SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Not long ago, the oldest synagogue in this college town underwent a $1 million restoration. The building, to the relief of many, was salvaged from disrepair and possible demolition. But in the process, its character was markedly changed.

Today, atop rows of red brick, the interlocking triangles of the Star of David sit alongside the interlacing ovals of the Toyota logo. At the delicately refurbished bimah, where the Torah was read aloud to congregants for close to a century, clerks in uniform operate a busy cash register. The synagogue’s stained-glass windows and old chandelier, repaired to glistening condition, splash light upon racks of T-shirts and tables full of knickknacks like shot glasses and foam bear claws.

Inside one doorway, the words of Exodus 25:8 curl in illuminated script across a cream-hued wall. “Make for me a sanctuary,” the verse reads, “and I will dwell in their midst.” Outside, a sign above the entrance denotes what this 114-year-old sanctuary has been renamed: the Cubs Den.

In the summer of 2012, the Sons of Israel synagogue, which had not housed a congregation since 1991, was repurposed as a souvenir store for the minor league baseball team next door. Before this season, the club ended a 17-year affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks and became the Class A team of the Chicago Cubs — hence the shop’s name and the bear claws inside.