"Yom Kippur at the Western Penitentiary"
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
Agudus Achim Congregation was created for Jewish men incarcerated at Western State Penitentiary in the Woods Run section of Pittsburgh. The formal origins of the congregation are unknown. The Penal Committee of B’nai B’rith Pittsburgh Lodge No. 44 dedicated a new chapel for the congregation in December 1924 and donated a Torah scroll and other synagogue furnishing to the congregation.[1]“Dedication of New Chapel at Western Pennsylvania Penitentiary Takes Place Tomorrow,” Jewish Criterion, Dec. 5, 1924 (online). The chapel was located on the second floor of the rotunda of the building, in a room previously used for board meetings.[2]“Prisoner Speaks At Dedication of Chapel in Prison,” Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, Dec. 8, 1924 (online—Newspapers.com).
