Many of us have driven by the simple building with the “permastone” facade by the fire station on DeBaliviere and noticed its windows with the Star of David, briefly wondering about its history. A few years ago, Marj Weir and I spent many enjoyable hours at the MOHIS Research Center on Skinker, looking at old city directories and finding sources to fill out our knowledge of DeBaliviere Avenue. A spreadsheet of the hundreds of small businesses and several documents that became articles in The Times were the result.
Some addresses never made it into full length articles, and one of those was the former synagogue at 537 DeBaliviere. To jumpstart the process, a recent Google search led to a trove of photographs on a local website called “STL Patina” from photographer Chris Naffsiger. A single comment caught my eye: “My father, President of the Shereii Thillium Synagogue And I was off and running.
I was quickly able to find and exchange emails and phone calls with Marilyn Funk Kaufman.
Memories from Marilyn Funk Kaufman
My father, Julius Harry Funk, was president of the synagogue and my Aunt, Mary Zeffren Funk was president of the synagogue’s Sisterhood. We lived on Westminister across from Hamilton School, then moved to 5740 Kingsbury and our next move was 5787 McPherson Ave. Our extended family lived in this neighborhood and all the children went to Hamilton School, then Soldan High School and most attended Washington University. The memories of shopping on DeBaliviere, and going to the movies at the Apollo Theater bring a smile to my face. We walked to Forest Park, went to Jefferson Museum and sat in the “free” seats at the outdoor opera theatre.
In the pictures are the teachers and my Aunt Mary Funk, who was was president of the Sisterhood. The only others I can name are my 4 cousins and my sister. My relatives all attended this Synagogue because we all lived in walking distance to the congregation. I remember after my Father was president a Mr. Maurice aka Maurice Gordon was president. Also there was an elderly Mr. Sarasohn who was responsible for keeping everything organized during the services. He was a scholarly man. My grandfater, David Zeffren attended services daily. Grandpa came to live withus when Grandma died and he moved to St. Louis from Rock Island, Illinois.
The congregation was Orthodox. Women and men sat separately, which was required by the Synagogue. Most of the men came from eastern Europe and knew all the prayers in Hebrew as they were taught as children. When the synagogue there was a fish store operated by Mr & Mrs. Bloom on the ground floor of the building.
All refreshments were provided by the members’ wives, no outside help. Everything had to be kosher. I remember the celebration of Purim at the “Shul”. The children in costumes marched around the sanctuary and we all got candied apples.
The DeBaliviere Shul: A Brief History
537 DeBaliviere was erected in 1921. According to local historian Esley Hamilton, “ It was a typical storefront building, with a variety of businesses occupying the ground floor from time to time (Park Café, Dan Kittel printer, Samuel Sherman meats). Beginning about 1931, the Zion Hebrew School occupied the upstairs. By 1938 Sherei Thilim Congregation shared the upstairs space.” They purchased the building in 1944.
Sherei Thilim was an Orthodox Jewish Congregation which had moved from its original location at 13th and Carr, downtown. Walter Ehrlich’s book, Zion in the Valley, documents the history of the Jewish people in St. Louis, including an article from 1925 about the “Orthodox Community of St. Louis” stating that an original charter for “Chevrah Kadisha” had been in existence since 1862, and their charter was taken over by the Sherei Thillium in 1893. 45 years later, the congregation had arrived on DeBaliviere, where they stayed through the 40’s and 50’s.
Although there appear to be no written records of a merger, it is believed that the congregation merged with Mishkan Israel and moved to University City, in the early 60’s. The St. Louis Rabbinical College was listed as having been established at Sherei Thelim, and in 1965, Sherei Thelim was still listed as one of ten orthodox synagogues in St. Louis.
The building was sold in 1966 to Pattison Baptist Church, founded in 1897, moving from north of Shaw Ave when Highway 44 was built. This follows a pattern for many of the Jewish synagogues in St. Louis, moving westward first from the old downtown Ghetto, some merging and moving westward again and selling their buildings to black churches. As Ehrlich points out,.”.. what had been Jewish synagogues almost universally became AA churches. That happened in the Ghetto, and that pattern held true farther west in the central corridor.” It is not yet known if Pattison Baptist Church is still active. The windows with the Star of David have prompted this very brief glimpse into a part of our neighborhood’s history and the Orthodox Jewish congregation that thrived on DeBaliviere for some 30 years.
Thanks to STL Historian Esley Hamilton, Dennis Northcutt of the MOHIS library, and Diane Everman Archivist of St. Louis Jewish Community Archives/Holocaust Museum Archives.
For more history, see Walter Ehrlich’s book, Zion in the Valley. Visit our website, http://www.sdtimes.org and look for the special collections to see more memories from past interviews, as well as the Hamilton School photos and article from 2015. An expanded interview with Marilyn Funk Kaufman will soon be added to our Times website: http://sdtimes.online.
