.edu/aboutspertus/newbuilding.php "Building a New Spertus,"] www.spertus.edu, 2008, accessed 25 July 2008.] on South Michigan Avenue along the
Historic Michigan Boulevard District across from Grant Park in a new building designed by Chicago-based architects Krueck & Sexton. The environmentally sustainable facility features interlocking interior spaces and a ten-story faceted window wall. The cost was more than $50 million.Blair Kamin, "Blades of Glass," Chicago Tribune, November 21, 2007.]The building's two top floors house Spertus Museum's core-collection display, while the galleries present site-specific installations of work by international artists and a series of changing exhibitions. A 400-person theater and an interactive Children’s Center, designed by Jim Lasko from
Redmoon Theater and Odile Compagnon, are also part of the new building. [Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies, [http://www.spertus.edu/families_kids/index.php "For Kids and Families"] , www.spertus.edu, 2008, accessed 25 July 2008.]Spertus partnered with
Wolfgang Puck to provide the onlykosher café in the downtown Chicago area.Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
