Day 275: Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
📌APIA Every Day (275) - The Sri Venkateswara Temple, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a significant cultural and religious landmark for the South Indian American community. Established in 1977, the temple was built after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which abolished national-origin quotas and paved the way for Indian immigrants to enter the U.S. in large numbers. Following the act in the 1960s and '70s, a significant population of Indian professionals in academia and healthcare settled in Pittsburgh. As this community grew, the need for a space to practice their religious and cultural traditions became evident, leading to the temple’s creation.
In the early years before having a formal place of worship, community members gathered in the basement of an Indian store in Squirrel Hill. The Hindu Temple Society of Pittsburgh was then established in 1973—three years after the Hindu Temple Society of New York—and plans to construct a proper temple were made. Initially, there was a vision to create a non-sectarian worship space to serve a broad range of religious denominations. However, following disputes, the community decided to build two separate temples instead: the Hindu Jain Temple in Monroeville and the Sri Venkateswara Temple (SVT) in Penn Hills.
The Sri Venkateswara Temple Organization was then incorporated in 1975. The design of the SVT was modeled after a significant seventh-century temple of the same name in Tirupati, India. As both the American and Indian temples were Vaishnavite (followers of Vishnu), the SVT of Tirupati partially funded the project. Temple architects and craftsmen from India oversaw the construction and broke ground in 1976. Upon completion in 1977, it was one of the very first traditional Hindu temples built in the U.S.
The Sri Venkateswara Temple continues to play a crucial role in helping South Indian immigrants in Pittsburgh maintain their cultural identity through daily worship and community events. Today, it even serves as a pilgrimage site for Hindus across the country, much like the original SVT in South India. In 2021, several hundred local and national devotees joined together in a festival to rededicate the Pittsburgh temple and celebrate its history.
Written by Avneet Dhaliwal
LEARN MORE:
Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh
SAH ARCHIPEDIA: Sri Venkateswara Temple
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