The Hill District’s Irene Kaufmann Settlement

A crowd of Hill District youngsters waits impatiently as Sidney Teller, director of the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, cuts the ribbon on a playground filled with slides and swings. The May 1937 image is from The Pittsburgh Press

This is how the Irene Kaufmann Settlement in the Hill District looked on July 12, 1929.

In this 1938 picture, Dolores Antonacci tends flowers outside the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, just blocks from the city’s skyscrapers.

This 1952 photo shows Mrs. Anna Laufe Perlow, in her 30th year as director of the Irene Kaufmann Settlement Music School. At the piano are her pupils, 10-year-old Sue Lindenberg of 1835 Centre Ave. and Julius Hart, 12, of 9 Kearney Way.

Sidney Teller, director of the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, presents an American flag to Rose Mary Rondonella, one of the 62 children who won prizes in a competition to beautify back yards by planting flower and vegetable gardens in their neighborhood.

From left to right, David Fineman, Saul Pomerantz and Donald Exler demonstrate their whistling abilities during a dance carnival at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement in the Hill District. The picture was taken in August of 1940.

Hill District youngsters enjoy the playground at the Irene Kaufmann Settlement.

The Hill House Association, Kaufmann Building and the Irene Kaufmann Auditorium has undergone renovation. It is now the Elsie H. Hillman Theater in the Hill District on Centre Avenue. (Bill Wade/Post-Gazette)

The Hill House Association, Kaufmann Building and the Irene Kaufmann Auditorium has undergone renovation. It is now the Elsie H. Hillman Theater in the Hill District on Centre Avenue. (Bill Wade/Post-Gazette)

For immigrants in the Hill District, the place to be was the Irene Kaufmann Settlement.

From the late 1800s through the first half of the 20th century, the IKS, affectionately called the “ikes,” began as a school where Jewish children could learn to speak English. And when lessons were finished, there was a playground with slides and swings for blowing off steam.

The school grew rapidly and its teachers soon taught immigrant parents about pre-natal nursing and helped them become U.S. citizens.  The “ikes” also offered a library, an array of athletic teams, arts programs and clubs for nearly every age group and interest.

By 1929, the settlement house had 60 staff members, 20 of whom lived in the settlement building.  Another 100 people served as volunteers. The first resident director was Sidney A. Teller.

Staff members of the IKS found ways to eliminate the spread of influenza and typhus and also led the way in clearing slums and promoting low-cost housing. Other initiatives included a free milk program for children, free kindergarten and scholarships.

Many students of Anna Perlow, who taught music, and Samuel Rosenberg, who taught art, became successful musicians or artists.

In 1957, the IKS was renamed the Anna B. Heldman Community Center, which was demolished in 1964. The Irene Kaufmann auditorium remained and was restored and reopened in 2011 as the Elsie H. Hillman Theater.