{"nrhp_refnum":"78001140","name":"Baha'i Temple","other_names":["The Temple of Light","The Bahai House of Worship","Bahai Temple"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100 Linden Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wilmette","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":42.07425325500003,"lon":-87.68414290599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-05-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A domed house of worship on a six-acre bluff overlooking Lake Michigan at 100 Linden Avenue in Wilmette, Illinois, designed by architect Louis Jean Bourgeois. Foundation work began in 1921 and the building was dedicated in 1953.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the Temple is architecturally unique, a new style that suggests many past styles without copying them. It also illustrates the separation of structure from ornament advocated by John J. Early, using precast quartz-aggregate concrete. It is the first Baha'i House of Worship in the Western hemisphere.","narrative":"Rising 191 feet above a bluff on Lake Michigan, this white domed house of worship in Wilmette, Illinois, sits at the center of a six-acre tract. Its circular plan has nine-sided, scalloped facades, towers at the cusps, and a concrete platform 202 feet across. Every surface carries delicate precast designs in quartz-aggregate white concrete. Inside, a single auditorium seats 1,200 beneath a hemispherical dome, with nine alcoves between entries. Nine gardens with pools and fountains surround it. Architect Louis Jean Bourgeois exhibited his design as a model in 1919, and it was chosen in competition in 1920. Foundations began in 1921, the superstructure contract came in 1930, and ornamentation began in 1932. Construction paused repeatedly because funds came only from donations by members of the Baha'i Faith. It was dedicated in 1953. The nomination values its blend of echoes of earlier styles into a distinct whole, its structural approach, and its standing as the first Baha'i House of Worship in the Western hemisphere.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Louis Jean Bourgeois (primary architect); Albert Shaw of Shaw, Metz and Dolio (interior detailing); George A. Fuller Co. (superstructure); John J. Early Studio (ornamentation)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Form lists the property as occupied, in religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:34.566832-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/86/8923/28892386/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/78001140.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001140/18e5535195-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78001140/18e5535195-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Wenbinbin2010","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baha%27i_Temple_-_Wilmette,_IL.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wenbinbin2010</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baha%27i_Temple_-_Wilmette,_IL.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892386","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_House_of_Worship_(Wilmette,_Illinois)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4843063"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/bahai-temple-78001140/"}