Federal and local government officials, members of the Jewish and Christian clergy and Adas Israel officers gathered at the Sixth & I site on November 22, 1906 to lay the cornerstone of the new synagogue. As was the custom, artifacts and mementos were placed inside the stone and these are believed still to be in place today. According to contemporary press accounts, the stone contains:

§         Copies of local newspapers and Jewish newspapers published in the U.S.

§         A copy of the constitution of the United States

§         A list of officers and members of the Adas Israel congregation and its constitution

§         Coins from the year 1906

§         The yearbook of the Council of Jewish Women

§         A copy of the Evening Star of September 10, 1898, which contained an article on the dedication of Washington Hebrew Congregation’s Eighth Street synagogue

§         A copy of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald, which contained accounts of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the fall of Richmond.