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date | event | tags | firsts |
1953 2 May | The House of Worship in Wilmette, the Mother Temple of the West, was dedicated in a public ceremony. [BW12:142, BWNS218]
Specifics
Administration: On the same day as the internment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel, March 21st, 1909, the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146; BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3] Foundation Stone: by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 1 May, 1912 Construction Period:The purchase of the site completed: 1914. Design Chosen: 1920. Superstructure: 1921 – 1 May 1931. External Ornamentation: June 1932 -1943. Interior: 1951 Dedication: 1 May 1953 Architects: Louis Bourgeois with Alfred Shaw (interior cladding) Bourgeois became a Baha'i in New York City in 1907, and two years later responded to the call for designs for the Temple. In 1920, delegates from across the country unanimously selected his innovative design. Bourgeois traveled to Haifa to consult with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. With 'Abdu'l-Bahá's encouragement, Bourgeois refined and scaled down the size of his design. [The House of Worship Architecture] Seating: 1,191 [DP220] Dimensions: 203ft at the base and 49ft high Cost: $2.6 million (another source) $51,500 (land) plus $3,212,517.60 (construction costs 1921-1953) Dependencies: Construction of a home for the aged was began in December, 1957 and inaugurated on 1 February, 1959. It is located about three blocks away. Note: In GPB349 Shoghi Effendi states that "…this enterprise—the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the first Bahá'í century…". References: CEBF236-241,GPB348-353, MDM121-239, The Dawning Place, The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1963 Information Statistical & Comparative p36-37. iiiii |
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Mother Temples; Lawh-i-Ahmad (Tablet of Ahmad (Arabic)); Gifts; Archives; Dedications; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Quick facts; Alfred Shaw; Architects; Homes for the aged; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Dependencies of; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Wilmette, IL; USA |
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