Around Town: Looking At Baha'i House Of Worship

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Mar 25, 2012 5:00PM

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvionr/940345172/in/pool-57589156@N00/\"\>Silvio Ribeiro\<\/a\>\r\n

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/runfar/1296918448/\"\>LM Murray\<\/a\>\r\n

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/cb804/6543743603/\"\>Carmen B\<\/a\>\r\n

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/gautsche/4854716817/\"\>Nate Gautsche\<\/a\>\r\n

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sgrais/6825694168/\"\>Stuart Grais\<\/a\>\r\n

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinemendoza/6798590689/\"\>Christine Mendoza\<\/a\>\r\n

\<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/z_abedin/6828042853/\"\>Zameer Abedin\<\/a\>\r\n

Wilmette's Baha'i House of Worship is one of the most popular photography subjects among our Flickr pool contributors. One of only seven Baha't temples in the world—an eighth built in turkey has since been destroyed and a ninth is planned for Chile—the construction of the building is meant to symbolize the tenets of the Baha'i faith: oneness of God, the oneness of humanity and the oneness of religion. Baha'i temples are open to the public and reserved exclusively for worship: no sermonizing is allowed.

Construction on Wilmette's Baha'i temple began in 1921 and was completed in 1953; it's the largest and oldest of Baha'i's temples. Designed by architect Louis Bourgeois, the auditorium can hold 1,192 people and is auditorium rises 138 feet, with a 90-foot wide dome. The Illinois Bureau of Tourism named Baha'i Temple one of the state's "Seven Wonders" in 2007.

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