Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Temple Locale

The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple is located north of Pittsburgh in the quiet community of Cranberry Township next to the stake center for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake. The stake center grounds and temple grounds are connected by a footbridge that honors Pittsburgh as the "City of Bridges." The temple was designed to feature the mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's official state flower. It is also distinguished by beautiful gold accents.

Temple Facts

The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple was the second temple built in Pennsylvania, following the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple (2016).

Temple History

Announcement

The second largest city in Pennsylvania would become home to the second temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania, as announced by President Russell M. Nelson on April 5, 2020, at the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference. The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple would serve thousands of members in Western Pennsylvania, Northeast Ohio, and Northern West Virginia who participated in temple worship at the Columbus Ohio Temple and Washington D.C. Temple. The were more than 100,000 Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania where the Church enjoys a rich heritage. Joseph Smith translated most of the Book of Mormon in Oakland Township, Pennsylvania. John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in a nearby forest and restored the Aaronic Priesthood. Joseph and Oliver also baptized each other in the Susquehanna River.¹

Site

On January 19, 2021, the location of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple was announced as a 5.8-acre site at 2093 Powell Road in Cranberry Township behind the stake center for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake. The temple would stand north of Pittsburgh not far from the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76), providing good access to members living throughout the region.²

Rendering

On January 19, 2021, an official exterior rendering of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple was released. The temple would be a single-story building of approximately 32,000 square feet with a center spire.

Groundbreaking

"Brothers and sisters, I know you will make this temple, and more importantly Jesus Christ, the center of your lives," said Elder Randall K. Bennett of the Quorum of the Seventy who presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple on Saturday, August 21, 2021. In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Bennett prayed, "Please let today’s groundbreaking also be a day of emotional and spiritual building in our own lives and families."³

Open House and Dedication

A public open house for the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Temple was held from Friday, August 16 through Saturday, August 31, 2024, excluding Sundays. Before the public tours, a media day occurred on Monday, August 12, 2024, followed by three days of tours for invited guests. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the temple in two sessions on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The dedicatory sessions were held at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. EDT. All units in the temple district received the broadcast.⁴

Temple Design

Exterior

The temple is a steel-frame structure with granite cladding. The steel structure was fabricated by Littell Steel and installed by Century Steel, both located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The exterior stone cladding is from Portugal and was installed by Cleveland Marble of Cleveland, Ohio.

The landscaping was designed by Langan Engineering and installed by Eisler Landscapes, both located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Interior

The carpet throughout the temple is soft gold and green patterned, with solid green pile in the administration area and white sculpted broadloom in the sealing and celestial rooms. It was fabricated by Bentley Mills in City of Industry, California, and installed by Re:Source Utah CFS, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The bride’s room features custom wall-to-wall nylon rugs using the dogwood motif. Nylon rugs are used throughout the entry and waiting areas. They are manufactured by Rugs International in Cartersville, Georgia.

The temple’s interior stone is Crema Ella marble from Turkey, accented with Inca Gold, Azul Macuba Emperador Light, Costa Esmerelda and Safran. The tile was fabricated by Metamar of Turkey and installed by Global Stone and Tile in Utah.

The vinyl wallcovering in the celestial room has an organic leaf pattern. The instruction rooms feature a striated linen. All other areas are a light-beige vinyl wallcovering.

All the paint and wallcovering installation was done by Thomarios of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The art glass features a dogwood tree and flower motif done in golds, purple, pinks, greens, blue-yellow gradient and jewels (frosted). It was designed by HKS, Lisman Studio and Holdman Studios and was fabricated and installed by Holdman Studios of Lehi, Utah.

The sealing and celestial rooms feature crystal chandeliers. The lighting in all other areas is frosted glass with brass and crystal accents. The lighting was fabricated by HB Lighting in Bronx, New York, and Preciosa Lighting in Dallas, Texas, and the Czech Republic. It was installed by Ferry Electric in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The baptismal font’s brass railing with glass panels was installed and fabricated by Belt Forge of Colombia.

The main entry exterior doors were fabricated by Ellison Bronze in the United States and installed by Southwest Aluminum in Cuddy, Pennsylvania.

The exterior windows were fabricated by Kawneer, headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, and installed by Southwest Aluminum, located in Cuddy, Pennsylvania. The interior doors were fabricated and installed by Masterpiece Millwork, located in Tijuana, Mexico.

The temple’s ceilings feature gypsum board and acoustic ceiling tiles. The framing and drywall were installed by Easley & Rivers of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The stained millwork is anigre and maple, and the painted millwork is maple and poplar. They were fabricated and installed by Masterpiece Millwork of Tijuana, Mexico.

The temple’s original artwork includes “God Doth Provide” by Kenneth Corbett and “October Dawn” by Adair Payne.