1895
The Columbian School and Settlement is begun by the Kaufmann Family and the Council of Jewish Women of Pittsburgh on Miller Street in the Hill District.
1908
Emma Farm Association, named in memory of Isaac Kaufmann’s wife, Emma, opens in Harmarville, PA.
1909
The Columbian School and Settlement accepts gift from Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kaufmann of a new building as a memorial to their daughter, Irene. The agency is renamed the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, affectionately known as the IKS.
1910
Young Men’s Hebrew Association is organized in in the game room of the Tree of Life Synagogue in downtown Pittsburgh; young women quickly form a parallel social organization, the YWHA. The two groups merge to form the YM & WHA, known as the Y.
1922
Emma Farm Association moves to Harmony, PA, where camp is held for the next 50 years.
1925
YM &WHA opens on Bellefield Avenue is opened.
1943
Irene Kaufmann Settlement establishes a Squirrel Hill Boy’s Club on Forward Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
1949
IKS purchases club house at 5738 Forbes Avenue, Squirrel Hill, site of the current Irene Kaufmann building.
1957
Irene Kaufmann Settlement moves out of the Hill District. In 1969, the site on Centre Avenue is deeded to Hill House Association.
1958
Construction begins on the Irene Kaufmann Building at 5738 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill. The building opens in 1959.
1960
The boards of Young Men and Women’s Hebrew Association, Irene Kaufmann Settlement and Centers, and Emma Farm Association recommend the merger of the three institutions. The new institution is renamed the Young Men and Women’s Hebrew Association-Irene Kaufmann Centers, commonly referred to as the Y-IKC. Laurel Y Camp is closed.
1968
Dedication of East End Y-IKC at Stanton and South Negley Avenues. The facility is sold in 1973.
1969
Henry Kaufmann Family Recreation Park in Monroeville is dedicated.
1972
Emma Kaufmann Camp moves to its current location on Cheat Lake near Morgantown, WV, on the site of former Camp Lynnwood.
1974
Y-IKC adopts the name of Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh.
1977
The Irene Kaufmann Building in Squirrel Hill undergoes a 10,000 square-foot expansion. The expanded facility is dedicated in 1980.
1985
YM&WHA facility on Bellefield Avenue is sold to the University of Pittsburgh.
1986
Irene Kaufmann Building in Squirrel Hill is razed to make way for construction of a new, 100,000 square-foot facility, nearly double the size of the previous building.
1987
November 1987 through April 1988; phased opening of the new Irene Kaufmann Building of the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh.
1992
South Hills Branch concept adopted by the JCC Board; arrangements made for temporary operation at the Ward School in Mt. Lebanon
1996
Emma Kaufmann Camp improves physical facilities with $1million of improvements over the last decade The Kane Hospital site is purchased for South Hills Branch development
1997
Ground is broken in June for the new Henry Kaufmann Building in Scott Township, South Hills. The new Alex and Leona Robinson Building on Darlington Road in Squirrel Hill is dedicated in September as part of the community’s Renaissance campaign.
1999
The new Henry Kaufmann Building in Scott Township, built on a portion of the Kane Hospital site, is dedicated. The South Hills programs of the JCC previously were held in the former Ward School in Mount Lebanon starting in the early 1990s. The Jewish Community Center of Pittsburgh is renamed the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
2008
The new Leatrice and John M. Wolf Centerfit, a multi-million dollar renovation and expansion of the Squirrel Hill fitness areas, opens, greatly improving fitness and wellness opportunities for all members. An expansion of the JCC-South Hills fitness facilities was completed in 2006.
2012
The Rauh Jewish Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center website, A Tradition of Giving: The History of Jewish Philanthropy in Pittsburgh , traces the development of social services in the Pittsburgh Jewish community. The website uses archival documents, photographs and oral histories from the archival collections of institutions including the JCC, synagogues, organizations and families to tell the story of how the Pittsburgh Jewish community responded to the needs of Jews in Pittsburgh and beyond. The site has many references to the JCC and the institutions that preceded it, including the following:
