Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol (Denver, Colo.)

Four unidentified man during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH). Two of the men hold shovels and the other two hold a drawing of the proposed Banquet Hall.

Three unidentified man during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH). One of the men holds a shovel and the other two hold a drawing of the proposed Banquet Hall.

Four unidentified man during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH). Two of the men hold shovels and the other two hold a drawing of the proposed Banquet Hall.

Six unidentified men dig shovels into the dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH).

An unidentified man stands at a podium speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH). Propped on easels in front of the podium are interior and exterior drawings of the proposed building.

An unidentified man stands at a podium speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH) with two other men sitting behind him. Propped on an easel in front of the podium is an interior drawings of the proposed building.

An unidentified man stands at a podium speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for Beth haMedrosh Hagodol Congregation (BMH). Propped on easels in front of the podium are interior and exterior drawings of the proposed building.

Henry Plonsky sits, wearing a suit and holding a document in his hand. Polish-born Plonsky arrived in Denver in 1877. He helped form an Orthodox minyan above his store on Larimer Street. He became a successful shoe and boot merchant in partnership with Leopold Mayer and was instrumental in the establishment of the Orthodox Jewish congregation Ahavey Emunah in 1880 and later the Beth HaMedrosh Hagodol Synagogue and the Beth Joseph congregation.

Portrait of Rabbi Charles Kauvar sitting in front of a bookshelf and holding a book.

Several men and women sit in the BMH Chapel listening to a speaker during the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society's Historic Jewish Denver Tour. Dr. Jeanne Abrams' sons sit in the front row.