Beth Midrash Ha Godol Synagogue was organized some time in the late 1880s with Rabbi Isaac Lichtenberg serving as the congregation's rabbi. It is believed that the congregation worshiped at 165 State Street beginning some time later than that, perhaps around 1892.

Little is known about this congregation, and it was likely quite small. The building at this address is a storefront, one story connected to a two-story duplex next door.

As with many other smaller congregations, it is possible that this one worshiped in the rear of the store, or in one of the connected residences.

An article in the St. Paul Globe newspaper for March 18, 1898 included the information that Samuel Stollerhoff, "principal founder of the Russian Brotherhood," resided at this address.

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The Sons of Israel Synagogue was located at 110 Robertson Street, this street no longer exists and ran between and parallel to State and Eva Streets.

The building is shown on the Hopkins 1916 map, but no other information has been located about the congregation.

Surveyed during the process of reviewing properties for the Riverview Industrial Project the assessor completed a highly detailed document that included photographs not just of the exterior but the interior as well. He described the furnishings, lighting, and condition of the building to the extent of counting the number and types of light bulbs.

None of the other surveys were as complete as this one; it is as good as any well-researched architectural description:

"The synagogue is a large rectangular frame two story structure, with a wood tap siding and composition roof. The exterior is in very poor condition, and is badly in need of paint. There are many windows which have been broken and are boarded up.

"The roof of the church extends out past the main building and is supported by four wooden pillars which rest on a concrete block portico below. This portion of the building is set back approximately five feet from the sidewalk."

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The Congregation of the Sons of Zion, or B'nai Zion, was organized in 1883 by newer Russian Jewish immigrants who were said to not want to affiliate with the already established Orthodox Sons of Jacob , a synagogue generally known as a “Polish” congregation. The congregation dedicated its new synagogue at 150 State Street in 1895.

Interestingly, an article in the St. Paul Globe newspaper lists their establishment of a congregation at 104 State Street. The 1904 Sanborn map shows this as a "tenement", and a 1960 photo shows this address to be a 3-plex residential building. It is possible that the congregation first met in a member's home.

Clearly the Russian Brotherhood and the Sons of Zion congregations had, at least in the early years, the most lively and active congregations on the West Side. A search of the St. Paul Globe in the late 1880s and into the early 1900s reveals dozens of articles about the activities of both congregations. No articles about any other synagogues were found for that time period.

They weren’t always competitive, as a number of articles in 1896 followed their combined efforts to remove a Kosher “meat inspector” with whom they had conflicts. In the newspaper this was called “the butcher wars.”

The two congregations together may have had the largest membership of all the other synagogues in the neighborhood.

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The Agudas Achim Synagogue was founded by members of the Congregation of the Russian Brotherhood, though the locations and date of closure are not certain. It seems, however, that this building was in use by 1909.

There were two addresses sometimes used for each - the 202 Fairfield and an earlier address of 282-4 Texas St. In any case, the 1904 uses the 202 Fairfield address.

There is little information about the connections between the two synagogues, so the contradictions remain mysterious.

The building at 202 E. Fairfield was one of the few synagogues left standing into the 1950s. Built of brick, it had large central metal dome, with ornamentation at each end of the front gables, with two large columns flanking a central entrance door at the top of the stairs.

A survey prepared in advance of the 1960 Riverview Industrial Project notes that the building was then in excellent condition.

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