Muslim Community Center

On February of 1969, a congregation of Muslims made the decision to establish Muslim Community Center, seeking to serve the increasingly diverse Muslim community in the Chicagoland area. In 1981, the congregation relocated from it’s initial location at 3520 N. Kedzie Ave. into a center located at 4380 N. Elston Ave, the site of the formerly renowned Rivoli Continental Theatre, which had been designed and built by architect Arthur Howell Knox in 1923. The building itself, having spent decades as an entertainment space–first a theater, than a ballroom, and finally a music house–was transformed into a vibrant community hub, providing religious, educational, and social services to meet the needs of the local Muslim population. Despite the drastic change in purpose, many elements remain reminiscent of its past as a theater, preserving its historical continuity whilst simultaneously paying tribute to the cultural and spiritual growth of the community. Accommodating its growing community, the building has been renovated on several occasions over the years, with the addition of two other Mosques within the MCC Network.