Congregation Zera Abraham (Denver, Colo.)

Ed Grimes in a formal portrait taken for the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith Lodge #171 in Denver, Colorado. Ed Grimes was a colonist at Cotopaxi, Colorado and walked to Denver from Cotopaxi in 1883, a distance of about 94 miles. He later served as Congregation Zera Abraham's first president and was also active in B'nai B'rith Lodge #171.

Congregation Zera Abraham was originally organized as a Chassidic Orthodox Jewish congregation in 1877, making it the oldest congregation on the west side of Denver, Colorado. The building shown here at Julian Street and West Conejos Place was the congregation's second home. It was purchased in 1938 from the Workmen's Circle, which originally erected the building as the Labor Lyceum, an educational center. The congregation moved to its third location on Winona Court.

Exterior view of Congregation Zera Abraham in Denver, Colorado.

Exterior view of Congregation Zera Abraham in Denver, Colorado. The synagogue has 1560 windows.

Miriam Milstein sits at a table with a tapestry behind her. Mrs. Milstein's husband was Shul Baer Milstein, an early leader in Denver, Colorado's west side Orthodox Jewish community, and Congregations Zera Abraham. Shul Baer Milstein was the patriarch of Cotopaxi Colony, an agricultural community located near Cotopaxi, Colorado that failed in 1884. The couple never lived in the Cotopaxi community.

Shul Baer Milstein, wearing a yarmulke and smoking a long pipe, sits at a table with an open Talmud in front of him. A tapestry hangs on the wall behind his chair. Milstein, who immigrated from Russia, was an early leader in Denver's west side Orthodox Jewish community and in Congregation Zera Abraham. He was also a patriarch of the Cotopaxi Colony, an agricultural community located in Cotopaxi, Colorado that failed in 1884. He was a peddler and later opened his own kosher butcher shop.

Shul Baer Milstein, wearing a yarmulke and smoking a long pipe, sits at a table with an open Talmud in front of him. A tapestry hangs on the wall behind his chair. Milstein, who immigrated from Russia, was an early leader in Denver's west side Orthodox Jewish community and in Congregation Zera Abraham. He was also a patriarch of the Cotopaxi Colony, an agricultural community located in Cotopaxi, Colorado that failed in 1884. He was a peddler and later opened his own kosher butcher shop.

Shul Baer Milstein, wearing a yarmulke and smoking a long pipe, sits at a table with an open Talmud in front of him. A tapestry hangs on the wall behind his chair. Milstein, who immigrated from Russia, was an early leader in Denver's west side Orthodox Jewish community and in Congregation Zera Abraham. He was also a patriarch of the Cotopaxi Colony, an agricultural community located in Cotopaxi, Colorado that failed in 1884. He was a peddler and later opened his own kosher butcher shop.

Shul Baer Milstein, wearing a yarmulke and smoking a long pipe, sits at a table with an open Talmud in front of him. A tapestry hangs on the wall behind his chair. Milstein, who immigrated from Russia, was an early leader in Denver's west side Orthodox Jewish community and in Congregation Zera Abraham. He was also a patriarch of the Cotopaxi Colony, an agricultural community located in Cotopaxi, Colorado that failed in 1884. He was a peddler and later opened his own kosher butcher shop.