St. Thomas Synagogue

St. Thomas Synagogue

St. Thomas Synagogue
Nearest city Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
Coordinates 18°20′41″N 64°55′59″W / 18.34472°N 64.93306°W / 18.34472; -64.93306Coordinates: 18°20′41″N 64°55′59″W / 18.34472°N 64.93306°W / 18.34472; -64.93306
Area less than one acre
Built 1833
Architectural style Greek Revival, Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference # 97001270[1][2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP September 25, 1997[2]
Designated NHL September 25, 1997[1]

St. Thomas Synagogue is an historic synagogue at Crystal Gade #16AB, Queens Quarters, in Charlotte Amalie on the island of Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands (The address almost resembles the address in Copenhagen where the Synagogue is located at Krystal Gade #12). The formal name of the synagogue is Beracha Veshalom Vegmiluth Hasidim. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.[1][3]

History

Saint Thomas Synagogue was built in 1833, and is the second-oldest synagogue on United States soil (after the 1763 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island). It also has the longest history of continuous use by a Jewish congregation in the nation. It was built for a congregation founded in 1796 by Spanish and Portuguese Sephardic Jews who had come to the Caribbean Basin to finance trade between Europe and the New World.[1]

Sand floor

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "St. Thomas Synagogue". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  2. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination" (PDF). National Park Service. January 1997.
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