Touro Synagogue

About

Construction began in 1759. The synagogue was dedicated on 2 December 1763, survived the Revolutionary era and remains standing at its original Newport site. The surviving 1763 purpose-built synagogue at Newport, Rhode Island, designated a U.S. National Historic Site and still used for Jewish worship. In Jewish World Records, Touro Synagogue is connected to the record “Oldest Surviving Synagogue Building in the United States,” based on the stored achievement of Dedicated 2 December 1763. Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, was designed as a permanent Jewish house of worship, with construction beginning in 1759 and dedication on 2 December 1763. The building survived interruptions in worship during the Revolutionary era and later changes in congregational occupancy. Because this record measures the age and survival of the purpose-built structure—not uninterrupted use—those episodes do not alter its standing as the oldest surviving synagogue building in the United States.

Public links

• nps.gov