Congregation Shearith Israel (1896–97) Architect: Brunner & Tryon 8 W. 70th St. at Central Park West Upper West Side, New York Oldest Jewish congregation in U.S. (1655). The origins can be traced to a group of 23 Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had emigrated to Recife, Brazil, in 1654 when it was a Dutch colony; when the Portuguese regained Brazil, they were exiled and ended up in New Amsterdam.