Bahá’í World/Volume 10/The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
 | The text below this notice was generated by a computer, it still needs to be checked for errors and corrected. If you would like to help, view the original document by clicking the PDF scans along the right side of the page. Click the edit button at the top of this page (notepad and pencil icon) or press Alt+Shift+E to begin making changes. When you are done press "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. |
3.
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR
Visible Embodiment of the Universality of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh
FOREWORD
MANY discerning minds have testified to the profoundly significant change which has taken place during recent years in the character of popular religious thinking. Religion has developed an entirely new emphasis, more especially for the layman, quite independent of the older sectarian divisions.
Instead of considering that religion is a matter of turning toward an abstract creed, the average religionist today is concerned with the practical applications of religion to the problems of human life. Religion, in brief, after having apparently lost its influence in terms of theology, has been restored more powerfully than ever as a spirit of brotherhood, an impulse toward unity, and an ideal making for a more enlightened civilization throughout the world.
Against this background, the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár stands revealed as the supreme expression of all those modern religious tendencies animated by social ideals Which do not repudiate the reality of spiritual experience but seek to transform it into a dynamic striving for unity. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, when clearly understood, gives the world its most potent agency for applying mystical vision or idealistic aspiration to the service of humanity. It makes visible and concrete those deeper meanings and wider possibilities of religion which could not be realized until the dawn of this universal age.
The term "Mashriqu’l-Adhkár” means literally, “Dawning-place of the praise of God.”
To appreciate the significance of this Bahá’í institution, we must lay aside all customary ideas of the churches and cathedrals of the past. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár fulfills the original intention of religion in each dispensation, before that intention had become altered and veiled by human invention and belief.
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is a channel releasing spiritual powers for social regeneration because it fills a different function than that assumed by the sectarian church. Its essential purpose is to provide a community meeting—place for all who are seeking to worship God, and achieves this purpose by interposing no man—made veils between the worshiper and the Supreme. Thus, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is freely open to people of all Faiths on equal terms, who now realize the universality of Bahá’u’lláh in revealing the oneness of all the Prophets. Moreover, since the Bahá’í Faith has no professional clergy, the worshiper entering the Temple hears no sermon and takes part in no ritual the emotional effect of Which is to establish a separate group consciousness.
Integral with the Temple are its accessory buildings, without which the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár would not be a complete social institution. These buildings are to be devoted to such activities as a school for science, a hospice, a hospital, an asylum for orphans. Here the circle of spiritual experience at last joins, as prayer and worship are allied directly to creative service, eliminating the static subjective elements from religion and laying a foundation for a new and higher type of human association.
HORACE HOLLEY.
THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁR
A LETTER FROM SHOGHI EFFENDI
The Beloved of the Lord and the Handmaids of the Merciful throughout the United States and Canada.
My well-beloved friends:
Ever since that remarkable manifestation of Bahá’í solidarity and self-sacrifice which has signalized the proceedings of last year’s memorable Convention, I have been expectantly awaiting the news of a steady and continuous support of the Plan which can alone ensure, etc the present year draws to its close, the resumption of building operations on our beloved Temple.
Moved by an impulse that I could not resist, I have felt impelled to forego what may be regarded as the most valuable and sacred possession in the Holy Land for the furthering of that noble enterprise which you have set your hearts to achieve. With the hearty concurrence of our dear Bahá’í brother, Ziaoulláh Asgarzadeh, who years ago donated it to the Most Holy Shrine, this precious ornament of the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh has been already shipped to your shores, with our fondest hope that the proceeds from its sale may at once ennoble and reinforce the unnumbered offerings of the American believers already accumulated on the altar of Bahá’í sacrifice. I have longed ever since to witness such evidences of spontaneous and generous response on your part as would tend to fortify within me a confidence that has never wavered in the inexhaustible vitality of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in that land.
I need not stress at this moment the high hopes which so startling a display of unsparing devotion to our sacred Temple has already aroused in the breasts of the multitude of our brethren throughout the East. Nor is it I feel necessary to impress upon those who are primarily concerned with its erection the gradual change of outlook which the early prospect of the construction of the far-famed Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in America has unmistakably occasioned in high places among the hitherto sceptical and indifferent towards the merits and the practicability of the Faith proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh. Neither do I need to expatiate upon the hopes and fears of the Greatest Holy Leaf, now in the evening of her life, with deepening shadows caused by failing eyesight and declining strength swiftly gathering about her, yearning to hear as the one remaining solace in her swiftly ebbing life the news of the resumption of work on an Edifice, the glories of which she has, from the lips of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself, learned to admire. I cannot surely overrate at the present juncture in the progress of our task the Challenging character of these remaining months of the year as a swiftly passing opportunity which it is in our power to seize and utilize, ere it is too late, for the edification of our expectant brethren throughout the East, for the Vindication in the eyes of the world at large of the realties of our Faith, and last but not least for the realization of what is the Greatest Holy Leaf’s fondest desire.
As I have already intimated in the course
of my conversations with visiting pilgrims,
so vast and significant an enterprise as the
construction of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
of the West should be supported, not by the
munificence of a few but by the joint contributions of the entire mass of the convinced followers of the Faith. It cannot
be denied that the emanations of spiritual
power and inspiration destined to radiate
from the central Edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár will to a very large extent depend
upon the range and variety of the contributing believers, as well as upon the nature
and degree of self-abnegation which their
unsolicited offerings will entail. Moreover,
we should, I feel, regard it as an axiom and
guiding principle of Bahá’í administration
that in the conduct of every specific Bahá’í
[Page 403]
activity, as different from undertakings of
a humanitarian, philanthropic, or charitable
character, which may in future be conducted
under Bahá’í auspices, only those
who have already identified themselves with
the Faith and are regarded as its avowed
and unreserved supporters should be invited
to join and collaborate. For apart from the
consideration of embarrassing complications
which the association of non-believers in the
financing of institutions of a strictly Bahá’í
character may conceivably engender in the
administration of the Bahá’í community of
the future, it should be remembered that
these specific Bahá’í institutions, which
should be viewed in the light of Bahá’u’lláh’s
gifts bestowed upon the world, can best
function and most powerfully exert their
influence in the world only if reared and
maintained solely by the support of those
who are fully conscious of, and are
unreservedly submissive to, the claims inherent
in the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh. In cases,
however, when a friend or sympathizer of
the Faith eagerly insists on a monetary
contribution for the promotion of the Faith,
such gifts should be accepted and duly
acknowledged by the elected representatives
of the believers With the express
understanding that they would be utilized by them only
to reinforce that section of the Bahá’í Fund
exclusively devoted to philanthropic or
charitable purposes. For, as the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh extends in scope and in influence,
and the resources of Bahá’í communities
correspondingly multiply, it Will become
increasingly desirable to differentiate between
such departments of the Bahá’í treasury as
minister to the needs of the world at large,
and those that are specifically designed to
promote the direct interests of the Faith
itself. From this apparent divorce between
Bahá’í and humanitarian activities it must
not, however, be inferred that the animating
purpose of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh stands
at variance with the aims and objects of the
humanitarian and philanthropic institutions
of the day. Nay, it should be realized by
every judicious promoter of the Faith that
at such an early stage in the evolution and
crystallization of the Cause such
discriminating and precautionary measures
are inevitable and even necessary if the nascent
institutions of the Faith are to emerge
triumphant and unimpaired from the present
welter of confused and often conflicting
interests With Which they are surrounded.
This note of warning may not be thought
inappropriate at a time when, inflamed by
a consuming passion to witness the early
completion of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, we
may not only be apt to acquiesce in the
desire of those who, as yet uninitiated into
the Cause, are willing to lend financial
assistance to its institutions, but may even
feel inclined to solicit from them such aid
as it is in their power to render. Ours
surely is the paramount duty so to acquit
ourselves in the discharge of our most sacred
task that in the days to come neither the
tongue of the slanderer nor the pen of the
malevolent may dare to insinuate that so
beauteous, so significant an Edifice has been
reared by anything short of the unanimous,
the exclusive, and the self—sacrificing
strivings of the small yet determined body of
the convinced supporters of the Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh. How delicate our task, how
pressing the responsibility that weighs upon
us, who are called upon on one hand to
preserve inviolate the integrity and the
identity of the regenerating Faith of
Bahá’u’lláh, and to vindicate on the other its
broad, its humanitarian, its all—embracing
principles!
True, we cannot fail to realize at the
present stage of our work the extremely limited
number of contributors qualified to lend
financial support to such a vast, such an
elaborate and costly enterprise. We are fully
aware of the many issues and varied Bahá’í
activities that are unavoidably held in
abeyance pending the successful conclusion of
the Plan of Unified Action. We are only
too conscious of the pressing need of some
sort of befitting and concrete embodiment
of the spirit animating the Cause that would
stand in the heart of the American Continent
both as a witness and as a rallying
center to the manifold activities of a fast
growing Faith. But spurred by those
reflections may we not bestir ourselves and resolve
[Page 404]
as we have never resolved before to hasten
by every means in our power the consummation
of this all-absorbing yet so meritorious
task? I beseech you, dear friends, not to
allow considerations of number; or the consciousness
of the limitation of our resources,
or even the experience of inevitable setbacks
Which every mighty undertaking is bound
to encounter, to blur your vision, to dim
your hopes, or to paralyze your efforts in
the prosecution of your divinely appointed
task. Neither, do I‘ entreat you, suffer
the least deviation into the paths of
expediency and compromise to obstruct those
channels of vivifying grace that can alone
provide the inspiration and strength vital
not only to the successful conduct of its
material construction, but to the fulfillment
of its high destiny.
And while we bend our efforts and strain our nerves in a feverish pursuit to provide the necessary means for the speedy construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, may we not pause for a moment to examine those statements which set forth the purpose as well as the functions of this symbolical yet so spiritually potent Edifice? It will be readily admitted that at a time When the tenets of a Faith, not yet fully emerged from the fires of repression, are as yet improperly defined and imperfectly understood, the utmost caution should be exercised in revealing the true nature of those institutions which are indissolubly associated with its name.
Without attempting an exhaustive survey of the distinguishing features and purpose of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, I should feel content at the present time to draw your attention to what I regard as certain misleading statements that have found currency in various quarters, and which may lead gradually to a grave misapprehension of the true purpose and essential character of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.
It should be borne in mind that the central
Edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, round
which in the fullness of time shall cluster
such institutions of social service as shall
afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to
the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to
the bereaved, and education to the ignorant,
should be regarded apart from these Dependencies,
as a House solely designed and
entirely dedicated to the worship of God in
accordance with the few yet definitely
prescribed principles established by Bahá’u’lláh
in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. It should not be
inferred, however, from this general
statement that the interior of the central Edifice
itself will be converted into a conglomeration
of religious services conducted along
lines associated with the traditional procedure
obtaining in churches, mosques, synagogues,
and other temples of worship. Its
various avenues of approach, all converging
towards the central Hall beneath its dome,
will not serve as admittance to those sectarian
adherents of rigid formulae and manmade creeds,
each bent, according to his
way, to observe his rites, recite his prayers,
perform his ablutions, and display the particular
symbols of his faith within separately
defined sections of Bahá’u’lláh’s Universal
House of Worship. Far from the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár offering
such a spectacle of incoherent and confused sectarian Observances
and rites, a condition wholly incompatible
with the provisions of the Aqdas and
irreconcilable with the spirit it inculcates, the
central House of Bahá’í worship, enshrined
within the Ma Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, will gather
Within its chastened walls, in a serenely
spiritual atmosphere, only those who,
discarding forever the trappings of elaborate
and ostentatious ceremony, are willing
worshippers of the one true God, as manifested
in this age in the Person of Bahá’u’lláh.
To them will the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
symbolize the fundamental verity underlying
the Bahá’í Faith, that religious truth
is not absolute but relative, that Divine
Revelation is not final but progressive.
Theirs Will be the conviction that an all-loving
and ever—watchful Father Who, in
the past, and at various stages in the
evolution of mankind, has sent forth His
Prophets as the Bearers of His Message and
the Manifestations of His Light to mankind,
cannot at this critical period of their
civilization withhold from His children the
Guidance which they sorely need amid the
darkness which has beset them, and which
[Page 405]
neither the light of science nor that of
human intellect and wisdom can succeed in
dissipating. And thus having recognized in
Bahá’u’lláh the source whence this celestial
light proceeds, they will irresistibly feel
attracted to seek the shelter of His House, and
congregate therein, unhampered by ceremonials
and unfettered by creed, to render
homage to the one true God, the Essence
and Orb of eternal Truth, and to exalt and
magnify the name of His Messehgers and
Prophets Who, from time immemorial even
unto our day, have, under divers circumstances
and in varying measure, mirrored
forth to a dark and wayward world the
light of heavenly Guidance.
But however inspiring the conception of Bahá’í worship, as witnessed in the central Edifice of this exalted Temple, it cannot be regarded as the sole, nor even the essential, factor in the part which the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, as designed by Bahá’u’lláh, is destined to play in the organic life of the Bahá’í community. Divorced from the social, humanitarian, educational and scientific pursuits centering around the Dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Bahá’í worship, however exalted in its conception, however passionate in fervor, can never hope to achieve beyond the meager and often transitory results produced by the contemplations of the ascetic or the communion of the passive worshipper. It cannot afford lasting satisfaction and benefit to the worshipper himself, much less to humanity in general, unless and until translated and transfused into that dynamic and disinterested service to the cause of humanity Which it is the supreme privilege of the Dependencies of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár to facilitate and promote. Nor Will the exertions, no matter how disinterested and strenuous, of those who within the precincts of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár will be engaged in administering the affairs of the future Bahá’í Commonwealth, fructify and prosper unless they are brought into close and daily communion With those spiritual agencies centering in and radiating from the central Shrine of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. Nothing short of direct and constant interaction between the spiritual forces emanating from this House of Worship centering in the heart of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, and the energies consciously displayed by those who administer its affairs in their service to humanity can possibly provide the necessary agency capable of removing the ills that have so long and so grievously afflicted humanity. For it is assuredly upon the consciousness of the efficacy of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, reinforced on one hand by spiritual communion with His Spirit, and on the other by the intelligent application and the faithful execution of the principles and laws He revealed, that the salvation of a world in travail must ultimately depend. And of all the institutions that stand associated with His Holy Name, surely none save the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár can most adequately provide the essentials of Bahá’í worship and service, both so vital to the regeneration of the world. Therein lies the secret of the loftiness, of the potency, of the unique position of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár as one of the outstanding institutions conceived by Bahá’u’lláh.
Dearly-beloved friends! May we not as the trustees of so priceless a heritage, arise to fulfill our high destiny?
Haifa, Palestine. October 25, 1929.
PASSAGES REGARDING THE TEMPLE IN AMERICA
Taken from
"GOD PASSES BY” BY SHOGHI EFFENDI
and
INTRODUCTION BY ARCHDEACON TOWNSHEND, M. A.
ON the lake shore at Wilmette stands the completed Temple of Praise, :1 sign of the Spirit of the Most Great Peace and of the Splendor of God that has come down to dwell among men. The Walls of the Temple are transparent, made of an open tracery cut as in sculptured stone, and lined with glass. All imaginable symbols of light are woven together into the pattern, the lights of the sun and the moon and the constellations, the lights of the spiritual heavens unfolded by the great Revealers of today and yesterday, the Cross in various forms, the Crescent and the nine pointed
Star (emblem of the Bahá’í Faith). No darkness invades the Temple at any time; by day it is lighted by the sun whose rays flood in from every side through the exquisitely perforated walls, and by night it is artificially illuminated and its ornamented shape is etched With light against the dark. From whatever side the visitor approaches, the aspiring form of the Temple appears as the spirit of adoration; and seen from the air above it has the likeness of :1 NinePointed Star come down from heaven to find its resting place on the earth. G. Townsbend
CHAPTER XXII
THE RISE AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
(1
. significant has been the erection of the superstructure and the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the West, the noblest of the exploits Which have immortalized the services of the American Bahá’í community to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. Consummated through the agency of an efficiently functioning and newly established Administrative Order, this enterprise has itself immensely enhanced the prestige, consolidated the strength and expanded the subsidiary institutions of the community that made its building possible.
Conceived forty-one years ago; originating With the petition spontaneously ad dressed, in March 1903 to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by the “House of Spirituality” of the Bahá’ís of Chicago—the first Bahá’í center established in the Western world—the members of Which, inspired by the example set by the builders of the Mashriqu’l-Acfikér of ‘Isllqébad, had appealed for permission to construct a similar Temple in America; blessed by His approval and high commendation in a Tablet revealed by Him in June of that same year; launched by the delegates of various American Assemblies, assembled in Chicago in November, 1907, for the purpose of choosing the site of the Temple; established on a national basis through a religious corporation known as the "Bahá’í Temple Unity,”
[Page 407]
THE INSTITUTION OF
Is;
Members of Bahá’í Temple Guides Committee and guides, October, 1944.
which was incorporated shortly after the first American Bahá’í Convention held in that same city in March, 1909; honored through the dedication ceremony presided over by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself when visiting that site in May, 1912,_this enterprisethe crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the first Bahá’í century—had, ever since that memorable occasion, been progressing intermittently until the time when the foundations of that Order having been firmly laid in the North American continent the American Bahá’í community was in a position to utilize the instruments which it had forged for the efficient prosecution of its task.
At the 1914 American Bahá’í Convention the purchase of the Temple property Was completed. The 1920 Convention, held in New York, having been previously directed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to select the design of that Temple, chose from among a number of designs competitively submitted to it that of Louis J. Bourgeois, a French—Canadian architect, a selection that was later confirmed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself. The contracts for the sinking of the nine great caissons supporting the central portion of
THE MAS_HRIQU’L—AD_HKAR
407
the building, extending to rock at a depth of 120 feet below the ground level, and for the construction of the basement structure, were successively awarded in December, 1920 and August, 1921. In August, 1930, in spite of the prevailing economic crisis, and during a period of unemployment unparalleled in American history, another contract, with twenty-four additional sub—contracts, for the erection of the superstructure was placed, and the work completed by May 1, 1931, on which day the first devotional service in the new structure was celebrated, coinciding with the 19th anniversary of the dedication of the grounds by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The ornamentation of the dome was started in June, 1932 and finished in January, 1934. The ornamentation of the clerestory was completed in 1935, and that of the gallery unit below it in November, 1938. The mainstory ornamentation was, despite the outbreak of the present war, undertaken in April, 1940, and completed in July, 1942; whilst the eighteen circular steps were placed in position by December, 1942, seventeen months in advance of the centenary celebration of the Faith, by which time the exterior of the Temple Was scheduled to be finished, and forty years after the petition
[Page 408]
408
of the Chicago believers had been submitted to and granted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
This unique edifice, the first fruit of a slowly maturing Administrative Order, the noblest structure reared in the first Bahá’í century, and the symbol and precursor of a future world civilization, is situated in the heart of the North American continent, on the western shore of Lake Michigan, and is surrounded by its own grounds comprising a little less than seven acres. It has been financed, at cost of over a million dollars, by the American Bahá’í community, assisted at times by voluntary contributions of recognized believers in East and West, of Christian, of Musliin, of Jewish, of Zoroastrian, of Hindu and Buddhist extraction. It has been associated, in its initial phase, with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and in the concluding stages of its construction with the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Purest Branch and their mother. The structure itself is a pure white nonagonal building, of original and unique design, rising from a flight of white stairs encircling its base; and surmounted by a majestic and beautifully proportioned dome, bearing nine tapering symmetrically placed ribs of decorative as well as structural significance, which soar to its apex and finally merge into a common unit pointing Skyward. Its framework is constructed of structural steel enclosed in concrete, the material of its ornamentation consisting of a combination of crystalline quartz, opaque quartz and white Portland cement, producing a composition clear in texture, hard and enduring as stone, impervious to the elements, and cast into a design as delicate as lace. It soars 191 feet from the floor of its basement to the culmination of the ribs, clasping the hemispherical dome which is forty—nine feet high, with an external diameter of ninety feet, and one-third of the surface of which is perforated to admit light during the day and emit light at night. It is buttressed by pylons forty—five feet in height, and bears above its nine entrances, one of which faces ‘Akká, nine selected quotations from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, as well as the Greatest Name in the center of each of the arches over its doors. It is consecrated exclusively to worship, devoid of all ceremony and ritual, is
THE BAHA'I WORLD
provided with an auditorium Which can seat 1600 people, and is to be supplemented by accessory institutions of social service to be established in its vicinity, such as an orphanage, a hospital, a dispensary, for the poor, 3 home for the incapacitated, a hostel for travelers and a college for the study of arts and sciences. It had already, long before its construction, evoked, and is now increasingly evoking, though its interior ornamentation is as yet unbegun, such interest and comment, in the public press, in technical journals and in magazines, of both the United States and other countries, as to justify the hopes and expectations entertained for it by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Its model exhibited at Art centers, galleries, state fairs and national expositions—among which may be mentioned the Century of Progress Exhibition, held in Chicago in 1933, Where no less than ten thousand people, passing through the Hall of Religions, must have viewed it every day—its replica forming a part of the permanent exhibit of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago; its doors now thronged by visitors from far and near, whose number, during the period from June, 1932 to October, 1941 has exceeded 130,000 people, representing almost every country in the world, this great “Silent Teacher” of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, it may be confidently asserted, has contributed to the diffusion of the knowledge of His Faith and teachings in a measure which no other single agency, operating within the framework of its Administrative Order, has ever remotely approached.
"When the foundation of the Mashrz'qu’lAtfloka’r is laid in America,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself has predicted, "and that Divine Edificc is completed, a most wonderful amt thrilling motion will appear in the' world of existence . . . From that point of light the spirit of teaching, spreading the Cause of God and promoting the teachings of God, will permeate to all parts of the world.” "Out of this Mashriqu’l-AzflJ/zdr,” He has affirmed in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, "without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu’l-AaflJ/ea’rs will he horn.” "I t marks,” He, furthermore, has written, "the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth.” And again: "It is the manifest Standard waving in the
\E ‘2' ON H u; E 5 G s: H u" C:
- 1
.D .u a I" >m 'U G 5 (D O 00 a U .—. J: U o .E H E o L: ‘H "U n) H i: ‘3': 0-1 G.) M .5} J: m u >9 w 0 u.) m 5 E
- H
v.1 .2 n: m o J I“
[Page 410]
410
center of that great continent.” "Thousands of Mashriqu’l-AcL/J/zzirs,” He, when dedicating the grounds of the Temple, declared, " . . . will be built in the East and in the West, but this, being the first erected in the Occident, has great importance.” "This organization Of the Mashriqu’l-Adla/edr,” He, referring to that edifice, has moreover stated, "will be a model for the coming centuries, and will hold the station of the mother.”
“Its inception,” the Architect of the Temple has himself testified, "was not from man, for, as musicians, artists, poets receive their inspiration from another realm, so the Temple’s architect, through all his years of labor, was ever conscious that Bahá’u’lláh was the creator of this building to be erected to His glory.” “Into this new design,” he, furthermore, has written, " . is woven, in symbolic form, the great Bahá’í teaching of unity—the unity of all religions of all mankind. There are combinations of mathematical lines, symbolizing those of the universe, and in their intricate merging of circle into circle, and circle within circle, we visualize the merging of all the religions into one.” And again: “A circle of steps, eighteen in all, will surround the structure on the outside, and lead to the auditorium floor. These eighteen steps represent the eighteen first disciples of the Báb, and the door to Which they lead stands for the Báb Himself.” "As the essence of the pure original teachings of the historic religions was the same . . . in the Bahá’í Temple is used a composite architecture, expressing the essence in the line of each of the great architectural styles, harmonizing them into one whole.”
“It is the first new idea in architecture since the 13th century,” declared a distinguished architect, H. Van Buren Magonigle, President of the Architectural League, after gazing upon a plaster model of the Temple on exhibition in the Engineering Societies Building in New York, in June 1920. “The Architect,” he, moreover, has stated, “has conceived a Temple of Light in which structure, as usually understood, is to be concealed, visible support eliminated as far as possible, and the whole fabric to take on the airy substance of a dream. It is a lacy envelope enshrining an idea, the idea of light,
THE Bahá’í
WORLD
a shelter of cobweb interposed between earth and sky, struck through and through with light—light which shall partly consume the forms and make of it a thing of faery.”
“In the geometric forms of the ornamentation,” a writer in the well-known publication Architectural Record has written, ucovering the columns and surrounding windows and doors of the Temple, one deciphers all the religious symbols of the world. Here are the swastika, the circle, the cross, the triangle, the double triangle or six pointed star (Solomon’s seal)——but more than this—the noble symbol of the spiritual orb . . . the five pointed star; the Greek Cross, the Roman cross, and supreme above all, the wonderful nine pointed star, figured in the structure of the Temple itself, and appearing again and again in its ornamentation as significant of the spiritual glory in the world today.”
“The greatest creation since the Gothic period,” is the testimony of George Grey Barnard, one of the most widely-known sculptors in the United States of America, ”and the most beautiful I have ever seen.”
“This is a new creation,” Prof. Luigi Quaglino, ex-professor of Architecture from Turin declared, after viewing the model, ”which will revolutionize architecture in the world, and it is the most beautiful I have ever seen. Without doubt it will have a lasting page in history. It is a revelation from another world.”
”Americans,” wrote Sherwin Cody, in the
magazine section of the New York Times,
of the model of the Temple, when exhibited
in the Kevorkian Gallery in New York,
"Will have to pause long enough to find that
an artist has wrought into this building the
conception of 21 Religious League of Nations.” And lastly, this tribute paid to the
features of, and the ideals embodied in, this
Temple—the most sacred House of Worship
in the Bahá’í world, Whether of the present
or of the future—by Dr. Rexford Newcomb, Dean of the College of Fine and
Applied Arts at the University of Illinois:
“This ‘Temple of Light’ opens upon the
terrain of human experience nine great doorways which beckon men and women of every
race and clime, of every faith and convic
[Page 411]
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MAS_HRIQU’L-AD_§KAR
tion, of every condition of freedom or servitude to enter here into a recognition of that kinship and brotherhood without which the modern world will be able to make little further progress . . . The dome, pointed in form, aiming as assuredly as did the aspiring lines of the medieval cathedrals toward
THE STORY OF THE
411
higher and better things, achieves not only through its symbolism but also through its structural propriety and sheer loveliness of form, a beauty not matched by any domical structure since the construction of Michelangelo’s dome on the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.”
BAHA’TS AND THEIR
UNIQUE TEMPLE OF WORSHIP Reprinted from the Chicago Sunday Tribune, June 17, 1945
A Tribune color studio photo of the Babd’z’ temple of worship at Wilmette, 111., taken at nig/ot under the illumination of artificial lights, appears on page one of the Picture Section of tlais issue of The Tribune.
A GREAT white dome of sugary delicacy lifts into the sky above Wilmette, 111. Like the beautiful Taj Mahal, it is oriental in feelV ing and yet classical in its unique nine—sided base, and of a serene, cosmopolitan majesty.
It is the Bahá’í temple of worship.
Perhaps you have seen it while driving northward from Chicago up the shore of Lake Michigan. Perhaps you have wondered what it means—who built it, and why.
The truth is an amazing story. The temple is in appreciable part a gift from the people of Persia. Much has been heard of American charity toward the east, but who ever heard of the east sending money to the west?
The story really begins in far—off Persia in the year 1844, When a new messiah was announced to a bewildered and unbelieving world. His name was Bahá’u’lláh—meaning ”the Glory of God.”
Bahá’u’lláh’s life was like those of earlier prophets in many ways. Not only did he suffer long persecution, which seemed to stimulate his spirit, but his coming was heralded by a precursor, who has been compared with John the Baptist.
The forerunner was a direct descendant of Mohammed and called himself the Báb (the Gate). At the age of 257, in 1844, he suddenly felt a divine command upon him. He spread the news, and 18 disciples who had joined him were sent by him to different parts of.Per_sia and Turkestanto .proclaim
the imminent appearance of the new messiah. The Báb himself went to Mecca, where he proclaimed the new faith to the Mohammedan leader, who rejected the Báb’s author ity, symbolizing the turning of Islam’s back on the new religion.
As the years went on the alarm and hatred in the hearts of the orthodox and of government officials caused more and more ruthless suppression of the B211) and his disciples. Houses of the Báb’s many believers were pilIaged and destroyed. Women were seized and carried off and thousands of believers were put to death. Many were beheaded, hanged, blown from the mouths of cannon, burned, or chopped to pieces. And yet the response to the Báb’s teachings increased.
Finally on July 9, 1850, the Báb himself, then 31, fell a victim to the fanatical fury of his persecutors. At the time of this martyrdom Mirzá Husayn ‘Ali was well known as one of the most fearless exponents of the new faith. He came of a wealthy and distinguished family in the capital city, Teheran, and he possessed an almost unbelievable power of attraction which was felt by all who knew him. His face had a look of profound wisdom, and even at the age of 13 he had often been known to discuss intricate religious questions in large gatherings in such a way as to hold his listeners in awed silence.
After suffering a severe imprisonment in a dungeon because of his unorthodox convictions, and once the torture of the bastinado—caning 0n the soles of the feetMirzá Husayn ‘Ali had a dream in Which a voice told him he was to be the great prophet announCed by the Báb and thru Whom the
[Page 412]
412
Holy Spirit would be made manifest on earth.
He assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (Glory of God) and began to teach all who came to him about the new faith. After being exiled to Mesopotamia by the shah he spent two years in lonely meditation in the wilderness. Later he was sent to Turkey, and from there to ‘Akká in the Holy Land, thus fulfilling in 1868, believe his followers, a prophecy made in both the Old and New Testaments.
During all this time Bahá’u’lláh wrote and taught with astounding wisdom and With a factual knowledge far beyond his apparent education and Which his disciples attributed to his being the direct mouthpiece of God. His understanding of things in the western world, totally alien to his surroundings, was amazing, and he wrote a series of letters to the principal crowned heads of Europe, the pope, the §héh of Persia, and the President of the United States, announcing his divine mission and calling on them to help establish true religion, just government, and international peace.
Bahá’u’lláh taught evolution, equal rights for women, prohibition of intoxicating liquors, free universal education, the abolition of begging, and government relief for the poor. And, adapting Christian principles to modern conditions, he strongly advocated the uniting of people of all races, religions, nationalities, classes, languages, and customs into a peaceful, harmonious world community.
After he died in 1892 at the age of 75 his son and successor, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá'. (Servant of Bahá) , became by his will the interpreter and exemplar of the'faith.
In the years since Bahá’u’lláh died his faith has been spreading slowly but steadily —much in the manner of Christianity in its first century. In the early days of the new religion “many thousands” of the believers perished as martyrs. Today the Bahá’ís number nearly a million in Persia. In Turkestan, in America, in India and Burma they are to be counted by the thousand, while in France, Switzerland, Italy, and even in Germany they are reported to have centers and to be making headway.
Chicago, centrally situated and from
THE BAHA’I WORLD
which the Columbian exposition in 1893 launched the new faith in the new world, was logically chosen as the site of the first American Bahá’í house of worship. And so the devoted Bahá’ís all over the worldmost of them in Persia (Iran)—chipped in, and that is where the great white temple in Wilmette came from.
When the temple with its surroundings at Wilmette is completed it will include a hospital and dispensary, a school for orphan children, a hospice, a college for higher scientific education, and beautiful gardens and fountains between the outlying buildings and the temple.
There is no classical term of architecture to describe the temple. It is unique among structures, altho in it one may recognize characteristics of widely separated lands and civilizations.
In the delicate tracery of its ornamental exterior, viewed as a whole and not closely analyzed, and in certain of its arches, the oriental influence may be observed. In the outline of the great windows of its gallery is a suggestion of the Gothic. Students of architecture have identified in the design touches of Egyptian, Greek, Romanesque, Arabic, Gothic, renaissance, and modern.
Land for the project was acquired between 1908 and 1912. Actual work began in 1918 with the sinking of nine great steel and concrete caissons reaching 120 feet to bedrock. The number nine, beginning with the caissons, has been repeated thruout the imposing nonagon from the base to the apex of the ribs of its vast dome.
With caissons and foundation structure completed, it was necessary to suspend operations while funds were collected for the superstructure. In April, 1931, the superstructure was finished. In 1935 the clerestory (windowed point directly beneath the dome) was completed, and in 1937 and 1938 final touches were given to the gallery section. Since 1938 the nine pylons and nine faces of the main story have been finished.
Before construction was stopped for the
war’s duration in 1942, circular steps leading to the nine outside doors were com.
pleted—the last exterior work remaining.
Four or five years of work remain to be done
on the interior. The completion of the ex
[Page 413]
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MAgRIQU’LAIEKAR
terior ornamentation by May, 1944, the Bahá’í centenary, was one of the three tasks undertaken by American believers in 1937. The other two—also successfully carried out —Were the formation of a Bahá’í assembly in each state and Canadian province, and establishment of Bahá’í groups in every South and Central American country.
Including $40,000 for the steps, about $1,500,000 has been spent on the temple. Major items included: Land, $125,000; caissons, $200,000; superstructure, $400,000; external decorations for the dome, $170,000; gallery section, $125,000; grading, $15,000; tunnels and areaways, $10,000 and first floor ornamentation, $175,000. Construction has proceeded as money became available; the faith does not approve of mortgages.
The temple’s diameter is 202 feet to the outside of the stairs. The interior diameter is 153 feet. It is 135 feet from the main floor to the ceiling of the dome, which itself has an interior diameter of 75 feet. The dome has outer and inner shells of glass, supports of steel and aluminum, and outer ornamentation—four layers in all.
There is a story connected with the external ornamentation. Designs were prepared by Architect Louis Bourgeois, who spent 20 years on plans for the temple. (He died at'Wilmette Aug. 19, 1930, at the age of 74, without having seen the building rise above its foundation.) But there was no practical method of executing the designs satisfactorily except at prohibitive cost. Made of metal, the ornaments would have needed upkeep thru the centuries to prevent
A NEW
ANOTHER adventure in beauty With white cement is the remarkable Bahá’í Temple on the shore of Lake Michigan at Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The concrete super-structure of the building is covered With precast lace-like Architectural Concrete Slabs made with glistening quartz aggregates set off in a matrix of Atlas White cement and reinforced with steel. Although lace—like in style, the strength is adequate, and the large dome is relatively thinner than
413
possible corrosion. Carved of stone—an excessively costly process—they would have lacked the desired flowing lines.
John J. Barley, an architectural sculptor of Washington, D. C., was called upon when the problem appeared insoluble. A master craftsman, Barley had collaborated with Lorado Taft, late Chicago sculptor, on the Fountain of Time which stands at the Midway entrance to Washington park on Chicago’s south side. His other achievements included a reproduction of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tenn.; beautiful buildings of the University of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, the Church of the Sacred Heart in Washington, and the Thomas A. Edison memorial tower at Menlo Park, N. J.
Earley made it possible, With a cement method, to carry out the designs. Translating the Bourgeois plans into curved surfaces and giving them depth, he produced clay models from which plaster molds were made.
Into the molds was poured a mixture of white cement and ground quartz. Hardening around a core of reinforcing steel, each casting was cured and then polished by hand. Some of these decorative units were as long as 25 feet. They emerged with more delicate lines than carved stone and are stronger than any natural stone except the hardest types of granite.
The Bahá’ís plan eventually to construct a house of worship in every city, to symbolize their conception of the universality of true faith. The Bahá’í community includes representatives of all races, classes, nationalities, and creeds.
”TAJ MAHAL”
an eggshell. This building, the outgrowth of a movement for a temple inaugurated in 1903, was designed by the late Louis Bourgeois, of Wilmette, formerly of West Englewood, N. J. Construction began in the latter year and was resumed in 1929 after a lapse in the Twenties. The Architectural Concrete Slabs were executed by Mr. Earley. The estimate for doing the job in concrete was one-tenth that of the estimated cost in natural stone.
[Page 414]
414
The dome of the temple, finished in 1934, was described in the Chicago Tribune, as the seventh largest in the world. It comes after the Pantheon in Rome, St. Peter’s in Rome, Duomo Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Santa Sophia in Constantinople, St. Paul’s in London, and the United States Capitol in Washington.
The Bahá’í dome is 93 feet in diameter, which is three feet less than that of the rotunda in Washington. It is one foot larger
THE BAHA’I
WORLD
than that of the Invalides in Paris, where Napoleon Bonaparte lies.
The external decoration of the remainder of the building has now been completed. This work, although differing in design and significance, is kindred in its white serenity to the Taj Mahal at Agra, India, often called the "world’s most beautiful building.”
From "T/ae Magic Powder” by Earl J. Hadley. (Pages 200-1)
THE ARCHITECT’S DESIGN EARL H.REED
THE design and construction of the Bahá’í Temple conveys an impression of deep and sincere religious conviction. Like the Dome of the Rock in the Mosque court at Jerusalem, on the site of Abraham’s sacrifice and the Temple of Solomon; like the pillared holy places of Egypt, Greece and Rome; like Amiens and St. Peter’s and even resembling the solidity of Moses’ mountain, it signifies the Divine aspirations of mankind.
Here rich symbolic elements of fine and staunch material have been skillfully interwoven to form an impressive mass which unmistakably tells the Bahá’í story in terms of Architecture. Accomplishment of this end was the dominant task of Louis J. Bourgeois, the Architect. And he met it well, as one performing a prolonged act of faith.
30 expressive is the structure that this observer has been largely able to derive from it his limited understanding of the philosophical and religious background from Which it emerged. It affords striking example of effective cooperation of those who build with those for Whom they build. Some “spell” has indeed been cast over the enterprise. A definite program, so essential in any building process, Was presented, comprehended, and is in process of realization in a manner not often seen in this age of overnight construction "miracles.” The program is broad, fresh and vital—and so is its architectural answer.
But what of the needs stated in this program? The Book of Laws said. "Construct
edifices in the most beautiful manner possible”; the Guardian said that around the central edifice, “—shall cluster—institutions of social service,” and, "higher scientific education”, but "the central building Will be devoted solely—to prayer and worship”, that it, "must have nine sides, doors, fountains, paths, gateways, columns, and gardens”——"With the ground floor, galleries and domes.” And finally, “Thus science will be the handmaid of religion, both showering their material and spiritual gifts on all humanity.” Such are the bare outlines of a noble architectural program.
During forty years, so much of it has been accomplished in a planned and orderly fashion, as to leave little doubt but that in good time, the complete vision will be actualized. By 1944, as required, the fabric has been erected and the exterior finished as well. The manner of doing has called forth admiration on every side. Without world wide support and sacrifice this Would not have been possible—many, like the humble shopman in distant India who gave his sleeping mat, have contributed in free will fashion.
Hundreds of minds and hands have been utilized in the building of the TempleArchitects’, Engineers’, Builders’, Sculptors’, skilled Craftsmen’s and Labourers’. Last but not least the members of the Faith itself, acting through their democratically constituted Executive Committee should be mentioned, numbering five thousand active workers in North America alone. Each has
[Page 415]
THE INSTITUTION
OF THE MASfiRIQU’L-AEKAR
415
Mr. Earl H. Reed, guest speaker on May 19, 1944, for the
Centenary program dedicated to the "Universal House of
Worship.” Mr. Reed’s address was entitled “The Architect’s Design.”
had a share in developing this important regional home of a universal religious concept.
By 1909 the Wilmette site had been purchased. It is admirably suited to effective carrying out of the central portion of the program. Free views are afforded of the nine sided structure from many directions and it is displayed to full advantage. Processes of architectural planning have been adequate to produce a satisfying mass and at the same time a functional result. The first floor Was Wisely raised high above Lake Michigan and adjoining streets so that the dome, soaring one hundred sixty—one feet
above it, becomes a landmark of great distinction, dominating the region. This also
made possible the securing of extensive floor
areas in the ground floor for auditorium, radiating alcoves and utilities, Without destroying the simple and powerful effect of the
domed Hall of Worship. Technological advances in ventilation, air conditioning and
lighting have greatly extended the potentialities for use of this subterranean space.
This observer well remembers first seeing,
about 1920, the large plaster model of the
Temple which had been prepared to present
the architect’s conception. Like many fellow architects he was struck by the origi
[Page 416]
416
nality of the design and the bold beauty of the dome. A fine design inevitably undergoes processes of modification and refinement during its developmental stages. The Temple was no exception. The thinning down of its girth at the behest of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was an act of technical intelligence, which at one stroke assured a soaring grace to the structure, eliminated unneeded space and reduced costs of construction to a practicable basis.
The same doubts assailed this observer as many others regarding the novel axial relationship of the inviting segmented entrances with the central mass behind—for passage to the Hall of Worship is effected directly toward and through each of the nine, four pointed bases, of the superstructure supports. But rigid technical investigation and the judgment of passing time have confirmed the correctness of this disposition of the encircling entrance vestibule mass. Through it the edifice gains a most unusual quality of aliveness.
He remarked year by year, the successive steps of construction—the sinking of the caisson wells to bedrock in 1921, the completion of the fort-like lower portion containing the auditorium, and then of upper portions and the galleries. Finally the dome itself was raised and received its distinguished ornamentation. Not until recently did close examination reveal to this observer that the best known building methods and materials had been applied to assure long life and continued comeliness to this unique structure.
In common With other religious buildings, Bahá’í Temple includes in its composition many symbolisms. Intertwined curved forms signifying cosmic unity; the out-giving meanings of the many fine sculptured pierced openings; sides numbered to the greatest digit for nine world religions and eighteen encircling steps; inwrought swastika, cross, crescent and star; carved utterances such as "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” Diverse motives of historic styles have been employed. High flung, above all, are the pointed segmental ribs of the dome, lending spiritual character to the whole in a fashion heretofore untried.
A beautiful design ignobly executed would have constituted a negation of the
THE BAHA'I WORLD
principles underlying the Bahá’í Faith. But the Temple structure, a work of the late Major H. J. Burt, was skillfully and solidly designed in harmony with the architect’s intent. The Hall of Worship, though incomplete, is already impressive with its exposed, rhythmical, concrete members. Such stark structure is much admired by moderns today. Yet the practical policies adopted for the Temple, require that it be clothed in richer material to bring human scale to its vast volume and an atmosphere of divine worship through subtly controlled lighting, modulated space enclosure, and color.
The architectural committee, of which Mr. Allen B. McDaniel has long been a member, made a most fortunate move When it chose for the exterior, the brilliant white, cast-concrete product, of the Barley Studio. How its quartz aggregate was developed and the steps of its modelling, casting and ingenious attachment to the structure were worked out form a fascinating chapter of the history of the building of the Temple. This observer is not aware of the existence of a finer example of cast-concrete application than the present one. By way of appraisal, one has only to examine the perfection of the encircling steps, each laid one-half inch from the next for drainage, and allowance for expansion, as are all other cast sections. In the dome they are ten feet square in places, carefully reinforced with steel, here as everywhere else, and they weigh up to three and one-half tons. As completion stages are entered upon, many complex problems of material selection will be encountered—may the committee be equally successful with these.
In the not too distant future, judging from the astonishing growth rate of membership in the Faith, numerous other architectural problems of more general nature must also be met and solved. For instance that of a landscape setting in order to merge the monumental domed mass of the Temple into its small scale suburban location; the arranging of entrance approaches and most important of all, the location and disposition of social service and educational elements in completion of the ensemble. That decisions in these matters will be wisely made as to order and method, also seems certain.
[Page 417]
QU’L—ADHKA
m H S A M E H T F o N m T U U S N
THE
May 18, 1944.
,
View of Illumined House of Worship, Fr nt Cover Design Wilmette L1
[Page 418]
418
No attempt has or will be made here to attach a label of historic style to Bahá’í Temple. It is vital and universal in spirit, befittingly Oriental in its intricacy of treatment, and the dome ornament is vigorously modern. A modest statement by the architect contains this passage, “those structural lines which originated in the faith of all religions are the same but so covered over are they with decoration picturing creed upon creed and superstition after superstition, that we must needs lay them aside and create a new form of ornament.” Thus did he succeed in weaving into the Temple a notable expression of “unity of all religious mankind,” creating thereby a monument to universal peace among men.
Louis J. Bourgeois passed away just before the starting of the work on the superstructure in 1930. He had completed his design, including full-sized drawings of remarkable accuracy, we are told. Some reached a length of one hundred nine feet and involved tremendous effort. From his studio home on
THE Bahá’í WORLD
Lake Michigan, just east of the Temple, he had hoped to enjoy the supreme satisfaction of an architect—that of viewing day by day, the progressive realization of his architectural dreams.
French Canadian by birth and trained in Paris, he had assisted Louis H. Sullivan, the Chicago master, and other architects, erected churches in Canada, and participated in the Hague Peace Palace competition during an active professional life. He was a member of the Bahá’í Faith and the design of the Temple was his culminating work. In its interest and in order to consult with the Leader of the Faith, he made a pilgrimage to Palestine where he left some original drawings. His vivid spirit lives on Within these walls which he never saw. A fellow architect feels it a privilege to pay Louis J. Bourgeois tribute on the occasion of the Centenary of the Bahá’í Faith which he
served so well.
Address delivered on the program of the Bahá’í Centenary, May 19-25, 1944.
THE BAHA'I TEMPLE
ON the shores of Lake Michigan in the beautiful suburb of Wilmette, 14 miles north of Chicago, stands one of the most imposing and unusual edifices in America. This is the Bahá’í House of Worship, better known as Bahá’í Temple, designed by Louis Jean Bourgeois. It is the second temple of the world-wide religious faith, the first having been constructed in Ishqábád, Russia, early in this century. The faith originated in Persia some 100 years ago, and is named after Bahá’u’lláh, a Persian of noble family who died in 1892 at ‘Akká, Palestine, after 40 years of exile and imprisonment. His eldest son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, came from the Holy Land westward, first through Egypt and then to Europe and America in 1912 and 1913, speaking in many churches and universities. He laid stress on the prihciples of independent search for truth: the oneness of mankind; the abolition of racial, patriotic, political and religious prejudices; universal peace; the harmony of science and religion; the essential oneness of all religions; the betterment of morals; economic righteous ness and justice; universal education; and the equality of men and women. The Temple has been dedicated to these principles and has been built by people in all lands who are working for these principles. It is open to all religions, sects and peoples.
So unusual in conception and complicated in design was the project, the architect did not risk presentation by drawings alone but at the time designs were being considered by the building committee he submitted a beautiful White plaster model of the entire structure. H. Van Buren Magonigle, architect of New York City, upon examination of the model gave the following description of the temple:
“Mr. Bourgeois has conceived a Temple of Light in which structure as usually understood is to be concealed, visible support eliminated as far as possible, and the whole fabric to take on the airy substance of a dream; it is a lacy envelope enshrining an idea, the idea of light, a shelter of cobweb interposed between earth and sky, struck through and through with light—light
[Page 419]
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MAERIQU’L-APLHKAR 419
Office of Universal Atlas Portland Cement Co., New York City, showing portion of mural which illustrates Bahá’í House of Worship.
A ‘1‘ 9;}, mm; v V
Bahá’í exhibit arranged by Teaneck Assembly, March, 1944.
[Page 420]
420
which shall partly consume the forms and make it a thing of faery.”
Symbolic of the principles of the Bahá’í cause are the geometric forms of the ornamentation covering the columns and surrounding windows and doors of the temple. Here are the circle, the triangle, the double triangle or six-pointed star, the five-pointed star, the Greek cross, the Roman or Christian cross, the swastika cross and the nine-pointed star. The figure 9, largest digit, recurs not only in the ornament but in the structure itself.
In designing this structure the architect refused to let himself be bound by common practices. He knew it would be impracticable to use a material that required cutting and carving to give him the pierced and highly ornamented surfaces he visioned and that a material which could be molded such as concrete or metal was especially adapted to such work. The project was built over a period of some 20 years as funds became available. This permitted ample time for investigation of materials proposed for the exterior surface before a decision had to be made. The caissons on which the building is supported were completed in 1921, the basement in 1922. The superstructure was not started until 1930. During this period samples of various materials were placed on the property to test their durability, weathering and discoloration. The architect had met and interested John J. Earley of the Barley Studio, Washington, D. C., in the project and Mr. Barley submitted a full-size sample of the dome ornamentation cast in concrete with a surface of exposed aggregate. It was found that the design with its intricate ornamentation and repetition ‘of forms and details was especially adapted to concrete, plastic when placed and becoming durable and strong upon hardening.
The edifice rests upon a great circular platform which constitutes the basement. The basement wall is 204-ft. 8-in. outside diameter. A central basement space 72 ft. in diameter and 27 ft. high, free from interior columns and having a domed ceiling, was used for regular services during the years additional funds were being raised and the superstructure was being built. Com THE Bahá’í WORLD
pletely surrounding the building is a series of 18 steps supported on the sloping deck of the basement. The first story of the superstructure is a nine—sided unit, each side constituting an entrance arch buttressed by pylons or towers. The nine symmetrical sides form a series of concave arcs intersecting the line of the circle marked by the towers. Above the main story are the gallery, the clerestory and the dome. The gallery unit, likewise nine-sided, sets back from the main story. It repeats the efiect of the entrance arches below in its series of nine window arches, but the nine smaller towers of this level rise at points midway between the lower towers. The clerestory and dome, set back from the outer line of the gallery, form circles and not nonagons but their circumference is divided into nine convex arcs by nine ribs. These spring from the base of the clerestory to meet above the dome and coincide vertically with the towers of the gallery.
The main auditorium is a clear circular opening 72 ft. in diameter and 105 ft. high above the main floor surmounted by the dome 36 ft. in radius. There are no intermediate floors, the galleries circumscribing the open space.
Nine concrete caissons or piers 6 ft. in diameter were sunk to bedrock at 124 ft. Each pier is flared at the top to carry a steel grillage supporting four steel columns which support the dome and also portions of the galleries and first-floor framing. The dome’s inner and outer system of framing are independent and not connected in any way, so that unequal expansion and contraction will not affect the structure. The inner framing supports a waterproof dome of wire glass and will eventually support an ornamental interior dome. The outside framing supports the pierced cast stone exterior dome.
Backup of all exterior walls and pylons is of reinforced concrete cast in place. Due to the unusual shapes involving the curved walls and arches over the windows as well as the curved surfaces of the pylons, considerable formwork of a complicated nature was required. All forms for the cast-in-place backup walls were constructed of wood. At the time the walls were constructed it was
[Page 421]
THE INSTITUTION OF THE
Brill? Tempe at W
MAS_H_RIQU’L-A1_)}_{KAR 421
Bahá’í exhibit in Ross Radio Shop, San Mateo, California, featured during the United Nations Conference held in San Francisco, 1945.
not known when it would be possible to place the exterior decorative material. The concrete was therefore carefully controlled to withstand severe weathering indefinitely. Workability was varied in relation to the size and shape of members. There are columns and mullions from 30 to 47 ft. high, and some sections only 4 in. thick. Increased workability was obtained where necessary by reducing the amount of coarse aggregate. Aggregates and concrete were tested at frequent intervals to control their quality. As it turned out these walls were exposed for periods from three years to over 10 years but in no case did they show any efiects of weathering.
The untimely death of the architect occurred about the time construction on the superstructure was started. He had, however, completed his design including fullsized drawings of all exterior ornamentation, great drawings of remarkable beauty and accuracy, some reaching a length of 109 ft. Mr. Earley worked over the archi tect’s designs of ornamentation, Which were in the flat, and simplified certain details as a result of his studies of their final effect in depth. The first step was the modeling and carving of the original clay model for each section. The sculptor made a tracing of the architect’s original full-sized drawing for each surface and then transferred this design on to the clay surface. From this outline he modeled and carved the full-size clay model. Plaster of paris impressions were taken of the clay surfaces and from these a plaster of paris model, well reinforced with hemp, jute and steel rods, was made. The plaster model was then carefully carved to give the final surface texture and modeling. From the model, plaster of paris molds were made which provided the negative of the final cast section. All precast members were made in a plant at Rosslyn, Va.
In the lower section of the dome the precast sections are about 10 ft. square, 5 in. thick and weigh between 3 and 3% tons
[Page 422]
422
each. Near the top of the dome the sections are about 3x10 ft. Each concrete section is separated from the adjacent sections by %-in. spaces, allowing room for each to expand, contract and move without affecting the others. While most of the ornamented facing on the lower stories is also precast, some of the plainer surfaces such as around the windows and lower sections of the pylons were cast in place. Plaster molds were used for these areas also and the same materials used for the concrete as in the precast work. All surface concrete is of the exposed aggregate type produced by brushing and washing to reveal the aggregate. Aggregates are White crystalline quartz and a clear translucent quartz, crushed and carefully screened and proportioned to exact grading. White portland cement Was used in the surface. The surfaces are extremely pleasing and full of life due to the scintillating effect of the quartz.
THE BAHA’I
WORLD
The final stage was production and erection of the 18 circular steps at the base of the structure. These consist of 918 precast sections and are continuous around the building. A better conception of the amount involved can be had when it is realized that they are equivalent to a single step about two miles long. They were placed on concrete carriages cast on the sloping deck of the basement.
Every operation in the production of the decorative concrete was closely controlled to produce a structure meeting the requirements of the members of the Bahá’í faith who look upon their temple as a building which is to last indefinitely. The vision of the architect has materialized and what many technical men had deemed impracticable when they viewed the model in 1920 has become a reality.
From Architectural Concrete Magazine published by Portland Cement Association
FLOOD-LIGHTING THE TEMPLE
THE Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, has frequently been referred to as the Temple of Light. This descriptive appellation may have been inspired by the lacy stone ornamental surfaces which reflect the sun rays in an ever changing pattern, or the effect of the light within the structure, which is unique because the perforations in the outer envelope of stone permit the infiltration of the sunlight.
The unique beauty of the structure itself, standing above its surroundings, the inspiring sweep of lines that delineate its majestic form, the general theme of its graceful forms that conceal its size, but which stagger up to massive proportions, call forth from all who see it, expressions of awe and wonder. It is so utterly unlike the common concept of a building as to, at first, seem almost unreal, yet it exerts a singular power of attraction that draws to its portals a steady stream of visitors who seek almost involuntarily to enter and to learn its meaning.
The simile of light and truth has always been a part of the human expression of religious concept. The Teachings of the
Prophets, the great Founders of the world religions, were commonly called the Light of God. The use of light combined with the structural elements of the Bahá’í House of Worship was a basic concept of its designer, hence the ornamental form which, because of the deep carving of the surface, reveals the ornament in deep relief, so that the ever changing play of light and shadow creates a form poem of singular charm and impressive beauty.
As the sunlight moves over its surfaces from dawn to sunset, and as it stands silhouetted against the ever changing sky and the cloud pattern, it inspires ever new feelings of wonderment and awe. Not, however, until at the time of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the Faith, when the trustees undertook to make the first experiment with artificial lighting of the exterior of the building was the truly exquisite ethereal character of the whole structure revealed. The lighting installations were only temporary and therefore in no sense perfect. The equipment used was only roughly adapted.
[Page 423]
THE INSTITUTION OF THE MAS_HRIQU'L-AD_HKAR
to the purpose, yet the effect was simply astounding. A feeling of unreality, of a building that was not of the earth, but which seemed to be a vision, overpowered every one. It arrested the step of every person, no one could walk past without stopping again and again to gaze at it. The entire form glowed as though made of luminous material and there was a feeling of vibration that seemed to make it alive. The very fact that this effect could be obtained by equipment so inadequate gives promise of a future development that may in itself become most significant. In this
423
experiment it was found impossible to actually illuminate the dome of the structure. This was due partly to the nature of the equipment found available in this war period and to the curve of the surfaces of the dome. There is every reason to believe that this Will not prove to be an insolvable problem and one may be assured that in the not too far distant future the fully illumined House of Worship will stand in the night as well as in the day time, a powerful beacon to guide mankind toward the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. CARL SCHEFFLER
THE BAHA’I WORLD
Official Navy Photograph—Aerial view of Wilmette Harbor, Wilmette, Illinois.
