Visit

Loeb Visitors Center Newport Rhode Island

Hours of Operation

The hours of operation of the Loeb Visitors Center and the Touro Synagogue tours vary seasonally.

For a schedule of Tours and registration information offered by the Congregation in the Synagogue please visit their website at: https://www.thetourosynagogue.org/
For Visitor Center hours, History Presentations offered in the Visitor Center, and information about our daily Colonial Jewish Walking Tours please visit the Touro Synagogue Foundation website at: https://tsfnewport.org/plan-a-visit/hours-admissions/#walking-tours.

The tour schedule may vary due to Jewish holidays, ceremonial occasions and special events. Additional tours may be scheduled for holiday weeks and cruise ship dockings.

You may wish to allow extra time to enjoy a leisurely stroll through adjacent Patriots Park, a beautifully landscaped garden honoring Jewish patriots of the Revolutionary War.

When Touro Synagogue is operating as a House of Worship, the Loeb Visitors Center is closed and there are no synagogue tours.

Weather

In the event of a major weather event, tours may be cancelled. For additional information, please call us at: or .

Directions

Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors Center

52 Spring Street

Newport, RI 02840

Parking

Touro Synagogue and the Loeb Visitors Center do not provide parking. Visitors are encouraged to park at the Newport Gateway Center, located at 23 America’s Cup Avenue (at W. Marlborough Street) as parking on Newport streets is very limited and parking regulations are strictly enforced.

Visitors can also take advantage of the Newport Trolley which provides (for a modest fee) transportation throughout Newport. The City of Newport also has several public pay lots.

Click for Additional Information about Directions and Parking.

Admission

Admission pricing is as follows:

Admission to the Loeb Visitors Center: No charge.
Participation in the History Presentation at the Loeb Visitors Center: $5 donation suggested.
Colonial Jewish Walking Tours (starting at the Loeb Visitors Center): $18
Touro Synagogue Tours: For information and tickets see: https://www.thetourosynagogue.org/

The tour schedule may vary due to Jewish holidays, ceremonial occasions, and special events. Additional tours may be scheduled for holiday weeks and cruise ship dockings. When the synagogue is operating as a House of Prayer the Loeb Visitors Center is closed and there are no synagogue tours.

Loeb Visitors Center Handicapped Accessible

Accessibility

The Loeb Visitors Center is fully handicap accessible. However, the Touro Synagogue is not fully accessible. Please call for more information:

John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors Center

The Loeb Visitors Center in Newport, Rhode Island is the gateway to visitation of the Touro Synagogue, Patriots Park, 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 contributions to the nation’s beginning.

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:

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
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
To examine the history of Jews in Colonial and Revolutionary War America;
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’s arched windows and from the outdoor balcony, visitors have a panoramic view of Patriots Park, the synagogue and other Newport landmarks, among which are those described below.

Touro Synagogue

Designed by renowned colonial architect Peter Harrison and dedicated in 1763, Touro Synagogue is considered one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings of 18th century America. Designated a National Historic Site in 1946, it serves as home to Congregation Ahavath Israel and each year greets thousands of visitors who come to hear its remarkable story.

Patriots Park

Located between the Visitors Center and Touro Synagogue, Patriots Park 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, whose actions and influence played a significant role in early American history and the Revolutionary War, are honored. During the park’s construction, each of the patriot states was invited to nominate the honoree who now represents them.

Barney House

Adjacent to the main exhibition hall is the Barney House (The Loeb Visitors Center Annex). 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 was restored to its 1757 configuration and became part of the Loeb Visitors Center.

Colonial Jewish Burial Ground

Four 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” and Emma Lazarus’s response to Longfellow, “In the Jewish Synagogue in Newport.” Among those buried here are Abraham and Judah Touro.

Loeb Visitors CenterTouro Synagogue National Historic Site, Newport, RI