Montefiore Cemetery Chapel

Have you ever wondered about the stories buried beneath our feet? Right here, in front of us, stands the Montefiore Cemetery Chapel. It’s a quiet place, a place of contemplation and remembrance. It has been a place for the city’s Jewish community to reflect for over a century. The chapel, built in 1890, is a striking example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture. It is made of red brick with brown stone accents, and has a distinctive arched doorway and a gabled roof. It was designed by Septimus J. Bowler, a prominent architect in Minneapolis, the same architect who also designed the First Church of Christ Scientist and the Mikro Kodesh Synagogue. The cemetery was founded in 1876. It was the first Jewish cemetery in Minneapolis. It was founded by a group of Jewish leaders, who wanted to provide a burial place for the city’s growing Jewish community. The cemetery was originally called Montefiore Cemetery, but it was later renamed Temple Israel Memorial Park in 1952 when the Montefiore Burial Association merged with Shaarai Tov to form Temple Israel Cemetery. If these walls could talk, they would tell stories of grief and loss, of love and family. They would tell the stories of the people who built this city and the people who called it home.