{"nrhp_refnum":"99001304","name":"Congregation Adath Jeshurun","other_names":["First Haitian Baptist Church"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"397 Blue Hill Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boston","county":"Suffolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.31198707800007,"lon":-71.08100891399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Romanesque Revival synagogue at 397 Blue Hill Avenue in Roxbury, Boston, built 1905-1906 to designs by architect Fred A. Norcross, with builder David Krokyn. It is also known as First Haitian Baptist Church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an exceptional adaptation of Romanesque styles and polychromatic brick to the needs of an immigrant Jewish congregation. Its twin towers, siting and scale make it the most significant building on Blue Hill Avenue. It blends Jewish law, European architectural precedent and American culture, and is described as the first full example of this adaptation in Boston.","narrative":"Built in 1905-1906 at 397 Blue Hill Avenue in Roxbury, this brick synagogue was designed by Fred A. Norcross for the Orthodox Congregation Adath Jeshurun, with David Krokyn as builder and his son Jacob, a recent Harvard architecture graduate, on the team. Its Romanesque Revival design is marked by round arches, dark red walls framed in yellow brick trim, and twin 84-foot towers topped with copper-covered Moorish domes and Stars of David. Jewish symbols on the street fronts were kept subtle. Inside, the sanctuary has a barrel-vaulted ceiling, a 32-foot reredos, a horseshoe-shaped women's gallery and twelve arches representing the twelve tribes of Israel. A lower level held a banquet hall, classrooms and a small daily chapel. The building cost $145,000 to build and furnish. It was listed for its architecture and for the way it adapted religious law, European styles and American culture. It later became the First Haitian Baptist Church.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Architect Fred A. Norcross; builder David Krokyn, with his son Jacob Krokyn","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Historic and current functions are listed as religion/church, church school and auditorium/hall. The text notes 1988 renovations that removed the rosette window and ark.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.188755-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/7969/63796987/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/99001304.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001304/386f049029-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001304/386f049029-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jameslwoodward","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congregation_Adath_Jeshurun_Boston_MA_01.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jameslwoodward</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Congregation_Adath_Jeshurun_Boston_MA_01.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796987","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_Adath_Jeshurun","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5160578"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/suffolk-county/congregation-adath-jeshurun-99001304/"}