San Francisco is home to some widely-known architectural marvels, from the mythical Palace of Fine Arts to the city’s characteristic Victorian homes. But even locals do a double-take at this gorgeous pale-green building in Cow Hollow, topped with a crown of turrets and ornate arches. This is the Vedanta Society’s Old Hindu Temple, which was originally the very first Hindu temple in the United States.
Swami Trigunatitananda, one of the Vedanta Society’s original supervisors for the Northern California chapter, collaborated with local architect Joseph A. Leonard to construct the building. They finished the first two stories in 1905, which miraculously survived the city’s massive earthquake a few months later, and the third floor and towers were added in 1908.
Vedanta, also known as Uttara Mīmāṃsā, is an ancient Hindu philosophy holding that all religions lead to the same goal of realizing Brahman, a divine transcendent reality. These teachings are represented throughout the design of the building.
The third floor of the Old Temple features traditional Moorish columns, which support the ornate mogul arches lining the balcony. Atop the building you’ll see a collection of traditional towers and domes which take their inspiration from various historic architectural styles, meant to represent the harmony of all religions. They include a crenelated European castle tower; a double bulb-shaped dome inspired by Bengal temples; an octagonal two-stage dome modeled after the Shiva temples in Dakshineswar, Bengal; and a large dome similar to that of the Taj Mahal.
This lavish building continued to serve as a temple until 1959, at which point the Society relocated to a new temple three blocks away in Pacific Heights. The original building was converted into a dormitory and classroom space which still serves the Society today. Swami Tattwamayananda holds a Vedanta scripture class open to the public there on Friday evenings.
Swami Trigunatitananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, once said, “this Temple may be considered as a combination of a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque, a Hindu Math or monastery, and an American residence.”
🌐 Learn more: Old Temple of the Vedanta Society of Northern California
📍 Location: 2963 Webster Street, San Francisco, CA (Cow Hollow)