Loeb Visitors Center

Name: Loeb Visitors Center
Address: 52 Spring Street, Newport, RI, 02840, US
Telephone: +14018470070
Rating: 5

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Loeb Visitors Center

The Loeb Visitors Center is home to an array of interactive exhibits and also the starting point of

The Loeb Visitors Center is home to an array of interactive exhibits that tell the story of how the principle of religious freedom was established in America. It is the starting point for tours of the historic Touro Synagogue and other area tours.

01/29/2025

Join us for our WINTER FESTIVAL OPEN HOUSE, Sun. Feb. 16, 10 am-2 pm
Start your visit here at the Loeb Visitors Center (52 Spring St.) and explore multimedia exhibits about Newport’s colonial Jewish community and the origins of religious freedom in the U.S. Then step inside Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI, one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings of 18th century America, where our knowledgeable guides will provide historical information and answer questions. End your visit with cookies & cider on the patio. $5 or FREE with a Newport Winter Festival Bracelet. Questions: [email protected]

08/13/2024

HONORING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Join us Sunday, August 18 at 1 pm EST via Facebook Live for the 77th Annual George Washington Letter Reading at Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI. Click to enlarge and read the event program graphic.
To learn more about the annual George Washington Letter Reading, please visit this webpage:
https://tourosynagogue.org/touro-synagogue-foundation/george-washington-letter-reading/
INQUIRES: [email protected]

01/08/2024

The public tour program at Touro Synagogue is on winter hiatus Jan-Feb, reopening for the 2024 Season in the spring. The synagogue and Loeb Visitors Center will be open Sun. Feb. 18 from 10 am-2 pm for a special Newport Winter Festival Open House.

While the site is closed, please enjoy our wonderful new History, Architecture & Religious Liberty Virtual Tour: https://hullfilm360.com/projects/touro/360tour/

(Photo of Touro Synagogue by Rabbi Stephen Belsky, taken just before sunset on Jan. 7, 2024, during Newport's first snowstorm of the season)
https://tourosynagogue.org/

11/22/2023

GIVING TUESDAY 2023 IS NOV. 28
Sharing this message on behalf of our Touro Synagogue Foundation colleagues:
We must continue to celebrate and embrace the free exercise of religion and “give to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” Every person has the right to practice their chosen religion freely and without fear. With your help, the Touro Synagogue Foundation will continue to teach and promote religious diversity and equality. To make a GivingTuesday gift in any amount, click this link to our secure Network for Good donation portal: https://www.nfggive.com/donation/05-0255359

09/15/2023

🍎Wishing everyone peace, happiness & good health in the new year!🐝

08/20/2023

REMINDER:
HONORING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, PUBLIC SERVICE
Join us today at 1pm EST via Facebook live for the 76th Annual George Washington Letter Reading at Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI. Go to the Touro Synagogue page to access the live-stream and click to enlarge and read the event program graphic.
📜To learn more about the annual George Washington Letter Reading, please visit our webpage: https://www.loebvisitors.org/george-washingtons-letter/

INQUIRES: [email protected]

08/17/2023

HONORING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, PUBLIC SERVICE
You are cordially invited to join us virtually for the 76th Annual George Washington Letter Reading at Touro Synagogue, Sun., Aug. 20 at 1pm (EST). The 1-hour program will be live-streamed on the Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI page.
PROGRAM INCLUDES:
- Seixas Letter Reader:
Angela Johnson, Social Studies Teacher/2021-22 Newport Public Schools Teacher of the Year
- Washington Letter Reader:
Nellie Gorbea, former Secretary of State, R.I., Senior Fellow, Cybersecurity & Democracy, Salve Regina University
-Keynote Speaker:
David Cicilline, former U.S. Congressman, President & CEO, Rhode Island Foundation
⬇️See the comment below for full program details.
If you cannot join us live, the program video will be available on the Touro Synagogue website at a later date.
📜To learn more about the annual George Washington Letter Reading, please visit our webpage:
https://www.loebvisitors.org/george-washingtons-letter/
INQUIRES: [email protected]

07/03/2023

Visit us on 🇱🇷 Independence Day 🇱🇷 and enjoy Patriots Park if you have not done so in the past. The park honors 13 Early American Jewish patriots. Learn about these individuals — one from each of the original Colonies—by visiting this page on the Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI:
https://tourosynagogue.org/history/jews-in-early-america/ -honored-patriots-park

Note: entrance to the synagogue is by tour only. Tickets are sold at the Loeb Visitors Center, where you may explore 2 floors of interactive exhibits.

Photo by the late David M. Kleiman, courtesy of the George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom.

07/02/2023

🇺🇸 Beginning July 1, Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI, a National Historic Site, is open 6 days a week, with 8 daily tours (closed Saturdays). Visitors will learn the remarkable story of America's symbol of religious freedom from our knowledgeable and engaging guides. Explore 2 floors of interactive exhibits in the Loeb Visitors Center before or after your synagogue tour. Find out why Tripadvisor reviewers rate Touro Synagogue as #3 out of 99 "Things to Do in Newport," with 95% giving a rating of either “Excellent” or “Very Good." A not-to-be-missed Newport site!
Schedule & Ticket Info: https://tourosynagogue.org/plan-a-visit/hours-admissions/

Photo by Josh Edenbaum

05/29/2023

🇺🇸 We are open today, Memorial Day, for tours. 🇺🇸

Tours run every 45 minutes, starting at 10 am. Last tour 1:45 pm.

As we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in our armed forces, we are mindful of the freedoms their sacrifice ensured — including freedom of religion.

Visit Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI, a National Historic Site, and learn why it stands as a symbol of religious freedom for ALL Americans. Purchase your tickets at the Loeb Visitors Center, where you can explore two floors of interactive exhibits. Enjoy the tranquil beauty of Patriots Park, which links the two buildings.

For schedule & other details to plan your visit:https://tourosynagogue.org/plan-a-visit/hours-admissions/

Photo by Lew Keen

05/02/2023

Beginning May 1, Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI, a National Historic Site, is open for tours 5 days a week. Visitors will learn the remarkable story of America's symbol of religious freedom from our knowledgeable and engaging guides. Explore 2 floors of interactive exhibits in the Loeb Visitors Center before or after your synagogue tour.

Find out why Tripadvisor reviewers rate Touro Synagogue as #3 out of 99 "Things to Do in Newport," with 95% giving a rating of either “Excellent” or “Very Good." A not-to-be-missed Newport site!

Schedule & Ticket Info: https://tourosynagogue.org/plan-a-visit/hours-admissions/

Photo by Josh Edenbaum

04/04/2023

🌸 Happy Passover, Friends! 🌸

Explore two floors of interactive exhibits at the Loeb Visitors Center and enjoy a history tour of Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI during the Passover Season. We will be open Sun. Apr. 9, Mon. Apr. 10 and Tues. Apr. 11. For details, hours & admission, please visit this webpage:https://tourosynagogue.org/plan-a-visit/

03/23/2023

Touro Synagogue Foundation invites you to the 4th and final event of its Winter 2022-23 Judah Touro Program Series, to be presented via Zoom, Thurs. Mar. 30 at 12noon ET. This collaborative presentation is hosted by the Rhode Island School of Design Museum's “Collections in Conversation” series, and will feature the Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) and the main chandelier in Touro Synagogue, in a comparative perspective of objects from RISD Museum collection. Presenters include Howard Newman, Newport artist and conservator, who restored the featured objects from Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI. These objects helped to remind the Colonial era Newport Jewish community of their connections to other Jews throughout the Atlantic world.
There is no fee to participate, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information. To reserve, please visit the “Program & Events” page at tourosynagogue.org, where you may view recordings of past presentations, or use this link: https://tinyurl.com/bdd9863u
(Photo credit: Newmans, Ltd. Fine Metal Restoration )

02/20/2023

As we remember George Washington on Presidents Day and on his birthday, February 22, we celebrate the powerful and inspiring message he sent in his letter to Newport's Hebrew congregation in 1790. Our first president promised all Americans — not just tolerance — but full liberty of conscience, regardless of religious belief. He promised that the United States would give "to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." To learn more about this letter, one of the most important documents in American history, please visit this webpage: https://tourosynagogue.org/history/george-washington-letter/
While Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI is closed for the season, we invite you to click the below link to take a "virtual tour" and view the synagogue’s magnificent interior, a treasure of colonial architecture: http://jewishhistory.com/TOURO/

02/01/2023

OPEN HOUSE -Sunday, February 19
Please join us from 10am- 2pm.
Start your visit at the Loeb Visitors Center and explore multimedia exhibits about Newport’s colonial Jewish community and the origins of religious freedom in the United States. Read about President Washington's famous letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport. Then, step inside Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI, one of the most architecturally distinguished buildings of 18th century America. Finally, head back to the Visitors Center and enjoy cookies and cider on the patio.

$5 per person or Free with a Newport Winter Festival bracelet.

For more information, email [email protected]

01/19/2023

Touro Synagogue Foundation invites you to the third event of its Winter 2022-23 Judah Touro Program Series, to be presented via Zoom, Thurs. Feb. 9 at 6pm ET. Distinguished Professor of Art History at Cleveland State University, Dr. Samantha Baskind, will present:
"Picturing Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews in 17th & 18th Century Amsterdam."

Featured will be the work of Rembrandt, Bernard Picart, and others, who drew and painted Jewish residents of Amsterdam. The portraits include scenes in the synagogue and from daily life, giving us a remarkable insight into the life and practices of the Jews who came to Newport during the colonial period.

For DETAILS, the link to RESERVE, and recordings of past programs, please visit the "Programs & Events" page on the Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI website: https://tourosynagogue.org/touro.../programs-and-events/

IMAGE: This 1636 etching by Rembrandt is of Manoel Dias Soeiro, known by his Hebrew name, Menasseh ben Israel, a Portuguese rabbi, Kabbalist, distinguished scholar, and founder of the first Hebrew printing press in Amsterdam in 1626. He played a significant role in the readmission of the Jews to England in 1655 and in shaping Jewish Sephardic culture in the Netherlands.
(courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London)

01/11/2023

REMINDER: If you plan to attend this talk at Noon EST tomorrow, please reserve now to receive the Zoom login info. Join historic architecture enthusiasts from the U.S. and abroad for this fascinating presentation, live-streamed from Europe. Learn how the design of the "Esnoga" in Amsterdam influenced Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI.
CLICK to RESERVE: https://tinyurl.com/24td288k

Click to expand the photo and read the The Newport Daily News article.

01/01/2023

Touro Synagogue Foundation invites you to the second event of its Winter 2022-23 Judah Touro Program Series, to be presented via Zoom, Thurs. Jan. 12 at 12 noon ET. Dr. Pieter Vlaardingerbroek will present an illustrated talk on the architecture and interior of the 1675 Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, the "Esnoga," and its influence on the architecture of the 1763 Touro Synagogue - Newport, RI. For DETAILS, the link to RESERVE, and recordings of past programs, please visit the "Programs & Events" page on the Touro Synagogue website:
https://tourosynagogue.org/touro-synagogue-foundation/programs-and-events/?fbclid=IwAR2l-ml1Q7Fhzw_F8eE2A97nF_VJlbY-dZeZcfTFkk0Z2REgghDPDBzWQT4
Photo of the Esnoga interior by Michael Wald, Alamy Stock Photo

Address

52 Spring Street
Newport, RI
02840

Telephone

+14018470070

Website

https://www.loebvisitors.org/

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Our Story

The Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors Center is home to an array of interactive exhibits that tell the story of religious freedom and tolerance in Rhode Island and how it led to the establishment of religious freedom as a fundamental right in the United States. At the core of the Center’s exhibits is President George Washington’s 1790 letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport. In his letter, Washington promised that the government of the United States would give “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.” The Loeb Visitors Center is the starting point for guided tours of Touro Synagogue, our nation’s oldest synagogue, dedicated in 1763, and other area tours. A “virtual” tour of the Loeb Visitors Center is available on www.LoebVisitors.org for those who are unable to visit in person. Direct link to Virtual Tour: http://jewishhistory.com/TOURO/visitorcenter/

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