Bahá’í World/Volume 12/The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár

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[Page 515]

3. THE INSTITUTION OF THE

MAgRIQU’LAIEKAR

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 diVis1ons.

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

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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 new 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

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[Page 517]INSTITUTION OF THE MAS_I:IRIQU’L-ADHKAR

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THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MASi-IRIQU’L-AQHKAR

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, ere 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’néh 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 multi tude 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 realities 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

Bahá’í Temple. A Temple for man’s worship of God.

The Bahá’í House of Worship at Wilmette, Illinois, is a great circular building with nine entrances and circular steps which if laid end to end would cover two and one—half miles. The building and landscaping have cost $2,600,000

and represent the sacrifice of Bahá’ís not only in the United States but also gifts from Bahá’ís abroad. It was dedicated May 2, 1953, as a high light of the Centenary celebrations of the Bahá’í Faith.

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denied that the emanations of spiritual power and inspiration destined to radiate from the central Edifice of the Mashriqu’l-Acfllkér 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 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 Baha’u’llah. 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

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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 as we have never resolved before to

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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 numbers, 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 1 entreat you, to 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 in 519

ferred, however, from this general statement that the interior of the central Edifice it self 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 formula and man-made 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-Acfllkér 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 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 worshipers 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 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 Messengers and Prophets Who, from time immemorial even unto our day,

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..

View of the Bahá’í House of

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-A(flikér, 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-Acfllkér, Bahá’í worship, however exalted in its conception, however passionate in fervor, can never hope to achieve beyond the meager and often transi Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, February, 1953.

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tory results produced by the contemplations of the ascetic or the communion of the . passive worshiper. It cannot afford lasting satisfaction and benefit to the worshiper 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’1A(fllkér 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

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from the central Shrine of the Mashriqu’l-A(fllkér. 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-A(fllkér, 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 afiiicted humanity. For it is assuredly upon the consciousness of the eflicacy 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,

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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-Adjgkér 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

From GOD PASSES BY

By SHOGHI EFFENDI

Introduction

By Former ARCHDEACON TOWNSHEND, M.A.

ON THE lake shore at Wilmette stands the completed Temple of Praise, a 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

THE RISE AND ESTABLISHMENT

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. 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 funcTapter XXII, pp. 348653.

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 a Nine—Pointed Star come down from heaven to find its resting place on the earth.

OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER*

tioning 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 addressed, in March 1903 to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by

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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 Mafiiriqtt’l-Adhkár of ‘Ishqábád, 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,” 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 enterprise'——the 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 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

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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 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 Muslim, 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 t0 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 hemi [Page 523]INSTITUTION OF THE MASflRIQU’L-ADHKAR

spherical 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 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, a 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 diflusion 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 Mashriqu’l-Ad_hkdr is laid in America,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself has predicted, ”and that Divine Edifice is completed, a most wonderful and 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,

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will permeate to all parts of the worl .” “Out of this Mashriqu’l-Aditkdr,” He has affirmed in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, “without doubt, thousands of Mashriqu’l-Acflikdrs will be born.” “It marks,” He, furthermore, has written, “the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth.” And again: “It is the manifest Standard waving in the center of that great continent.” “Thousands of Mashriqu’l-Atfltktirs,” 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-Acfltkdr,” 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 struc [Page 524]524

ture, 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 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 A rchitectural Record has written, “covering 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

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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 a 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 conviction, 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 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.”

THE BAHA’I HOUSE OF WORSHIP

O N THE first day of May, 1912, a group of men, women, and children stood in the open fields where this House of Worship now stands. With them was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. He had come to perform the symbolic act of laying a cornerstone for the future Temple. A woman who wanted to aid the building of the Temple, found a rough stone. She lived many miles from here and started on foot to carry the stone. A little boy with a cart helped her part way. Finally, a man offered to carry it on his back, and the stone was brought to the fields here. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked to use it as the foundation stone.

THIS TEMPLE

This act of sacrifice is symbolic of the whole story behind this House of Worship. In 1903 the Chicago Bahá’ís started the project to build in America a Temple to embody the new principles of faith in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. The American Bahá’ís, then a few hundred in number, united in this project. Their determination was an act of faith. They had no money collected. They had no architect’s plan. But they made a beginning.

Baha’u’llah taught that in each community there should be a Temple where the

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voices of men and women are raised in praise to God. Each Bahá’í Temple is to have nine sides. This is the only architectural requirement which Bahá’u’lláh made. But the symbolism is important. Nine is the largest single number and thus symbolizes comprehensiveness, culmination. Bahá’u’lláh used nine to symbolize the coming of age of the human race. He taught that the purpose of religion in this age is to unite the conflicting races and nations in one faith and a common world civilization. He changed religion from personal salvation to a means for building world order.

At present, most people belong to religions differing greatly in time of origin. Judaism, for example, is over a thousand years older than Christianity. Some religions were started by men who were reformers. Some originated with individuals who claimed to reveal the Word of God. The spiritual truths of these religions are essentially the same. Every Bahá’í Temple symbolizes the oneness of religion. The early American Bahá’ís wanted to erect a Temple to express this idea. No group of people in the West had ever undertaken such a project.

In 1920 a competition was held for Bahá’í architects to submit designs for a Temple. The designs were submitted at a convention in New York City. Among the competitors was Louis Bourgeois, a French-Canadian architect. His design was enthusiastically selected by the Bahá’ís after a committee of architects and engineers endorsed it. One prominent architect declared that it was the first new idea in religious architecture since the Middle Ages.

Bourgeois tried to get the feeling of the unity of religion into the design. On the great outer columns you find religious symbols placed in rising, chronological orderto give the idea of the continuity of religious truth from God. The swastika, an ancient religious symbol, is at the bottom of the design on these columns. Then comes the six-pointed star of Judaism, the cross of Christianity, the star and crescent of Islam. Above these is a nine-pointed star to indicate the coming religious unity of the human race.

People find other ideas in the Temple design. The nine doors suggest varied ways by which men in the past have found a knowledge of God. Because the design is unusual, people try to find a single term for the architecture. Some point out traces of

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different styles—Egyptian, Romanesque, Arabic, Renaissance and Byzantine. By suggestions of these various styles Bourgeois has indicated the repeated efforts of men to glorify God.

The building rests upon nine steel—reinforced concrete caissons sunk 124 feet to bedrock level. The diameter of the circular platform at top of the outside steps is 152 feet; the diameter of the dome is 98 feet. The height of the structure from main floor to dome pinnacle is 165 feet.

The materials for the outside of the Temple presented many problems. The architect and engineers had no precedent to go by. Years were spent in research. Finally, John J. Earley, an architectural sculptor, helped solve the main problem. Using a mixture of white cement and ground quartz, the outer ornamentation was cast in molds and then applied section by section.

With the war over, the Bahá’ís are planning to complete the interior by 1953, the fiftieth anniversary of the time when the idea of building a Bahá’í Temple in America was adopted. Then the Bahá’ís will eventually erect auxiliary buildings. Bahá’u’lláh gave a unified plan for a community center with a beautiful House of Worship at its heart. Around this will be a hospital, a hospice, an orphanage, a college, and scientific laboratories. Bahá’u’lláh urged that each Bahá’í Temple be surrounded by gardens and fountains.

Services in the Temple will not be elaborate. There will be no ritualism or set forms. Bahá’ís have no professional clergy to preside. Services are for prayer, meditation, and the reading of writings from the Sacred Scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith and the other great Faiths of the world. Sermons of any type will be out of place. Vocal music alone will be heard. The Temple will be open to all people for prayer and meditation.

Bahá’í worship means more than prayer and meditation. Bahá’u’lláh said that any work done in a spirit of service is a form of prayer. The educational, humanitarian, and scientific institutions around the Temple will complete the dedication of the individual to God. To the Bahá’í there is no rigid division between the spiritual and practical parts of life.

Bahá’ís do not solicit funds from the public for any of their activities. From all over the world the Bahá’ís have contributed to the erection of this building. Funds have

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come from Persia, India—in fact, from all the five continents. This Temple is both a gift from Bahá’ís and a demonstration of their Faith. Here is a building where men and women of all races and religions are welcome to come for prayer. Here no creed stigmatizes the follower of any great faith as infidel or pagan. Here all men may turn their hearts to God and know that they are brothers.

SELECTED UTTERANCES 0F BAHA’U’LLAH CARVED ABOVE THE NINE ENTRANCES OF THE TEMPLE

The earth is but one country; and mankind its citizens.

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me.

My love is My stronghold; he that enterest therein is safe and secure.

Breathe not the sins of others so long as thou art thyself a sinner.

Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent.

I have made death a messenger of joy to thee; wherefore dost thou grieve?

Make mention of Me on My earth that in My heaven I may remember thee.

0 rich ones on earth! The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My Trust.

The source of all learning is the knowledge of God, exalted be His glory.

TEXTS FROM WORDS OF BAHA’U’LLAH SELECTED BY SHOGHI EFFENDI FOR THE TEMPLE INTERIOR

All the Prophets of God proclaim the same Faith.

Religion is a radiant light and an impregnable stronghold.

Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch.

So powerful is unity’s light that it can illumine the whole earth.

Consort with the followers of all religions with friendliness.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

O Son of Being! Thou art My Lamp and My light is in thee.

O Son of Being! Walk in My statutes for love of Me.

Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home reunion with Me.

The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun.

THIS FAITH

The people who built this House of Worship are Bahá’ís. They bear this name as members of a World Faith. The word “Bahá’í” comes from the name of the Founder of the Faith Bahá’u’lláh (“the Glory of God”). Bahá’í simply means “a follower of Bahá’u’lláh.”

The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is called the “Bahá’í World Faith.” There are three reasons for this.

First, Bahá’ís live in more than two hundred countries and territories of the world. Bahá’ís are people who formerly had different and conflicting religious backgrounds. They had been Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Protestants, Catholics, or else they had no religion at all. They have found in the Bahá’í Faith 21 basis of unity that makes the competition of sects and denominations seem unimportant to them. Bahá’ís are people of different economic and social classes. Through a common devotion, rich and poor mingle as equals and work together to establish a world order for all men and women. They are people of different national and racial backgrounds. But the Bahá’í teachings have given them a higher onalty—the loyalty to humanity. Bahá’ís have no “color line” or racial segregation. In this Faith, people of all races find equality with each other because they are equal before God.

Second, the Bahá’í Faith develops worldmindedness. Read these well—known Bahá’í quotations: . . . “Let your vision be worldembracing, rather than confined to your own selves.” . . . “That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the service of the entire human race.”

Third, the Bahá’í Faith offers a clear pattern of world order. It does not have any secret mystic doctrines; it does not have any priesthood or professional clergy. People find this a practical, spiritual religion with

[Page 527]INSTITUTION OF THE

the mission of uniting the world in one common faith and one order. Bahá’u’lláh declared that in our time religion must unite people or else it has no social value. He declared that religion must show men how to build a just world. He emphasized that justice is the greatest good in the sight of God. Toyshow men how to achieve this, He outlined a pattern of world order.

Baha’u’llah’s vision of a united world begins with each man and woman. Individuals must have high moral standards and a new basis of belief if they are to become citizens of one world.

Bahá’ís believe in one God, even though men have called Him by different names. God has revealed His Word in each period of history through a chosen Individual Whom Bahá’ís call “the Manifestation of God.” He restates in every age God’s purpose and will. His teachings are a revelation from God. Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ, and Muhammad were Manifestations of God. Each gave men divine teachings to live by. Bahá’ís believe that true religion is the real basis of civilized life.

Since there is one God, these Manifestations of God have each taught the same religious faith. They have developed and adapted it to meet the needs of the people in each period of history. This unfoldment of religion from age to age is called “progressive revelation.” Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, is the Manifestation of God for our time.

This is the basis of Bahá’í belief: one God has given men one Faith through progressive revelations of His Will in each age of history, and Baha’u’llah reveals the Will of God for men and women of the present age. This basic belief enables Bahá’ís to unite and work together in spite of different religious backgrounds.

The Oneness of Mankind is like a pivot around which all the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh revolve. This means that men and women of all races are equal in the sight of God and equal in the Bahá’í community. People of different races must have equal educational and economic opportunity, equal access to decent living conditions and equal responsibilities. In the Bahá’í view, there is no superior race or superior nation.

Bahá’u’lláh declared that a house of Justice must be established in each community.

MAgflRIQU’L—AQLIKAR 527 This body, elected by the people, is to be composed of men and women so qualified that they may be “trustees of the Merciful among men.” Each nation will have a Secondary or National House of Justice whose members will elect the International House of J ustice. This international legislature will make the laws for a federalized world.

Bahá’u’lláh emphasized certain principles to help bind people together in a united world:

Men must seek for truth in spite of custom, prejudice, and tradition.

Men and women must have equal opportunities, rights, and privileges.

The nations must choose an international language to be used along with the mother tongue.

All children must receive a basic education.

Men must make a systematic effort to wipe out all those prejudices which divide people.

Men must recognize that religion should go hand—in-hand with science.

Men must work to abolish extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

This Faith and these challenging ideas originated in Persia (Iran) in 1844. In that year a young Man Who called Himself the Bab (or “Gate”) began to teach that God would soon “make manifest” a World Teacher to unite men and women and usher in an age of peace. The Báb attracted so many followers that the Persian government and the Islamic clergy united to kill Him. And they massacred more than twenty thousand of His followers.

In 1863 Bahá’u’lláh announced to the few remaining followers of the Báb that He was the chosen Manifestation of God for this age. He called upon people to unite; He said that only in one common faith and one order could the world find an enduring peace. He declared that terrible wars would sweep the face of the earth and destroy the institutions and ideas that keep men from their rightful unity.

The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh are a ringing call to action. They offer hope, courage, and vision. The books of Bahá’u’lláh in English are: The Hidden Words, The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, The Book of Certitude, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Prayers and Meditations, and Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. A selec [Page 528]528

tion of His writings is in the anthology called Bahá’í World Faith.

But Bahá’u’lláh was not greeted with enthusiasm by the religious leaders of Islam. As they saw His Faith spread, their hatred grew. They forced Him into exile—first to Bag_hdad, then to Constantinople, to Adrianople, and finally to ‘Akká, Palestine. There He died, still an exile and prisoner, in 1892.

Bahá’u’lláh appointed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His eldest son, as the Interpreter of His teachings and the Exemplar of the Faith. Under the leadership of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá the Faith was introduced to Europe and America. After He was freed from prison in 1908, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá made several missionary journeys. In 1912 He was in America for eight months during which time He laid the cornerstone of this Temple.

In 1921 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá died and left a will naming His eldest grandson, Shoghi EPfendi, the first Guardian of the Faith and the in THE BAHA’I WORLD

terpreter of the teachings. Under Shoghi Effendi’s direction the Bahá’ís throughout the world have adopted an administrative order that is an application of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings for a world order. Thus Bahá’ís have begun to practice in their own affairs the social teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

Local and National Bahá’í Spiritual Assemblies are the pattern for the Houses of Justice of tomorrow. Bahá’ís know from increasing experience that differences of nation, race, class, and religion can be removed by the uniting power of Bahá’u’lláh. Bahá’ís know from increasing experience that this Faith can save men and women from the hatreds, the pessimism, the corruption, and the materialism of our age. They know this because they have seen it and experienced it. They invite you to investigate this Faith and share in this spiritual adventure.

ARCHITECTURE OF THE TEMPLE INTERIOR

By ROBERT W. MCLAUGHLIN

(This is the first of two articles by members of the Bahá’í Technical Advisory Board on various phases of the Temple interior work. The first, by Mr. McLaughlin, covers the general architectural features of the interior. A subsequent article by Mr. Eardley describes the materials being used, the structural work, and other subjects of interest.)

A GOOD many years have passed since Louis Bourgeois conceived and developed the design for the Temple in Wilmette. These intervening years have seen perhaps as rapid and violent a change in prevailing concepts of architecture as the world has ever known. In 1920 and the years immediately preceding, American architecture was in the grip of rigid stylism, of painstaking archaeology. In 1950 American architecture has abandoned eclecticism and is committed to a wholehearted expression of function and structure as the supreme objective.

The Bahá’í Temple typifies neither point of view. Had Bourgeois been content to swim along in the main stream of 1920 American architecture he would have clad his design in a medley of architectural styles. Instead he put away his books of

archaeology and brought forth a flowing, dynamic type of ornamentation that defies placing as to specific source. Were we to follow the prevailing fashion of 1950 as we complete the interior we would simply leave exposed the concrete framework of the interior and probably do a lot of talking about the honesty, integrity and beauty of naked, unabashed structures——perhaps a little whitewash and a few accents of color and form and we would consider it complete.

But all of us who are Bahá’ís during this thrilling period of completing the most holy House of Worship, know that our Temple is something quite apart from any architectural fashion of the moment. When our Temple is completed it will be a unified, integrated entity, although designed and built in a period of swiftly moving change. The Guardian has directed that it be so, and of course that is the only way that a Bahá’í Temple can be.

When we enter one of the nine entrances to the Temple, some time in the spring of 1951, we will find the old temporary wooden doors removed, and simple but fine aluminum and glass substituted. The wooden crossbars above are to be removed and two large pieces of clear glass installed

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in each opening—there would be only .one piece, except for the pressures of high WlndS off Lake Michigan. These large areas of glass will show, from the inside of the Temple the ornament on the back of some of the exterior columns and arches.

The concrete piers in the bays have already been finished as round columns. A picture of these appeared in the Bahá’í News for December, 1949. The design of these columns makes no attempt to copy heavy, masonry forms. They taper towards the bottom rather than towards the top as has been the case with masonry columns for milleniums past. In so doing they register as surface treatment and not as massive masonry, for the load is carried by the concrete pier within. Vertical joints, instead of being staggered in usual masonry fashion, are lined one above the other, further recognizing the surface qualities of the material. The marble base of the column will be recessed rather than projecting in the usual manner. We can see already, at the Temple, the lightness and grace, as well as the great dignity, of these columns.

The ceiling of each bay consists of a pair of ogee curves meeting in a straight line at the top. A lighting trough carries around each bay between columns, and silhouetted in front will be the nine inscriptions selected by the Guardian. Color can be applied to the ceilings, and there is space for draperies against the outside wall, betWeen windows.

In the main portion of the Temple there are, of course, the nine pairs of columns which rise to the springing of the dome. These columns are even now being finished with square sections of the surface material, and between each pair of columns rises a brilliant panel of ornament, clear to the springing of the dome. Our architect, Alfred

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Shaw, has felt from the very start of his work that he wanted to recapture the scale and quality of the exterior ornament of the dome. That he has at last fully done so is clear to those who have watched his designs progress from sketches to detailed drawings, to clay models, plaster casts, and finally to the executed panels. These nine great vertical panels of vibrant, flowing ornament eventually find their way into the detail of the dome.

Between the nine panels and pairs of piers are first the main story arches, then the gallery arches, and finally the smaller interlacing arches of the triforium gallery. At each of the main story arches is a nine pointed star on which will be inscribed the Greatest Name. The Guardian has sent a detail of this inscription, which is to be followed exactly lest any Occidental liberties with epigraphy olfend a practiced eye.

The dome has been brilliantly designed with an interlacing of flowing ornament, culminating in the Greatest Name at the zenith. The interior dome, like the exterior treatment, will be pierced, to transmit light.

To have watched the development of the interior design has been a thrilling experience. The complete willingness and desire of our distinguished architect, Alfred Shaw, to merge his great creative powers into the background of the over-all concept of the Temple has been stirring and deeply and gratefully admired. The problem has been difficult technically if only because of the absolute necessity of integrating what is being done in 1950 to form a harmonious entity with what was conceived before 1920.

But in only a little more than a year from now, given the necessary flow of funds, the Temple interior will have been completed. And it is going to be very beautiful.

STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF THE INTERIOR OF THE BAHA’l HOUSE OF WORSHIP

By EDWIN H. EARDLEY

IT HARDLY seems possible that almost thirty-eight years have passed since that memorable occasion in 1912 when our beloved ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met with the friends to dedicate the ground upon which the Temple was to be built. That meeting was held in an extraordinarily large tent—«indeed a far cry

from the beautiful structure now nearing completion. How many of us could then visualize the magnitude of the work ahead!

After preparation of the architectural drawings by Mr. Louis Bourgeois, and the selection of Major Burt of Holabird & Root as the supervising engineer, the first major

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operation was the sinking to bed rock of the nine unusually large caissons. In addition to the caisson work the primary structural features included the foundation walls, and the domelike roof over what is now called Foundation Hall. Following this came the fabrication and erection of the structural steel columns supporting the steelwork of the dome proper, and later the construction of the exterior concrete walls above grade, and balcony floors. All of this has been completely described and illustrated in previous articles in the Bahá’í News, The Bahá’í World, a number of architectural and engineering magazines, and daily newspapers.

The structural items of the interior of the Temple are of a secondary nature in comparison with those mentioned in the previous paragraph. They are, nevertheless, important. The interior tracery, as well as the plain or solid surfaces, must be precast and suspended in place by being attached to the columns, the interior balcony spandrels, and to the steel arches of the dome.

From the layman’s standpoint, the work might be compared to the old-fashioned crazy quilt consisting of numerous pieces of odd shapes sewn together to form the finished design. The interior surfaces, being precast, must be of such size as can be readily handled, and, at the same time of such shape that the joints occur only where indicated on the architectural drawings.

A great deal of preliminary work must be done at the site before these castings can be set into place. The method of supporting the cast sections is by means of vertical and shelf angles attached to the present steel and concrete surfaces. Shelf angles are pieces of steel formed in the shape of the letter “L,” one leg of which is bolted or welded to the present structure while the outstanding leg supports the casts. To be able to attach the new steel to the existing steel it has been necessary, in many instances, to cut away the concrete fireproofing. Once the casts are set in place upon the shelf angles, each piece must be bolted to the vertical angles to prevent displacement. Since each separate casting must be accurately placed, it follows that each shelf angle must also be accurately located at the joint between the castings. To a person viewing the work of cutting the concrete and placing these pieces of steel the process may appear confusing, but each piece of steel has a

THE BAHA’I WORLD

definite function. Once the castings are set and bolted in place the several surrounding castings are doweled together to prevent any possible movement. At the Barley Studio, detail and full size drawings are made of the various pieces showing location of each bolt, reinforcing rods, dowels, and galvanized wire mesh.

Suspending of the dome tracery is carried out in a similar manner with each piece of tracery bolted to the dome steel. At the time of building the dome the decision had not been made as to what material would eventually be used for the facing, and, therefore no definite arrangement was made for suspending such material. Now that precast shapes have been decided upon, it means that additional ribs of circular steel must be attached to the existing dome steel and so located as to receive the bolts set in the castings.

The shape of the building, that is, nine-sided below the dome, and circular at the dome, involves rather interesting mathematical calculations as well as careful measurements in the field.

An approximate estimate of the weight of all the interior ornamentation furnished by the Barley Studio amounts to 1,450,000 pounds, of which the dome tracery will weigh approximately 293,000 pounds.

One of the interesting features is the exposed spirally-shaped reinforced concrete stairway. Since the decision to have the main entrances to the Temple on the West side, it became necessary to remove the existing steel stairs from the main floor to the first balcony. The architect chose the spiralIy-shaped stair as being more in conformity with the interior design, not cutting off as much light as an enclosed stairway. According to budget limitations the railing will be of aluminum or stainless steel.

The new steel work required for the suspension of the interior finish is being furnished and set by the Butler Steel Foundry. The structural design has been under the supervision of Mr. Carl A. Metz of the architectural firm of Shaw, Metz & Dolio of Chicago. It is interesting to note that Mr. Metz, while at the University of Illinois, was a former pupil of Mr. Allen B. McDaniel. During the several phases of the construction of the Temple it was Mr. McDaniel who sacrificed much of his time and energy toward the execution of the original structure.

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THE BAHA’I WORLD

COMPLETING THE INTERIOR ORNAMENTATION OF THE BAHA’I HOUSE OF WORSHIP

By ALFRED P. SHAW, Architect*

Remarks addressed to the National Bahá’í Convention, 1951, Wilmette, Illinois

BEING a very bad speaker, certainly not an accomplished one, I have to write a few things down, and the first thing that comes to me is that, although this is essentially a religious gathering, while this may sound material to you, I find that in some religions, and in all religions, possibly, we touch the material things eventually. At any rate, some years ago °when we started this project for this interior, one of the most important men connected with original building operation, said to me—he was not a Bahá’í obviously, just a poor fellow in the building business—“Well,” he said, “Al, there is one thing you will find out about these people. They act in business according to their religious professions.”

To all of you, I am sure, as it did to mebut especially to you—this must mean something.

These men who were on the Building or Technical Committee then are not the same as now. Some of them are, and there has been some change. However, the same thing, the same feeling, has been the experience on this project of the interior. There has been a constant interchange of ideas and when the very earnest proponent of some fine personal idea was out-voted, he took it as a part of the general progress and went on to the next problem. And I include the architect in this general description. You can see that they almost made a Christian out of him.

As I may have mentioned when I spoke to this Assembly once before, it is not an easy or natural task to take an achievement such as‘ Louis Bourgeois’s great structure here and complete it. The proper solution demands a homogeneity with another man’s inspiration and his aesthetics. Now, although there have been many discussions with the Technical Committee, the most difficult, and the most important were those at the very beginning of our association, which

• Of the firm of Shaw, Metz and DOIio, Chicago,

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set the pattern for the character of the interior.

By the nature of the instructions from the Head of your Faith, there were certain aspects of the Bourgeois design which were to be adhered to. There was also the natural architectural need of unity and there were certain details and aesthetics also which, after laying aside a design for some years, even the original architect would very likely have wanted to change. There was also, if I may be permitted to say so, the necessity of the present architect believing in the merit of his own achievement. This very principle my colleagues on the Technical Committee very sympathetically required of me, too.

The resulting open lace-like pattern in stone, organized into nine bays horizontally and four general vertical units and woven into one design has taken some of the character of the exterior and brought about a unified quality on the interior. This quality ——although, personally, I have not done it for that reason alone—represents, I discover in talking with the members of the Committee, the unity of the beliefs which your Faith symbolizes.

The slow process from sketches to detailed drawings on a great structure like this, through the heating plans and the electrical engineering, the work of the modeler, the craftsmanship of the stonemason, the plasterers, the carpenters and all the other tradesmen and the people who coordinated them, has really resulted in a fine and amazing example of this kind of coordinated effort. In my profession, it happens more than once, and most of the time, that we sometimes forget this aspect, and here in this complicated structure it became obvious to me, as I sat thinking about this, this morning, how all these engineering details, sometimes hidden, sometimes visible, have been woven into what appears to be a unit upstairs, and, while it is not completely fin [Page 533]INSTITUTION OF THE MAflRIQU’L-ADHKAR

ished, it certainly is finished enough so that we know that it is going to be what we had in mind. '

I wish there were more of the people here who have done it, but I want to pay a tribute to all these men I have mentioned, these craftsmen, the people who ran this building, the people who coordinated the craftsmen, the people in distant cities who made some of the stone. When I look at this building and see it and recall how much time and effort and individual coordination

533

it has taken, I think this is the place, even if they are not here, to thank them for it, and thank them for the patience they had and the contributions they made.

We, as the architects of the interior, hope and believe that the great purpose of this Temple will be more successfully fulfilled because of this completion of the interior. We also hope that it will be a continuing inspiration to all of you here in America and to all of your Faith. Thank you very much.

INTERIOR ORNAMENTATION OF THE BAHA’I HOUSE OF WORSHIP

By ALLEN B. MCDANIEL and PAUL E. HANEY

LOUIS BOURGEOIS, the architect of the Temple, walked into the conference room of The Research Service in Washington, DC, one morning in the early spring of 1929 and greeted the group: “Well, I have a surprise for you.”

With this precipitate announcement, he laid a roll of original drawings on the table and proceeded to describe his design for the interior ornamentation of the Temple. As the members of the group examined these drawings, expressions of amazement came from all on the extreme intricacy and delicacy Of the design. Mr. H. Van Buren Magonigle, the consulting architect, questioned Mr. Bourgeois on the practicability of the execution of such an elaborate design. But as the meeting had been called to consider the steps to be taken in the construction of the superstructure of the Temple on the foundation completed eight years before, no further consideration was given at that time to the interior design. The making of these drawings constituted the work of Mr. Bourgeois during the last two years of his life.

Nearly nine years, busily occupied with the erection of the superstructure and its ornamentation with the exterior stonework, passed before additional attention was given to the interior. Then, on instructions received from the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, late in 1937, the interior design was purchased from Mrs. Pemberton, widow of Mr. Bourgeois. The original drawings were sent to Haifa for the International Bahá’í

Archives. The work of the exterior ornamentation continued without interruption to its completion with the building of the steps in 1942. Work on Temple construction could not be carried forward during the remaining war years owing to the restrictions then in effect.

The first intimation that Temple construction was to be resumed came in the form of a message from the Guardian in March, 1946, requesting an approximate estimate of the cost of the interior ornamentation. This message also directed the Temple Trustees to modify the elaborate Bourgeois interior design in order to reduce excessive expenditure.

At the Thirty-Eighth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada in April, 1946, the Guardian’s cable setting forth the objectives of the Second Seven-Year Plan revealed that one of these objectives was to be the completion of the interior ornamentation of “the holiest House of Worship in the Bahá’í World” by 1953.

The simplification and modification of the Bourgeois design, in accordance with the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, presented technical problems of great complexity, requiring for their solution the highest degree of engineering and architectural knowledge and experience.

The Temple Trustees, shortly after the 1946 Convention, authorized and initiated two independent studies of the interior ornamentation, these studies to have as their major objective the production of a modified

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design conforming to the Guardian’s instructions. Mr. Allen B. McDaniel, of Washington, D.C., who had been associated with the Temple construction work, as consulting and supervising engineer, since 1921, was requested to carry out one of these studies, and a special Technical Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. Carl Scheffier, of Evanston, Illinois, was authorized to work independently on the same problem of producing a modified interior design.

Further instructions received from the Guardian in the months which followed specified that the modified design for the interior should include the carrying of the spirit and flow of the exterior architectural motifs into the interior, in order to preserve the homogeneity of the entire structure; the creation of a single, spacious auditorium, eliminating the separate small chapels or rooms included in the original Bourgeois concept; adequate acoustical treatment; the use of color; and the use of fixed seats, placed facing in the direction of the Holy Land.

On March 15, 1947, at meetings of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Temple Trustees, the results of nearly nine months of intensive work were presented by the two independent professional groups. The special Technical Committee submitted a design prepared for the Committee by Mr. Earl H. Reed, a Chicago architect, and Mr. McDaniel presented his modification of the Bourgeois interior design. These preliminary designs and accompanying reports were sent to Shoghi Effendi with a memorandum of explanation, for his review and decision.

The Guardian’s decisions were communicated in a letter presented to the Annual Convention in April, 1947. Shoghi Effendi indicated a preference for the preliminary design submitted by Mr. McDaniel, particularly the idea of a perforated dome as contemplated by Mr. Bourgeois, but suggested that certain of Mr. Reed’s ideas might be incorporated in Mr. McDaniel’s plans. Also certain further modifications were suggested, mainly in the interest of homogeneity. A revised design, incorporating these suggestions, was prepared by Mr. McDaniel, and adopted by the Temple Trustees in July. 1947.

Faced with the immediate requirement of the execution of the approved design, the Temple Trustees appointed from their membership a Temple Construction Committee,

THE BAHA’I WORLD

with Paul E. Haney, Chairman; and a Technical Advisory Board of three Bahá’í technical specialists, Allen B. McDaniel, Robert W. McLaughlin and Edwin H. Eardley. With this working organization, a search was made for a competent concern of architects and engineers with the facilities necessary to prepare the working drawings and specifications, and able to assume responsibility for supervising the actual construction work.

After a careful canvass of many architectural firms in Washington, New York and Chicago, a member of the Technical Advisory Board called at the offices of one of the leading architectural concerns in the Loop district of Chicago one morning early in the summer of 1947, and posed the question to the head of the firm: “Would you be interested in preparing the detailed plans and specifications for the interior ornamentation of the Bahá’í Temple at Wilmette, Illinois?” A look of doubt came over the face of the distinguished architect, Mr. Alfred P. Shaw, and he expressed a serious question as to the willingness of his firm to take on a project of this nature, especially in view of the difficulty of recreating the spirit and expressing the qualities of a work of such unique character—the product of the genius of an architect of a former period. However, the universal and outstanding nature of the project as expressed in the general design and flowing ornamentation of Louis Bourgeois’ creation intrigued this craftsman, and on August 4, 1947, a contract was entered into with Mr. Alfred P. Shaw and his firm for the necessary architectural and engineering serv1ces.

Mr. Shaw thus entered upon perhaps the most difficult task which a top—flight architect can attempt, to take an intensely personal creation of another architect, in this case that of Mr. Bourgeois, simplify it greatly, and at the same time give it that creative touch which is so essential if it is truly to live and convey the message intended.

The office of Shaw, Metz and Dolio began studies immediately, and in frequent consultation with the Chairman of the Temple Construction Committee and the members of the Technical Advisory Board gradually evolved the plans for a design which embodied the flowing motifs and the spirit of the Bourgeois vision, but in simplified form as directed by the Guardian of the

[Page 535]

leS.

Wilmette, Illinois, facing east, showing

first and second galler

,/

Interior view of the Bahál House of Worship,

[Page 536]536

Faith. This design was approved by Shoghi Effendi in cables dated May 4 and 6, 1948, with instructions to proceed promptly with the placing of contracts for the actual construction work.

The first step in the construction of the Temple interior involved the removal of the original iron stairway from the foundation area to the main floor, and from the main floor to the first gallery level on the south side of. the structure, and the building of a new reinforced concrete stairway in the entranceway space on the opposite side of the building. This work was performed by the George A. Fuller Company, Chicago, Illinois, the contractors who built the Temple superstructure in 1930 to 1931.

While this stairway construction was under way, a contract was signed by the Temple Trustees with the Fuller Company for the entire project, and during a period of some three years, this organization served as general contractor for the interior, furnishing all labor, materials, equipment, supplies and supervision for all phases of the work, including the placing of the cast stone sections of the interior ornamentation, the heating and ventilation, the electric lighting, terrazzo floor and other elements of the project.

The most important sub-contract concerned the interior ornamentation, which was originally envisioned as of ornamental plaster. But as the result of competitive bids, the proposal of the Barley Studio, Rosslyn, Virginia, was accepted for architectural concrete, at a figure $12,000 lower than that submitted for ornamental plaster. The decade of experience of this concern in the fabrication of the exterior ornamentation of the Temple, had made possible a lower bid for a material preferable to plaster as to appearance, durability, cleanliness and permanence.

With the development of the working drawings in the architect’s ofl‘ice, there arose the need of full size studies of the ornamentation. Full scale clay models of typical sections of the panels between the interior columns were made in the studio of R0chette and Parzini, architectural sculptors in New York City, and studied and modified from time to time by Mr. Shaw and the Technical Advisory Board. The developed, finished models were cast in plaster and shipped to the Barley Studio, where they were used in the process of making the cast

THE BAHA’I WORLD

concrete sections. Thus there evolved gradually a design which embodied the spirit and the dynamic quality of movement of the Bourgeois conception.

As the project progressed, the economic necessity to consider mounting construction costs pressed for action. Available data indicated that building costs had advanced about 20 percent during the two-year period since the inception of the project. Three sets of plans and cost figures were presented by the architect and the general contractor, and finally a plan involving an estimated total expenditure of about $860,000, and of about two years for construction operations, was adopted and approved by Shoghi Effendi. This figure was subsequently raised to approximately $890,000, as -a result of a decision to include treatment of the alcoves of the interior auditorium with the Barley cast stone material.

As the sections of the interior piers and columns were being set in place, the ventilation ducts, piping for the heating system, electrical conduits, wires and equipment were installed by the various sub-contractors. All this utilities work was completed in advance of the erection of the ornamentation.

At the Barley Studio, across the Potomac River from the Nation’s capital city, the craftsmen carried on the work of modeling, making molds, casting and finishing the hundreds of beautiful white concrete sections of the tracery. The radiant casts, sparkling with quartz particles, were carefully packed in railroad cars, shipped to the Temple and erected in place. Below the perforated dome, the panels of the tracery were cast with a background of rose quartz which gives a pinkish color to the spaces between the vertical ribs.

Studies were made by acoustical experts, in consultation with the architect and the Advisory Board, to ascertain the sound conditions of the interior of the Temple. Acoustical plaster was placed in the ceiling of the second gallery to reduce reverberation. A public address system was also included in the plans, and provision made for its installation.

Lighting of the central space under the dome is effected by lamps in conical-shaped, brass-reflecting fixtures placed on the nine groups of interior columns, nineteen feet above the floor. The nine alcoves are illuminated by lights in horizontal troughs around

[Page 537]

Interior ornamentation of Bahá’í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, as seen from second gallery. Visitors viewing the interior from the main floor and from the first gallery, thirty-six feet above floor level, are dwarfed by the proportions of the structure.

[Page 538]538

the bases of the arched ceilings. Ceiling lights furnish illumination for the two galleries.

On the terrazzo floor are placed the 1,191 seats arranged in groups separated by the radial and circumferential aisles and facing the direction of the World Center of the Faith.

The visitor in the days to come will approach the Temple along a walk leading from the intersection of Sheridan Road and Linden Avenue to the base of the Temple steps. On each side are to be the gardens, nine in number, each with its beds of lovely shrubbery and flowering plants surrounding a reflecting pool, in the center of which a fountain will play. By a gradual ascent over terraces and steps, the circular walk at the foot of the eighteen steps is reached. Ascending the steps to the main platform one gazes upward over the great arched doorway of the main story to the tiers of windows with their lace-like ornamental screens of the gallery story, and thence to the great ribs of the clerestory extending up and over the glorious hemispherical dome to the apex, symbolic of hands lifted to the heavens in supplication.

To enter the House of Worship one passes through a glass vestibule, on either side of which are alcoves with arched ceilings at whose bases are inscriptions from the Bahá’í Sacred Writings. Beyond groups of columns supporting the great dome, the visitor emerges into the central auditorium or gathering place, Where in the generations to come peoples of all nationalities, colors and creeds will assemble to listen to the reading of the Holy Books and to commune with God. In each bay of the nine-sided room, great vertical panels of flowery tracery gradually blend into the interlacing ornament of the dome, where shines the Greatest Name at the zenith. Between the nine panels and groups of columns are first the mainstory arches, then the gallery arches and, at the base of the dome, the smaller interlacing arches of the triforium gallery.

THE BAHA’I WORLD

Standing enthralled in the midst of the Temple, one feels that the ornamentation seems to take on life and flow ever upward and onward, symbolizing life with its evolution of progress from the material to the spiritual, and in this moment of understanding, the observer realizes that the building of the Bahá’í House of Worship is a triumph of human and spiritual achievement.

In leaving the Temple the visitor may descend the inside stairway to the ground floor.

At the dedication of the Temple grounds ‘Abdu’l-Bahá addressed a national gathering of the followers of the Faith on May 1, 1912, the evening before He laid the stone which marked the site of this glorious House of Worship. He said: “Among the institutes of the Holy Books is that of the foundation of places of worship, an edifice or temple is to be built in order that humanity might find a place of meeting and this is to be conducive to unity and fellowship among them. The real temple is the very Word of God, for to it all humanity must turn and it is the center of unity for all mankind. It is the collective center, the cause of accord and communion of hearts, the sign of solidarity of the human race, the source of life eternal. Temples are the symbols of the divine uniting force, so that when people gather there in the House of God they may recall the fact that the law has been revealed for them and that the law is to unite them. They will realize that just as this Temple was founded for the unification of mankind, the law preceding and creating it came forth in the manifestWord. . . . This is why His Holiness Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, has commanded that a place of worship be built for all the religionists of the world; that all religions, races, creeds and sects may come together within its universal shelter; that the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth from its open courts of holiness. . . .”1

1 Promulgation of Universal Peace, vol. 1, p. 62.

Model of landscaping surrounding the Bahá’í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois. The smaller building at the right, across Sheridan Road, is the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America.

[Page 539]

[Page 540]540

THE BAHA’I WORLD

LANDSCAPE PLAN OF THE BAHA’I HOUSE OF WORSHIP BY HILBERT DAHL

THE long-awaited announcement of the design selected for landscaping the Temple grounds, and of the placing of contracts for the work, was made in March, 1952.

In the spring of 1951, the Temple Trustees had communicated with a number of representative landscape architects and requested them to submit designs and preliminary estimates. The specifications taken from Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá called for treatment of a circular area, and a design providing for nine paths, gardens, pools and fountains. Indeed, the tract of land acquired, and the location of the Temple at its center, reflected the understanding of the Master’s directions by the early believers.

From the designs submitted, the one prepared by Mr. Hilbert E. Dahl, the Bahá’í landscape architect who years ago made preliminary studies of the project, was selected by the Trustees.

His sketch was submitted to the Guardian, who cabled his approval during the summer of 1951. A Temple Landscape Committee Was appointed consisting of Mr. Robert McLaughlin, Mr. Leroy Ioas, Mr. H. Borrah Kavelin and Mr. Clarence Ullrich, to represent the Trustees in carrying out the project with the landscape architect and the contractors.

A contract was entered into with Mr. Dahl dated July 9, 1951. The services of the George A. Fuller Company as general contractors were continued throughout the completion of the landscaping work.

It is of interest to note that the trustees of the Wilmette Village, and also the State Highway Department (which has jurisdiction over the width of the land used for State highways even within towns) , gave the Trustees written permission in October, 1951, to extend the landscaping, if necessary, through the parkway to the curb on Sheridan Road. The Village does not plan to build any sidewalks on the west side of Sheridan Road from Linden Avenue to the canal, which leaves the present parkway free for use as an approach to the Temple land. This courtesy is greatly appreciated by the National Spiritual Assembly.

THE GUARDIAN’S VIEWS

Before considering the nature of Mr. Dahl’s design it is important to note two written statements from the Guardian: “The Guardian approves of your action to only expend two hundred thousand dollars at present for the Temple landscaping and leave further embellishment until a later date. He is very glad that this work is being done by such a devoted Bahá’í as Mr. Dahl, who will put his whole heart into it and be inspired by the original concept as much as possible.” (To the N.S.A. in letter written by the Guardian’s secretary, dated November 23, 1951.)

The next day in a letter addressed to Mr. Dahl, written by the Guardian through his secretary, we have this beautiful message: “He is very pleased with the plans you have made for the Temple grounds; of course he regrets the pools and fountains will have to be postponed, but this will not prevent carrying out an almost complete garden scheme for the 1953 date, and for economy’s sake, seems a necessary measure.

“The Guardian feels the Temple will show to better advantage if flood lighted from without. This will not prevent, no doubt, when the floodlights are on, any i1lumination from within producing a pleasing effect.

“He wishes you every success in this important service you are rendering the Faith, and will pray that all may go well and your ideas he realized in a most beautiful effect.”

WORK IN PROGRESS

Much detailed work has been accomplished to date in the way of the necessary drawings, specifications and estimates. The plan is to begin grading work as early as possible in the spring of 1952, and continue the operations without interruption until completed.

MR. DAHL’S DESIGN

The accompanying illustration gives a basic concept, and the inserted “Approach View” conveys a clear impression of one of

[Page 541]INSTITUTION OF THE

the nine tree-lined walks, with provision for reflecting pool between the two paths.

As shown, the space between each two adjoining approaches is filled with a sunken garden and space for a fountain.

MAfliRIQU’L-AEKAR 541 provides one of the entrances to the circular walk, giving a long and most attractive vista of the landscaped grounds and the majestic edifice.

There will be no entrance from the road

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Design for landscaping surrounding Bahá’í House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, as made by Hilbert E. Dahl and approved by the Guardian.

At the base of the present circular steps a concrete walk or platform will be constructed, its outer circumference a series of concave arcs after the manner of the entrance bays of the Temple itself. This platform or walk is reached from the approaching paths by several steps.

The outer circumference of the design is a circular walk giving access to all nine approaches and the nine gardens. At the lower right hand of the sketch we see the treatment to be given the area outside the great circle, along Sheridan Road and Linden Avenue. The intersection of these two streets

on the Sheridan Road side, owing to traffic conditions. The main entrance is from Linden Avenue at the point where we now enter the Foundation.

To enter the Temple basement level, after the landscaping work is completed, the design provides for steps downward at the point where this particular entrance path intersects the sidewalk or platform at the bottom of the circular steps. Dotted lines on the sketch indicate the location of the basement level corridor.

Owing to the downward slope of both Sheridan Road and Linden Avenues from

[Page 542]542

their point of intersection, the uniform level of the outer circular walk must be maintained by a grading operation which at some points raises the walk a few feet above street level. Instead of a retaining wall, it is planned to support the circular walk by a sloping earthen embankment, which can be turfed and perhaps planted, giving a much more pleasing effect than a vertical concrete wall.

THE ARCHITECT’S DESCRIPTION

Mr. Dahl as Landscape Architect has prepared a written description of his design from which the following excerpts are taken:

“Its setting, as with the jewel, must emphasize the attractiveness of the structure and, while reflecting the lines and embellishment and the spirit of the Temple, must not, in itself, be given ornamental character which will compete with the building.

“The study follows ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s word picture in every detail. Briefly, it involves an approach leading to each nine entrance bays with gardens between. Circular fountains with jets of water keeping them ever fresh and clear are found in the gardens, while long basins are located in the approaches, reflecting glimpses of the Temple to the visitor walking along the approach. The whole is enclosed within an outer circular walk,

Bahá’í

THE BAHA’I WORLD

and an inner walk, at the base of the Temple steps, provides a vantage point at a higher elevation from which the entire scene can be viewed.

“The gardens are arranged and planted with simple dignity, restrained in treatment but with a touch of color and softness of texture which will give them a gardenesque feeling of peaceful and quiet loveliness. . . . In area there are involved almost five acres of intensive development.”

TEMPLE DEDICATION, 1953

What we have here is the final embellishment of the world’s supreme House of Worship, preparing it for its mission to the public of America and indeed of the world. As we consider the Guardian’s Jubilee plans, including the public J ubilee celebrations during Riḍván, 1953, the All-America Intercontinental Congress, and the Dedication of the Temple to public worship, every Bahá’í may well thrill with gratitude for the years of concentrated effort and immense sacrifice which brought the Temple to its present point of completion, and steel his resolve to assure completion of this impressive, noble and exquisite framework within which the Bahá’í House of Worship can blazon forth its divine Promise to a desperate world!

—-NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

. TEMPLE OF LIGHT*

By HAROLD LEIENDECKER

ONE of the familiar sights that deserves more than our passing notice is the Bahá’í Temple which lifts its white dome into the sky on the shore of Lake Michigan in Wilmette. Nearly every Northwestern student has marveled at the beauty of the temple as he viewed it while cheering in Dyche Stadium or while driving along Sheridan Road. But relatively few fully appreciate the momentous architectural and engineering significance of the structure. The temple, pic ‘This article appeared in Northwestern Engineer, Student Publication of the Technological Institute of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 10:18, September, 1951. It is reprinted here with permission of the editors. Three illustrations of the Temple accompanied the article.

tured in this issue’s frontispiece, will probably be recorded by historians as one of the outstanding architectural works of the twentieth century. Both the new principles of ornamentation and the solution of unusual problems of construction have attracted much attention from professional builders the world over.

Although the project was conceived nearly 100 years ago, the first consequential progress was revealed in 1920 when the plan of architect Louis Bourgeois was selected in a competition among Bahá’í architects. Many consider it the greatest advance in religious architecture in several hundred years.

In order to understand the architecture of the Bahá’í house of worship it is necessary

[Page 543]INSTITUTION OF THE MAS_HRIQU’L-ADHKAR

to review the underlying themes of Bahá’ísm. Bahá’u’lláh, who founded the faith in Persia, preached world unity as the road to fulfillment of man’s purpose. Important principles of the Bahá’í faith include the complete equality of the sexes, collaboration

543

Byzantine. Notwithstanding its use of the several western styles of architecture, the over-all impression on an observer strikes an oriental chord.

Availability of funds permitted the initiation of foundation work in 1921. The main

Assembly rig for checking large bay tracery models at Earley Studios.

with science, a universal auxiliary language, a more nearly equal distribution of wealth, and an international tribunal. Unity of God, unity of religion, and unity of mankind are stressed.

In keeping with this unity theme, the architect designed a structure unifying the several well-defined styles of architecture. Beginning with the Bahá’í nine-pointed star (which the temple resembles when seen from the air) Bourgeois designed a structural record of architectural history. The first story is a pleasing combination of pylons and columns, patterned after the low, squatty, ancient Egyptian temples. Moving upward, traces of old Roman architecture from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries blend into the Renaissance architecture of the second story. The Renaissance style extends to the clerestory, which makes use of Romanesque windows. The dome is reminiscent of the early Christian churches. Its lacy motif is taken from yet another style, the

support of the foundation consists of nine concrete caissons which were sunk 124 feet to bed rock, 90 feet below the surface of nearby Lake Michigan. The 36 pillars which carry the dome rest directly upon these caissons. The foundation floor is a reinforced concrete circular building 202 feet in diameter. This section of the structure is now covered by a mound of earth rising to the eighteen circular steps which lead to the main floor. The earth fill, incidentally, is part of the material excavated for the construction of the Northwestern Technological Institute. Around a central auditorium are located the rooms housing the operating equipment for heating, lighting, and ventilating systems.

The nonagonal base of the main floor is 36 feet high and 150 feet in diameter. It includes a circular hall 72 feet in diameter which extends for the full height of 138 feet to the interior of the dome. When interior decorating is completed, this main audito [Page 544]544 THE BAHA’I WORLD

Progress view dated December 29, 1950, illustrates the finished walls of a bay alcove and the ornamentation of column arches.

[Page 545]INSTITUTION OF THE MAS_HRIQU’L-ADHKAR 545

Temple Interior construction—progTess to April 17, 1950.

[Page 546]546

THE BAHA’I WORLD

news ‘1‘er mm, m

Interior ornamentation of the dome being put in place, March 28, 1951.

rium will seat approximately 1200 persons. The acoustic qualities of the hall will be unexcelled.

The first gallery is also nine—sided, but it is rotated twenty degrees so that the pylons rise from bases above the middle of each of the main story entrances. This gallery has a height of 47 feet and an outside diameter of 136 feet.

The drum-shaped second gallery, or clerestory, is 20 feet high with a diameter of 93 feet. The dome, with a diameter of 72 feet inside and 90 feet outside, is immediately above. It is one of the largest domes without a center support ever to be built. Actually three domes in one, it consists of two independent structural steel frames thoroughly cross-braced. Between these is an aluminum and wire-glass dome for weather protection and for passage of light through the perforated interior and exterior ornamentation. The metal joints were designed to provide drainage for leakage and condensation. For repairs any part of the dome

may be reached by ladders and catwalks. Outlets are provided at the base of the dome at three places to furnish steam, water, compressed air, and a vacuum for the cleaning and maintenance of the dome structure.

The basic framework of the temple is composed of structural steel and reinforced concrete. The ingenuity of form-builders was taxed to the limit since curved lines and warped surfaces dominate the entire structure.

The elaborate design of the exterior ornamentation was the cause of the greatest construction problem. Months of studies, conferences, and investigations were involved in the selection of materials for use in the lacy decoration. Samples of various types of cast stone, terra cotta, aluminum alloy, and architectural concretes were prepared and subjected to weathering on property adjacent to the construction site to test their durability and discoloration properties.

Finally a special concrete developed by architectural sculptor John J . Earley was ac [Page 547]INSTITUTION OF THE

cepted. His material consisted of one part crushed crystalline quartz and three parts crushed opaque quartz mixed with white portland cement and water. The resultant exposed-aggregate concrete possesses a compressive strength of 7000-9000 psi.

The sculptor’s first step in preparing the ornamentation was the carving of a fullsized clay model for each section. Plaster of paris impressions were taken from the clay model. From these forms a plaster model was constructed, reinforced with hemp, jute, and steel. This rough model was carved and polished to give a fine-textured surface from which was made another plaster of paris mold, the negative of the final cast section. These negatives were lined with zinc and shellacked. Finally the concrete was molded in these forms around reinforcing rods. After careful cleaning and brushing the sections were shipped to Wilmette and applied to the base superstructure. The exposed aggregate gives the entire outer surface a white radiant quality consistent with its frequently applied description as the “Temple of Light.”

MAERIQU’L-AEKAR 547

. showing one of the large outer columns, reveals the feeling of religious unity that influenced the architect’s design of the ornamentation. In rising chronological order are seen the symbols of the nine consuming religions of history. At the bottom is the ancient swastika, topped by the six-pointed star of Judaism, the cross of Christianity, the star and crescent of Islam, and the Bahá’í nine—pointed star. The complex combination of mathematical lines and the merging of circle into circle emphasize the common ties that bind religions.

The frequent recurrence of the number nine in the design of the temple is purposeful. Bahá’ís count their faith as the ninth and unifying religion of mankind. In addition, nine is the largest single digit, signifying the ultimate.

Landscaping of the $2,500,000 temple will be completed for formal dedication of the building in 1953. Eventually it is planned to make the temple the heart of a community center. Around it will be a hospital, a hospice, an orphanage, a college, and scientific laboratories situated among gardens and fountains.

UNVEILING THE MODEL OF THE TEMPLE TO BE CONSTRUCTED ON MOUNT CARMEL

Address by CHARLES MASON REMEY

MANY years ago our beloved Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, told us that certain material objects, certain material constructions have a spiritual mission and a spiritual effect in the world. Before the Bahá’í Temple, the Mashriqu’l-Adjkar, was built here in Wilmette, He told us that when that Temple was built, it would have a great spiritual effect in the world, that it would be a symbol manifesting forth to all of the world the spiritual ideals and the services to humanity of the members of the Bahá’í Faith.

As we study the history of the religions of the past, we see that each religion has built a civilization in the world and has developed also a style of architecture which has found its full and perfect expression in the temples of the epoch. Way back in the very dawn of religious history, when the Prophet Abraham came out from his home land and took his band of followers to the Land of Prom ise, the Holy Land, one of his first activities was building a temple to the Lord. That temple was a very simple place of worship, the altar which he built on the mountain top for the sacrifices that he instituted as the ritual for the people of his day. It was probably a very simple affair, built, laid up, of rough stones gathered from the top of the mountain. But it was the center; that simple altar on the mountain top, that place of worship, was the center of the civilization of that day. In those days, the people lived pastoral lives in the valleys below, but on certain occasions they went up on the mountain top for their spiritual worship, for their sacrifices.

Centuries later, when Moses, the Prophet of God, led the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of the land of bondage to the land of promise, one of the first institutions He established was the Tabernacle. That

[Page 548]

Model of Mashriqu’l-Adhkár designed for construction on Mt. Carmel, Israel, Charles Mason Remey, architect.

[Page 549]INSTITUTION OF THE

Tabernacle was a portable temple of worship. There was the inner Holy of Holies, there Was the court around that, and finally the outer court, and during the long forty years that the children of Israel were in the wilderness, when they struck their camp, their first duty was to set up this Tabernacle. Thus the Tabernacle was the center of their religious life in the wilderness.

Later on, when the Jewish civilization developed in Jerusalem, Solomon’s Temple was the center of their religious and cultural life. It was built very much on the rudimentary plan of the tabernacle in the wilderness, having an inner Holy of Holies and then the inner court and the outer court.

At that time, people flowed from all nations to Jerusalem to partake of the learning and culture of that civilization, the center of which was the Temple.

When the Christian Church was established centuries later, little by little, their churches became the cultural centers of Christianity. At first, the style was like the Roman style in the City of Rome. Later it developed into the Romanesque style in the West, into the Byzantine style of the Eastern Church, and after some thirteen or fourteen centuries, we have the flowering of the magnificent cathedrals and churches of Europe.

This style of architecture, the Gothic style, developed in its greatest fragrance, beauty and magnificence in the central part of France: the Cathedrals of Lyon, of Chartres, of Amiens, Rheims, and Notre Dame of Paris are the outstanding temples of the Christian era.

When Muhammad gave His teaching in the deserts of Arabia, one of the first architectural expressions was the Mosque. Islamic culture went westward into Northern Africa, up into Spain, east into Persia and then down into India. The Mosques of these countries were the spiritual centers of education and culture in that magnificent civilization which Islam gave to the world.

And so it was with the other religions in the Far East. The place of worship has been the cultural center and the point for the development of architecture and all the allied arts.

Now, in the Bahá’í Faith, the religion of the present age, we are exhorted, in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh, to build temples for worship, and we have been given a general plan for these. There shall be a temple proper, circular in effect, but actually having

MA§flRIQU’L-AD_HKAR 549 nine sides. This is to be the sanctuary for worship, prayer and meditation, and this central temple is to be surrounded by various institutions for the physical benefit of mankind—schools, hospitals and all other institutions that go to make up the activities of a great world civilization.

The Bahá’í Temple expresses the renewal of religion. It realizes a faith which relates the soul to a universal, a revealed and a divine truth wherein all human beings, of whatever race, class or creed, can meet and share the true equality emanating from their common dependence upon God. It serves a teaching which goes beyond all the social philosophies to make possible a world order capable not only of coordinating and guiding economic effort but also of safeguarding and fostering the highest qualities of man.

The first Bahá’í Temple was built many years ago in that country east of the Caspian Sea, sometimes spoken of as Trans-Caspian. There, in the City of ‘Ishqábád, our friends of the Orient built the first Bahá’í Temple. It was my privilege to visit it some forty-five years ago. We have heard very little about our friends there in the last few years. The present Russian Government confiscated the Temple and the Bahá’í community in ‘Is_l_1qahad was scattered and dispersed. In the last few days, we have dedicated the Temple here in Wilmette.

A number of years ago, when I was still a student of architecture, I first heard of the Bahá’í Faith. When the time came for me to create my thesis in architecture, I recollect that I wanted very much to take as my subject a typical Bahá’í Temple. That was a little over fifty years ago and thereafter I spent a great deal of time making different studies for Bahá’í Temples. Some of you may recall that when the design was chosen for the Temple here in Wilmette, a number of us architects offered drawings, mine among them. Shortly afterward, the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, revealed a Tablet to me stating that my mission in the future would be to design the Temple to be built on Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land.

As we all know, the Holy Land is the Holy Land of the Jewish, Christian and Muhammadan religions. Now in these days, it is the Holy Land for all the world through the Bahá’í Faith. Our spiritual background is there and also our administrative center and the Master planned that there should be a Bahá’í Temple on Mt. Carmel.

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About five years ago, our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, wrote to me that it was time to begin to think of the design, the completed design, for that Temple.

In the latter part of 1947 and the early days of 1948, I made a complete set of drawings for the Temple. Later I took those drawings over to our Guardian and he made a number of suggestions that really created within my mind an entirely unique and different design from any of those studies that I had made before. That is what we are going to show you this evening. These designs were made during the past two or three years while I have been living in Haifa and they Were made under the direction of our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi. I must say that the architecture, the architectural motifs, are

THE BAHA’I WORLD

really his rather than mine. He gave me a great many criticisms, a great many suggestions, and after a period of working, making drawings, submitting them to him and restudying them, a design was made that he approved. He decided that a model should be made of this design and that it should be unveiled at this Conference. I left Haifa a little over three months ago, going to Italy, and there in the City of Florence, I engaged a wood carver to make this model. I had had some rather bad experience with plaster models, which did not hold up in transportation, but this model of wood has transported very well. It is assembled and we are going to show it to you now. It speaks for itself!