Isaac Adler Papers

Isaac Adler was an attorney, a civic leader, and mayor of Rochester, New York from 1930 to 1932. The son of noted Rochester cloth merchant and ready to wear clothing manufacturer Levi Adler, Isaac was born in Medina in 1868. He moved to Rochester as a young man, attended the Free Academy, then went to the University of Rochester from 1885 to 1887, Harvard University (1887-1890) and a brief stint at the University of Berlin. Returning to Harvard, he graduated from the Law School in 1892. Isaac Adler then returned to Rochester and joined the firm of Theodore Bacon. Once admitted to the bar, he formed a partnernship with his cousin, former judge Simon Adler. At his passing, he was a partner in the firm of Adler and Colson.

Isaac Adler first entered politics in 1906, winning a seat on the Board of Education, where he served until 1913. A noted advocate of the City Manager system of governance, he was one of the first candidates selected by the City Manager League and helped lead it to succcess in its 1927 campaign against Rochester's Republican establishment. Re-elected in 1929, he helped ensure the installation of a City Manager system in Rochester, and served as Mayor himself from 1930 to 1932. He left politics in 1933.

Adler was also involved in civic organizations. He was president of the City Club from 1913 to 1914, and again in 1918. He also served as president of the Harvard Club, and lead the Tuberculosis and Health Association for several years. Isaac Adler's wife was Boston-born Cora Barnet Adler, with whom he had three daughters: Theresa, Helen and Jane. He passed away on June 24, 1918, shortly after returning home from a meeting of the Citizens' City Planning and Housing Council.