As the first progressive congregation in Philadelphia, Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (KI) has played a major role in the development of Reform Judaism in America. KI was founded in 1847 and occupied five rental spaces within the historic Old City before building its first purpose built home in 1864. In 1893 the growing congregation built and moved to a much larger complex, where it remained until moving to its present, suburban location in 1959. Architect Israel Demchick was hired to lead the project. His resulting midentury modern building, and its parking lot, occupy a full city block, and its sprawling campus marked the 1950s – 1960s movement of the growing and affluent Jewish community from the cities to the suburbs. There are two major prayer spaces, three auditoriums, thirty classrooms, offices, kitchens, library, archives, and a museum. The building is distinguished by a large, almost three stories high, marble entrance lobby, a memorial garden, and a columned exterior atrium visible from the adjacent main road that provides an impressive architectural statement.

The building also contains significant works of art. In 1974, KI installed “The Prophetic Quest” in its main sanctuary. The suite of ten monumental stained glass windows were specially designed by the renowned artist, Jacob Landau to be in harmony with the purpose and architecture of the space. Each window is 23 feet high and five feet wide. While the stained glass was part of the original conception for the prayer space, it was not realized until twenty years later. Ten reliefs by the artist George Kreier decorate the Ark, which sits on a raised marble platform (bimah) in the sanctuary elevated above the seated congregation. The reliefs were moved from the previous building and serve as a reminder of the congregation’s long history and its enduring commitment to fine art and architecture.