San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Latest News
Recent News Articles
- January 17, 2024 – Proctors on a Mission #9-The Temple Has a Doorbell
News Stories
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Elder Christofferson Dedicates the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided yesterday at the dedication of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple held in three sessions on Sunday, January 15, 2023. The 6,988-square-foot temple and ancillary building sit on the site of the former Trujillo Ward meetinghouse. "The temple will bless this island," he said. "It has had a lot of challenges in recent years, natural disasters and other kinds of difficulties that have been serious and caused a lot of destruction. It will make a difference."
Photo: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Media Day Held for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Members of the press were invited to a media day today to kick off the open house for the recently completed San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. Invited guests will be given private tours over the next couple of days, and then the public will be invited to tour the facility from Thursday, December 1, through Saturday, December 17, 2022, with no tours offered on Sundays. A news release provides statistics, information, and photographs of the temple's beautiful interior and exterior.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Open House Dates Announced for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The First Presidency has announced that the public open house for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple will be held from Thursday, December 1, through Saturday, December 17, 2022, with no tours held on Sundays. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple in three sessions on Sunday, January 15, 2023. The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all congregations in the future temple district.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Flags Hoisted at the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Two flags have been hoisted on flag poles at the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple: the flag of the United States of America and the flag of Puerto Rico. Soft landscaping of the grounds appear to have been completed. Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War in 1898. Spanish and English are the official languages, but Spanish is unquestionably the dominant language.
Photo: Daniel Walker
Acquainting Shoppers with the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Volunteers are being requested for a family history initiative that will acquaint members of the community with the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple and FamilySearch. Members of the San Juan stake will teach guests how to create a four-generation family tree at a booth located in Plaza Las Américas, a large indoor shopping mall. Three-hour shifts are available over five weeks from November 1 to December 6.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Monument Sign Lit for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The monument sign for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple has been unwrapped, the lighting activated, and the surrounding flower bed planted. The temple walls are also lit nightly, creating captivating moments against the colorful clouds and skies of Caribbean sunsets. A temporary door remains in place at the main entrance as interior work progresses. Construction is anticipated to be completed later this year, but no open house or dedication dates have been announced.
Photo: Juanalberto Santos Pérez
Monument Sign Inscription Panels Installed for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The inscription panels have been attached to the concrete base for the monument sign of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. The name of the Church and the temple are displayed in both Spanish and English. The light fixtures that will illuminate the sign are still wrapped, and flowers have not been planted in the soil that surrounds the sign. However, irrigation lines and electrical wires have run where water and electricity are needed.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Landscaping Progress at the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Rich green grass is filling in the open spaces around the cream-colored San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. The inscription stones for the monument sign have been installed, and palm trees are being planted in the garden spaces. A variety of plants and bushes line the temple and portions of the fence that surrounds the property. This Caribbean jewel will serve faithful members across the island.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Exterior Lighting Tests Begin for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Beholding the beauty of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple is no longer limited to daytime hours. The exterior floodlighting system is being installed and tested, creating a stunning nighttime scene with the backdrop of a Caribbean sunset. Progress has been made on the front landscaping where a staircase has been built down to the sidewalk, and the concrete base for the monument sign has been set in place.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Take a Drone Flight to the Beautiful San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
A recently posted temple video takes the viewer on an inspiring flight over the Villa Andalucía neighborhood of San Juan toward the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. The breathtaking blue waters of Laguna San José and the Caribbean Sea hang in the distance. Green grass has filled in the area around the ancillary building, and work continues on the hard landscaping around the temple.
Photo: Victor Manuel Sierra
Inscription Stones Added to the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Underneath the arched opening that frames the entrance to the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, the inscription stones have been attached. The blue lines across the facade mark the location of the panels that read: Santitad al Señor – La Casa del Señor. The sheet of wood beneath the stones will be replaced with a transom window and grill insert matching the ornamental grills over the entrance doors.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Landscaping the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Grounds
More hardscaping of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple grounds has been completed, and scaffolding has been removed from the steeple. A circular planter will be featured at the entrance to the building, anchoring an attractive stadium-shaped walkway. A curved path is being poured along the slope at the south end of the grounds, which will offer an outstanding location for photographs with the temple in the background. Shrubs are being planted in the parking lot islands around the ancillary building.
Photo: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Caribbean
Church Leaders Visit the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Site
A special visit was paid to the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple construction site this week by Sister Reyna I. Aburto of the Relief Society general presidency, Sister Michelle D. Craig of the Young Women general presidency, and members of the Caribbean Area presidency including Elder Eduardo Gavarret and Elder Jorge M. Alvarado. Painting of the exterior of the temple was recently completed, and most of the scaffolding has been removed.
Photo: Dorany Rodriguez
Painting the Exterior of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The dark gray sealer color is disappearing from the exterior walls of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, as painters cover the building in a two-tone color scheme of light, earth-toned hues. Cool air continues to be pumped inside the building through air conditioning ducts that are fed through door and window openings, maintaining the proper temperature and humidity levels for the work progressing on the interior.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Scaffolding Removed from San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Steeple
Scaffolding has been removed from around the completed steeple of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. Each side features an arched molding, semicircular inset, and a narrow window with a highly detailed ornamental grill. The domed steeple seems to echo the historic architecture of the island including the iconic sentry towers that hang on the 500-year-old military fortification known as Castillo San Felipe del Morro (or simply El Morro).
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Steeple Painted
Several air conditioning units have been hauled on to the construction site of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple and connected to a nest of metallic ducts that have been fed through window openings to maintain dry, cool air inside the building as interior finish work gets underway. On the exterior, the beautiful domed steeple has been painted, and hardscaping of the grounds continues.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Parking Area Paved Around the Ancillary Building in San Juan
A beautiful aerial view of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple shows the progress on the parking areas around the ancillary building. Plans originally called for a meetinghouse with temple-supporting facilities incorporated into the design, but it was determined that a standalone ancillary building would be constructed instead. The functions that will be served by the building are not clear, but it could potentially house a distribution center, offices, and an arrival center.
Photo: Katie Andersen Lemire
Beautifying the Steeple of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Arched moldings are appearing around the window openings in the steeple of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, matching the moldings found along the main body of the building. Progress on the exterior has been less noticeable lately with attention focused on the interior, grounds, and ancillary building. The temple is the third to be constructed in the Caribbean with the first and second having been constructed in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Photo: Yolanda Arbelaez
Cupola Attached to the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Tower
The domed cupola for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was recently attached to the top of the tower walls and plastered in preparation for painting. The exterior walls will be a shade darker than the off-white trim along the top and bottom of the walls and around the window and entrance arches. Hardscaping of the grounds has begun with the installation of curved retaining walls on the south and west sides. Watch a 30-second video update.
Photo: Aguayo Photography
Tower Walls Poured for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
A beautiful view of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, captured by drone, shows the newly poured tower walls with arched window openings that sit over the entrance to the building. The concrete structure is being built to withstand the extreme weather that can be experienced during hurricane season. Base, window, and cornice moldings have been attached to the west side of the temple.
Photo: Templo San Juan, PR Facebook page
More Moldings Fastened to the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Additional moldings have been attached to the exterior walls of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple including arched beveled casings around the window openings. The concrete walls are coated with a sealer and decorated with moldings before being plastered and painted with the final color. The tower walls have gained height and will eventually be capped with a domed cupola.
Photo: Templo San Juan, PR Facebook page
Building the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Tower
The four corners for the body of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple tower are being constructed while work continues on attaching moldings to the exterior walls and coating them in preparation for paint. The large residential towers that stand behind the temple property have recently been painted white with a red trim along the top.
Photo: Alisa James
Exterior Moldings Attached to the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Moldings are being attached along the roof line of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, giving dimension and elegance to the formerly flat walls. A gray coating is then applied to strengthen and prepare the surfaces for the final finishes. The crew has worked from the rear (shown here) to the front where scaffolding is erected.
Photo: David Aguayo
Gratitude for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Construction Crew
The Primary children and leaders of the San Juan Puerto Rico Stake worked together to express their appreciation to the construction workers building the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. The children wrote sweet notes of gratitude and created drawings to accompany a delicious lunch prepared by the leaders on January 15, 2021. The emotional reactions and comments of the some of the crew were captured in a beautiful video (in Spanish).
Photo: San Juan Puerto Rico Stake
San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Facade
Concrete forms have been set in place for the facade and mechanical level of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple. The walls over the entrance to the building will rise about twice as high as the rest of the exterior walls and support a windowed steeple with a beautiful dome and lantern. The five stakes on the island currently belong to the Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple district.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Construction Time Lapse of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
Watch a 30-second time-lapse video of the construction of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, including demolition of the former meetinghouse. The site for the new ancillary building is currently being used as a staging area for construction of the temple. Forms for the mechanical level are being placed atop the main body of the building.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Exterior Walls Up for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The reinforced concrete walls for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple are in place, including the front entrance to the building. The sturdy walls are built to withstand high winds—an important consideration for this island territory, which sits in the warm waters of Hurricane Alley. Watch a short video showing the current progress captured by a drone.
Photo: Toa Baja Puerto Rico Stake
Lunch for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple Crew
Members of the Toa Baja Puerto Rico Stake recently visited the construction site of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple to treat the crew to a free lunch. Each meal was prepared with gloves and masks and individually bagged to ensure a high level of sanitation. Construction of the temple is advancing with more than half of the exterior walls now in place.
Photo: David Aguayo | Aguayo Photography
Walls Going Up for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The exterior walls of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple are rising on a small hill in the peaceful residential neighborhood of Villa Andalucia. The accessible location of the temple on the Trujillo Alto Express is just a 10-minute drive from the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. An ancillary building is also under construction on the west side of the temple where a retaining wall has been installed to create a level surface for the facility.
Photo: Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
Setting Rebar for the Walls of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
On the sunny island of Puerto Rico, construction of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple is rising above ground level with the first steel rods set for the exterior walls. Work is also underway on the supporting structure for the baptismal font and on the floor slab for a portion of the building. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelves Apostles visited the temple site in February and commented on the peacefulness of the location. An unexpected two-month construction hiatus from March to May, due to COVID-19, has delayed the anticipated completion of the temple until late 2021 or early 2022.