Beyond the Plaque: the former Adath Jeshuran Synagogue at 375 King Edward Avenue

By Nancy Miller Chenier

If this heritage designated building at 375 King Edward Avenue with its Moorish-inspired decorative metal domes had a traditional bronze plaque, it would note that in 1904, it was the place of worship for Ottawa’s first Jewish congregation. When designated in 2016, it was described as Romanesque Revival style designed by architect John W.H. Watts. The Mogen David shape in the round front window still harkens to its original purpose for the early Jewish community in Lowertown. 

A plaque might also mention that it was Ottawa’s first purpose-built synagogue and is today the last of four Lowertown synagogues still standing. In 1956, as the Jewish population moved away from Lowertown, the congregation amalgamated with Agudath Achim, the Rideau Street synagogue, to become Beth Shalom on Chapel Street. This synagogue has also disappeared, its place taken by a tall 25-storey residential building. 

After the amalgamation, the building on King Edward Avenue was dedicated as the Jewish Community Memorial Chapel. Here the Chevra Kadisha, a volunteer organization provided the traditional burial services for the Ottawa Jewish community. The building currently serves as a place of worship for a French congregation of the Seventh Day Adventists Church, welcoming families from Haiti and Africa.

The Adath Jeshuran congregation started with a few early Jewish families that met initially in homes and eventually constructed a small synagogue building at 264 Murray Street between Nelson and King Streets. As the congregation and resources grew, the Adath Jeshuran synagogue was built on King Street to provide a place for prayer, study, and community gatherings.

This synagogue provided spiritual and cultural support to many of Ottawa’s pioneer Jewish families and like other Lowertown buildings, this one has many stories about the people associated with it. The Dover family that started their Ottawa life in Lowertown is one example. John Dover and his wife, Minnie Cohen, are recognized as the first Orthodox Jewish family to settle permanently in Ottawa. They were instrumental in holding the first minyans, traditionally consisting of ten Jewish males aged 13 or older to conduct public prayer, read from the Torah, and perform certain other religious rituals in their humble homes. John Dover is credited as the founder, recipient of the formal charter, and as the first president of the Adath Jeshuran congregation. He was also one of the men who travelled to New York to acquire the city’s first Torah scroll.

John Dover started as a peddler, listed at 15 Papineau Street in 1890 and eventually had a wholesale grocery business at 27 York Street. John’s wife, Minnie Cohen, was credited in family reminiscences as the core of the family. She died at age 41, leaving a family of five boys and two girls. While in Ottawa, she served as a translator and teacher for community members. In the Dover home, she enforced the orthodox life, including the required food preparation, the traditional blessings and prayers, and the wearing of tzitzit, the specially knotted ritual tassels for clothing. The Dover sons and daughters were active in the community with Harry, the eldest, serving Ottawa’s first Jewish doctor and the first Jewish coroner in Canada.

As you pass this distinctive building, look up at the decorative domes and the arts and crafts glass windows and think of the early Jewish men and women who gathered here to share religious traditions and went on to shape Ottawa’s history. And, like the archivist at the Ottawa Jewish Archives, think of this early Lowertown building with its strong cultural connections as “Ottawa’s largest Jewish artifact.” 

For an inside tour of the current building with images of the early Adath Jeshuran interior, have a look at the video posted on the Jewish Federation of Ottawa Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1551760142946604