Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple

File:Philadelphia Temple Site by US Geological Survey (cropped).jpg in Philadelphia from the USGS map]]

Following the October 2008 announcement of plans to build a temple in Philadelphia, on November 19, 2009, the LDS Church announced it would be on Vine Street in downtown Philadelphia, directly northeast of Logan Circle.{{citation |chapter-url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple-site-announced |chapter= Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Site Announced |title= News Story |url= http://www.Newsroom.org |publisher= LDS Church |date= November 19, 2009 |access-date= November 5, 2012 |archive-url= https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20151021182720/http://www.napleshomefinders.com/ |archive-date= October 21, 2015 |url-status= dead }}{{citation |first= Jamshid |title= Downtown site for Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple |last= Askar |date= November 27, 2009 |url= https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/2009-11-27/downtown-site-for-philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple-34630 |newspaper= Church News |access-date= November 5, 2012 }}{{citation |first= Jason |last= Swensen |date= December 11, 2010 |title= Church buys land for Philadelphia temple |url= https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/2010-12-11/church-buys-land-for-philadelphia-temple-36432 |newspaper= Church News |access-date= November 5, 2012 }} This location places the temple near the Parkway Central Library, Family Court Building, and the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia.{{Cite magazine |last=Ruhling |first=Nancy A. |date=2016-12-13 |title=New Neoclassical Revival Mormon Temple |url=https://www.traditionalbuilding.com/projects/new-neoclassical-revival-mormon-temple |magazine=Traditional Building Magazine |language=en-us |access-date=2018-12-19}}

Local community leaders were present for groundbreaking ceremonies on September 17, 2011, Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the church's First Presidency, presiding.{{citation |chapter-url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/church-breaks-ground-philadelphia-pennsylvania-trujillo-peru-temples |chapter= Church Breaks Ground for Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Trujillo Peru Temples |title= News Release |url= http://www.Newsroom.org |publisher= LDS Church |date= September 17, 2011 |access-date= November 5, 2012 |archive-url= https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20151021182720/http://www.napleshomefinders.com/ |archive-date= October 21, 2015 |url-status= dead }}{{Citation|url= http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-18/news/30172242_1_mormon-leaders-first-mormon-temple-church-of-jesus-christ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111216194747/http://articles.philly.com/2011-09-18/news/30172242_1_mormon-leaders-first-mormon-temple-church-of-jesus-christ |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 16, 2011 |title= Construction to begin on Philadelphia's Mormon temple |first= David |last= O'Reilly |newspaper= The Philadelphia Inquirer |date= September 18, 2011 |access-date= November 5, 2012 }}.{{citation |first= Celeste Tholen |last= Rosenlof |date= September 18, 2011 |title= LDS Church breaks ground for first temple in Pennsylvania |url= http://www.ksl.com/?sid=17299694&nid=1016 |work= KSL.com |access-date= November 5, 2012 }}{{citation |first= Laurie Williams |last= Sowby |date= September 20, 2011 |title= President Eyring returns home for Philadelphia Temple groundbreaking |url= https://www.thechurchnews.com/archive/2011-09-20/president-eyring-returns-home-for-philadelphia-temple-groundbreaking-37556 |newspaper= Church News |access-date= November 5, 2012 }} By July 2012, no significant work had begun on the temple as a contractor had not been found to remove the existing parking lot and start the below ground excavation for the two-level parking garage.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130403161139/http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-26/news/32849315_1_million-temple-philadelphia-s-mormon-philadelphia-temple "Fall groundbreaking expected for Philadelphia's Mormon temple" David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 26, 2012] In November 2012, the Philadelphia Art Commission granted final approval for the temple design, despite some members feeling the building was too similar to other buildings in the vicinity in its appearance.[http://planphilly.com/articles/2012/11/08/art-commission-grants-final-approval-mormon-temple Plan Philly, Nov. 8, 2012] Most of the parking lot on the temple site had been removed by February 2013, and by May 2 that year, the underground digging for the building of the temple had been completed. The building was framed to its full height by August 2014.{{Cite web |url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865609269/Temple-rises-in-Philadelphia.html |title=August 23, 2014 LDS Church News article on progress on the Philadelphia Temple |website=Deseret News |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022160657/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865609269/Temple-rises-in-Philadelphia.html |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

The church commissioned a contemporary temple from Perkins&Will but chose a neoclassical design from architect of record FFKR, with Perkins+Will designing the temple's interior, plaza, garage, landscape, and a services building. Roger Jackson of FFKR said that his company studied notable Philadelphia buildings when designing the temple, such as Christ Church's tower, Independence Hall's interior, and Franklin Institute.{{r|ruhling20161213}}

The exterior is light gray Deer Island granite—unlike the pre-cast concrete of most temples—to match nearby buildings, as does the Corinthian order detailing. Forty-four Japanese maple trees are at the base of the temple. Its interior uses Georgian style to represent the early history of the United States and LDS Church.{{r|ruhling20161213}}

City and church officials announced in February 2014 that a meetinghouse and a 32-story residential building would be built on a lot adjacent to the temple site, at 1601 Vine Street. The residential structure and meetinghouse were designed by Paul L. Whalen of RAMSA. The meetinghouse serves approximately 1,000 of the 25,000 Latter-day Saints in the Philadelphia area and includes a Family History Center. The residential building includes 258 apartments and 13 townhouses, along with retail space, and be subject to regular, applicable taxes.

A public open house was held from August 10 through September 9, 2016, excluding Sundays. According to the church, approximately 140,000 visitors attended the open house. A youth cultural celebration, which recognized the heritage of the region through song, dance, and narration, was held on September 17.{{cite web|title=Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple|url=https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple/|website=LDSChurchTemples.com}}{{citation |url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/open-house-dedication-dates-sapporo-frieberg-philadelphia|title= The First Presidency Announces Open House and Dedication Dates for Three Temples: Temples to open in Sapporo, Japan, Freiberg, Germany, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|work= Newsroom |publisher= LDS Church |date= January 21, 2016 }} Like the groundbreaking in 2011, the cultural celebration occurred on the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. The temple was formally dedicated by Eyring on September 18, 2016.{{citation |url= https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple-dedicated |title= Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Is Dedicated as Church's 152nd: President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency dedicates |work= Newsroom |publisher= LDS Church |date= September 18, 2016 }}

{{LDS Temple Map US MA}}

In 2016, Inga Saffron, architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, called the temple "the most radical work of architecture built in Philadelphia in a half-century ... because it dares to be so out of step with today's design sensibilities and our bottom-line culture." Estimating its cost at more than $100 million, she wrote that the temple was "the real classical deal" and "a bold incursion into the hierarchical fabric of Philadelphia". Saffron praised the interior woodwork as "exceptional" and approved of the exterior replicating the nearby Family Court building, "the last truly satisfying neoclassical design". She criticized the decision to put the front door on 17th Street, stating that the temple "turns its back on Logan Square. It occupies this important civic space without being a real participant". Saffron also disliked the design of the LDS chapel next door, describing the Robert A. M. Stern-designed building as "strange ... a squashed cupcake with a giant candle stuck on top", with a "baffling" drainage ditch on Vine Street.{{cite news | url=http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/inga_saffron/20160802_Mormon_Temple__Radical_conservative_upstart.html?photo_3 | title=Changing Skyline: Mormon Temple: Radical conservative upstart | work=The Philadelphia Inquirer | date=August 2, 2016 | access-date=August 2, 2016 | author=Saffron, Inga}}

Jeffrey S. Markovitz of Hidden City Philadelphia agreed that the temple "respects the neoclassical monuments of the Logan Square neighborhood", stating that it "is simultaneously new and appears to have been there all along". He concluded that Benjamin Franklin Parkway gained "an august edifice [that] joins a list of the city's most noteworthy architectural monuments".{{Cite web |url=https://hiddencityphila.org/2016/08/mormon-temple-transcends-tradition-on-the-parkway/ |title=Mormon Temple Transcends Tradition On The Parkway |last=Markovitz |first=Jeffrey S. |date=2 August 2016 |website=Hidden City Philadelphia |language=en-US |access-date=2018-07-05}} Curbed described the temple as the "most unexpected surprise" of Philadelphia architecture that year.{{Cite web |url=https://philly.curbed.com/2016/12/22/14029968/philadelphia-best-new-architecture-of-2016 |title=Year in Review: Philly's best new architecture of 2016 |last=Romero |first=Melissa |date=2016-12-22 |website=Curbed Philly |access-date=2018-07-05}} Architect Jackson claimed that in 2016 a tour guide told a friend that the temple was "'one of the old buildings' ... That was not our intent, but it was a side benefit".{{r|ruhling20161213}}

In 2016, the temple won The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Philadelphia chapter's Trumbauer Award: Excellence in Contemporary Classicism.{{Cite web |title=LDS Philadelphia Temple - Pennsylvania |url=https://www.thelightingpractice.com/project/lds-philadelphia-temple/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=The Lighting Practice |language=en-US}} In 2017, it won the Excellence in Craftsmanship award from the General Building Contractors Association.{{Cite web |url=https://gbca.com/blog/2017-construction-excellence-awards-congratulations-winners |title=2017 Construction Excellence Awards: Congratulations to the Winners! |last=Tosti |first=Lauren |date=2017-11-15 |publisher=General Building Contractors Association}}

{{Portal|LDS Church|Philadelphia}}

• Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by geographic region
• Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania

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{{commons category|Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple}}

• [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/details/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple?lang=eng Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Official site]
• [https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/philadelphia-pennsylvania-temple/ Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple] at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org

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Category:2016 establishments in Pennsylvania

Category:21st-century Latter Day Saint temples in the United States

Category:Logan Square, Philadelphia

Category:Multi-building developments in Philadelphia

Category:Temples (LDS Church) completed in 2016

Category:Temples (LDS Church) in Pennsylvania