B’nai Israel was founded as an Orthodox congregation but switched its affiliation to Conservative under the leadership of Rabbi Benjamin Lichter in 1922. It’s membership peaked in the 1950s, but slowly started to decline in the 1970’s as memebers started moving away from the area.
The preschool was the first piece to move. It moved to one of the Fox Chapel Area School District’s buildings for some time.
In 1979, the the synagogue received a plaque from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation designating it as a historic landmark.[1]
Today, the building sits vacant and is listed
for sale .
[1] https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/on-the-block-again-former-synagogue-building-might-disappear/
