Adams Street Shul

{{Short description|Modern Orthodox synagogue in Newton, Massachusetts}} {{redirect|Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard Synagogue|similarly named synagogues|Agudas Achim (disambiguation){{!}}Agudas Achim}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox religious building | name = Adams Street Shul | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = NewtonMA_Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard Synagogue.jpg | image_upright = 1.4 | alt = | caption = The Adams Street Shul | religious_affiliation = [[Modern Orthodox Judaism]] | tradition = | sect = | district = | prefecture = | province = | region = | deity = | rite = [[Nusach Sefard]] | festival =  | organisational_status =  | ownership = | governing_body = | leadership = (Currently Vacant) | bhattaraka = | patron = | consecration_year = | status = [[Synagogue]] | functional_status = Active | religious_features_label = | religious_features = | location = 168 Adams Street, [[Nonantum, Massachusetts|Village of Nonantum]], [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]], [[Massachusetts]] 02458 | locale = | municipality = | cercle = | state = | country = United States | map_type = Massachusetts | map_size = 250 | map_alt = | map_relief = 1 | map_caption = Location in [[Massachusetts]] | grid_name = | grid_position = | sector = | territory = | administration = | coordinates = {{coord|42|21|33|N|71|12|03|W|region:US-MA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_footnotes = | heritage_designation = | architect = | architecture_type = | architecture_style = [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] | founded_by = | creator = | funded_by = | general_contractor = | established = 1911 {{small|(as a congregation)}} | groundbreaking = | year_completed = 1912 | construction_cost = | date_demolished =  | facade_direction = | capacity = | length = | width = | width_nave = | interior_area = | height_max = | dome_quantity = | dome_height_outer = | dome_height_inner = | dome_dia_outer = | dome_dia_inner = | minaret_quantity = | minaret_height = | spire_quantity = | spire_height = | site_area = | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | shrine_quantity = | inscriptions = | materials = Brick | elevation_m =  | elevation_footnotes = | nrhp = | designated = | added = | refnum = | delisted1_date = | website = {{url|adamsstreet.org}} | module = {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard Synagogue | nrhp_type = | area = less than one acre | added = March 14, 1990 | refnum=90000035<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref> }} | footnotes = }} The '''Adams Street Shul''', officially the '''Congregation Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard''', is a [[Modern Orthodox Judaism|Modern Orthodox]] [[Jewish]] [[synagogue]] located at 168 Adams Street in the village of [[Nonantum, Massachusetts|Nonantum]] in [[Newton, Massachusetts|Newton]], [[Massachusetts]], in the United States. Built in 1912 for a congregation established in 1911, it is home to Newton's oldest Jewish congregation, one of the oldest in the region, still occupying its original synagogue building.

Its [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]]-style building was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on March 16, 1990.<ref name="nris"/>

==Architecture and history== The Adams Street Shul is located on the north side of Adams Street, a short way southeast of Watertown Street ([[Massachusetts Route 16]]), the main road through Nonantum Village. It is a single-story brick structure, three bays wide, with a pair of round-arch windows flanking the main entrance, which is also set in a round-arch opening. Above the entrance is an oculus window with a [[Star of David]].<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nwt.3602|title=NRHP nomination for Agudas Achim Anshei Sfard Synagogue|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2014-04-08}}</ref>

The synagogue was built in 1912 by a Jewish congregation established in 1911. It was Newton's only synagogue until 1937, when Temple Emanuel was completed on Ward Street. It was built with a significant contribution of labor by the congregation, which included skilled craftsmen. The [[Torah ark]] and ''[[bema]]'' were added in 1924, the work of a Jewish-Ukrainian craftsman, who also created the Vilna Shul ark. The interior has seen only modest alterations since its construction.<ref name=NRHP/> The congregation has remained small but steady, with many families having multiple generations of membership. The current benches in the synagogue were donated by Congregation Kehillath Israel in [[Brookline, Massachusetts|Brookline]] when they renovated their sanctuary.<ref>{{cite web |title= Our History|url= https://www.adamsstreet.org/our-history.html|website=Adams Street Shul |access-date=26 June 2025}}</ref>

==See also== * [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Newton, Massachusetts]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{official website|http://www.adamsstreet.org}}

[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Newton, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Newton, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Jewish organizations established in 1911]] [[Category:Modern Orthodox synagogues in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Synagogues on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Synagogues completed in 1912]] [[Category:1911 establishments in Massachusetts]] [[Category:20th-century synagogues in the United States]]