Irene Kaufmann Settlement (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

The Irene Kaufmann Settlement traces its origins to the National Council of Jewish Women which opened a school on Miller Street, Pittsburgh, in 1895. Named the Columbian Council School, it was staffed mostly by German-Jews who were members of the Rodef Shalom Congregation. In 1900, a charter of incorporation was adopted by the school and it moved to the large Slagel homestead at 1835 Centre Avenue. A public bath house was added in 1903. In 1909, department store owner Henry Kaufmann gave $150,000 (later increased) in memory of his daughter Irene. The agency adopted a new charter and was renamed the Irene Kaufmann Settlement. The agency was now able to expand services greatly including social, cultural, dramatic, and craft activities. A summer camp for children, the Emma Kaufmann Farm Camp, was established and offered free two-week outings; it moved to Harmony Pa in 1922. A playground, children's "milk well", better baby clinic, and visiting nurse program were also established. In 1943, the settlement established a Boys' Club in Squirrel Hill on Forward Avenue. In 1958, the Irene Kaufmann Settlement opened a facility near Forbes and Murray Avenues and another on North Negley Avenue near Stanton Avenue. Since both tended to duplicate the efforts of the Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association, they merged under the name Y-IKC in 1961. Three years later the original settlement on Centre Avenue was closed. Later the name was changed to the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh.