Take a Tour

The Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors Center at the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island is the gateway to the Touro campus, which includes the Center, Patriot’s Park, the Touro Synagogue National Historic Site, and the historic Colonial Jewish Burying Ground. The Visitors Center exhibitions are a celebration of America’s first amendment rights and help us learn how religious freedom and the clear separation of church and state came to be part of American law and culture. Visitors may also find inspiration in the personal histories of colonial American Jews and their influence at the nation’s beginning.

Main Exhibit Hall

The first floor of the main Visitors Center building houses the information desk, introductory exhibits and visitor facilities. On the second floor, guests may view permanent and changing exhibitions relating to the four-fold mission of the center:

1. To explain how Newport and the Rhode Island colony became the center of and originating focal points for the concepts of religious liberty, tolerance, and the separation of church and state in colonial America;

2. To educate the public on the role of the Founding Fathers (i.e.: Washington and Jefferson) as key figures in the dissemination of these concepts by telling the story of Washington’s Letter to the Jews of Newport;

3. To examine the history of Jews in Colonial and Revolutionary War America;

4. To explore the history of the Touro Synagogue, the oldest extant synagogue building in the United States, its congregation and its architect Peter Harrison.

Through the second floor arched windows and from the outdoor balcony, visitors will have a panoramic view of the newly renovated Patriot’s Park, the synagogue and other Newport landmarks.

Barney House

Adjacent to the main exhibition hall is the Barney House. The history of this property can be traced back to 1702, when Jonathan Barney purchased the land and built a small two-story home. By the 1750s the house had been expanded to fourteen rooms with a gambrel-styled roof. The house is being restored to its 1757 configuration and will become part of the Loeb Visitors Center.

Patriot’s Park

Patriot’s Park, located between the Visitors Center and Touro Synagogue commemorates the significant roles played by Jews in the development of the United States of America. It was created in the 1970s on the land directly beside the synagogue, but outside of the Touro wall. Jewish individuals, one from each of the original thirteen colonies, whose actions and influence played a significant role in American history, are honored. During the park’s construction, each of the patriot states was invited to nominate the honoree who now represents them.

The park was dedicated in 1980.  At its center was a flag pole surrounded by a plaque naming the thirteen patriots. The pole was the mast from one of the America’s Cup contenders, donated by Dr. Chartier of Newport. Other major benefactors included Dr. Martin Greenfield, Dr. Addleson, and Senator Clairborne Pell.

As part of the construction of the new Loeb Visitors Center, Patriots Park is being renovated.  A new formal gateway to the Touro Synagogue enclosure is to be added through the existing wall, inviting access to the synagogue grounds from the directly from the park and the Visitors Center.

Touro Synagogue

Touro Synagogue, built beginning in 1759 and dedicated in 1763 during Chanukah festivities, is the oldest synagogue building in the United States and continues to serve Congregation Jeshuat Israel, first organized in 1658. In 1946 the Synagogue was designated a National Historic Site by the National Park Service and was renovated in 2005 by the National Historic Trust and the Park Service. Colonial Jewish Burying Ground Two blocks from the Visitors center on Touro Street is the old burial ground for the congregation of the Touro Synagogue, immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Jewish Cemetery at Newport.”