Welcome from Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr.

I am John L. Loeb Jr. and I’d like to welcome you to the Loeb Visitors Center at the Touro Synagogue. The Touro Synagogue is an American treasure, the oldest active synagogue in the United States. I am a descendent of the Touro family, so it holds great personal significance for me.

This Synagogue and its early congregation are considered icons of American religious freedom because of the important letter that George Washington sent to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport in 1790. That letter directly affirmed the principle of religious liberty based on the separation of church and state that is guaranteed to every one of us through the Bill of Rights. The building stands as a physical manifestation and reminder of the event and of the concepts embodied in the letter.

Both this website and the exhibits planned for the Visitors Center tell the story of this historical landmark, its architectural beauty and its symbolic role in the development of American Democracy.

While our new Visitors Center space is being constructed, I invite you to spend some time exploring these web pages and then come visit us in Newport, Rhode Island.

Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr.