Spertus Institute
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Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies is one of the leading Jewish organizations in Chicago, Illinois. Not affiliated with any single branch of Judaism, Spertus includes the Spertus Museum, a sizeable library (Asher Library), and the degree-granting Spertus College (North Central Association of Colleges and Schools). Originally founded in 1924 as The College of Jewish Studies, Spertus has long focused on training Jewish educators. The Spertus Museum was founded in 1968. The Targ Center for Jewish Music and the Chicago Jewish Archives
Together with the Catholic diocese of Chicago, since 1987 Spertus sponsors The Joseph Cardinal Bernardin Center for the Study of Eastern European Jewry.
Spertus is relocating to a new building, designed by Krueck & Sexton Architects, at a cost of more than $50 million.
[edit] Spertus' New Facility
Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies reopened on November 30, 2007, on South Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park in a new building designed by Chicago-based architects Krueck & Sexton. The environmentally sustainable facility features interlocking interior spaces and a ten-story faceted window wall.
Specifically, the new Spertus will be in compliance with the Silver Level of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System, a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for high-performance, sustainable buildings. Environmental elements include energy efficiency provided by the materials being used on the glass façade, a green roof, an open-air terrace, plus environmentally friendly building materials, HVAC and lighting systems, and water efficiency.
The conscientious and careful planning embodies the Jewish tenets of bal tashchit (not destroy or waste) and tikkun olam (repair of the world).
The building's two top floors house Spertus Museum's core-collection display, while the galleries present site-specific installations of work by international artists and a series of changing exhibitions. A 400-person theater and an interactive Children’s Center, designed by Jim Lasko from Redmoon Theater and Odile Compagnon, are also part of the new building.
Spertus made headlines by partnering with Wolfgang Puck to provide the only kosher café in the downtown Chicago area.
