Kosher Canyon
From the 1920s to 1960s, Seattle’s Jewish community clustered around a neighborhood nicknamed Kosher Canyon. Family life revolved around synagogues, schools, social organizations – and also the abundance of kosher butcher shops, specialty bakeries and grocery stores that neighborhood families operated to serve the unique needs of the Jewish community.
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many merchants generously extended credit to community members, and some stores failed to survive as a result. Stores closed early on Friday and all day Saturday in observance of the Jewish Sabbath, as well as on major Jewish holidays. All other times, the stores filled with chatter and cheer – doubling as gathering places for an entire community.
A Tour of Kosher Canyon
Isaac Maimon was born in Tekirdag, Turkey, in 1911 and immigrated to Seattle when he was 13. He is a member of Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation and became its president in 1956. In this audio recording, Maimon gives a Sephardic landmark bus tour of the Seattle area to a group of interested listeners. Maimon points out popular Seattle landmarks and describes their relevance to the Sephardic community. He also reminisces about the history of the community and shares personal anecdotes. Meta Bloom Buttnick provides additional commentary along the tour. Listen to the interview here.
The Moslers
George Mosler, who bakes in his spare time, learned by observing his father. His paternal family, Mosler, came from Austria, and his maternal family, Rickles, immigrated from Romania. His parents married in 1900. Sam Mosler apprenticed as a baker in Austria. He started his bakery career upon arrival in New York. Some years later, he established the New York Baking Co. upon his arrival in Seattle. Two brothers bought and operated the Washington Bakery. Sam Mosler was the past president of the Herzl synagogue. In 1924-25, he sold the bakery business and opened the first health food store in Seattle. He also built apartment houses. Grandmother Rose Rickles was instrumental in forming Chevra Kadisha
In this oral history interview, Mr. Mosler, an attorney in Seattle, discusses his mother's family, the Rickles family, and his father's bakery business and other business ventures. Dates covered are 1885-1925. You can listen to his oral history interview here.
The Prefontaine Building
The Kaminoffs
In his oral history interview, Max Kaminoff discusses his youth on Yesler Way in Seattle's Central District. He explains that 17th Avenue and Yesler Way were the hub of the Jewish community from the 1910's through the mid-1940's. Naming the establishments along Yesler between 17th and 26th Avenue, Kaminoff mentions various stores, bakeries, meat markets, homes of prominent citizens, the Yesler library, his father's grocery store on 26th, and the card room between 19th and 20th. He particularly notes the Bikur Cholim synagogue and the Talmud Torah, which were located between 17th and 18th avenues. Kaminoff reminisces about the neighborhood's social life. He also notes that the neighborhood started to spread out after World War II.
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