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

Temple Locale

Located near the southern tip of Texas, the McAllen Texas Temple forms a beautiful silhouette in the Rio Grande Valley. The design was inspired by citrus crops grown in and around McAllen as well as Spanish colonial architecture found in the area. Many of the patterns feature citrus blossoms, barbed quatrefoils, scrolls and ribbons. Blue colors used in the design are reminiscent of bluebonnets, which are the state flower of Texas, and the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The gold and green colors bring to mind other elements of the Texas landscape.

Temple Facts

The McAllen Texas Temple was the fifth temple built in the state of Texas, following the Dallas Texas Temple (1984), the Houston Texas Temple (2000), the Lubbock Texas Temple (2002), and the San Antonio Texas Temple (2005).

Temple History

Announcement

On October 5, 2019, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the McAllen Texas Temple at the 189th Semiannual General Conference. It would become the fifth temple in Texas, Joining the Dallas Texas Temple, Houston Texas Temple, Lubbock Texas Temple, and San Antonio Texas Temple. In 1990, there were more than 154,000 Latter-day Saints; at the time of the announcement, there were over 350,000 members in nearly 700 wards and branches.¹

Site

On December 11, 2019, the location of the McAllen Texas Temple was announced. The temple would be constructed on a 10.6-acre field located northwest of the intersection of Second Street and West Trenton Road on the north side of McAllen.²

Rendering

On August 28, 2020, an official exterior rendering of the McAllen Texas Temple was released. Plans called for a single-story building of nearly 30,000 square feet with a central spire. A meetinghouse of over 19,000 square feet would be constructed adjacent to the temple, featuring space for three wards, a stake suite, mission offices, and a distribution center.

Groundbreaking

"As the central spire rises heavenward to this beautiful house of the Lord, might we as God’s children ever increase our faith and look to the heavens for wisdom and not to the ever-shifting values of the world," said Elder Art Rascon, an Area Seventy, at the groundbreaking for the McAllen Texas Temple on November 21, 2020. Elder Rascon presided at the small ceremony and offered the prayer dedicating the site. He prayed for the thousands of Latter-day Saints "in this lovely valley in southern Texas and across the border into Mexico who have worked faithfully to establish Thy kingdom and prepared their hearts and minds awaiting this day." He thanked God the Father "for their longsuffering, fervent prayers and continued diligence to live the gospel of Jesus Christ."³

Open House and Dedication

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the McAllen Texas Temple on Sunday, October 8, 2023, in two sessions. An open house was held beginning with a media day on Monday, August 21. Invited-guest tours followed from Tuesday, August 22, through Thursday, August 24. The general public was invited to tour the building every day from Friday, August 25, through Saturday, September 9, 2023, excluding Sundays.⁴

Temple Design

Exterior

The temple is a steel-frame structure with a precast exterior. The structural steel was fabricated and installed by Southern Steel. The exterior precast was fabricated and installed by Gate Precast of Hillsboro, Texas.

The temple’s height to the top of the dome is 98 feet; to the top of the spire, 108 feet.

The art glass was designed by Bovard Studio Inc. of Fairfield, Iowa, in conjunction with VCBO Architecture. Holdman Studios in Lehi, Utah, fabricated the art glass.

The landscape architect is Heffner Design Team, located in McAllen, Texas.

Fences and walkways use concrete and fabricated pavers designed by VCBO Architecture. Standard Ameristar fencing was used to comply with temple specifications.

Interior

Soft-gold broadloom carpet, designed by Mannington, is used in the general areas and instruction rooms. Wall-to-wall wool rugs are used in the celestial and sealing rooms. Area rugs are rendered in vibrant blues, golds, and greens.

The carpet carving is simple, limited to a single border around the perimeter of the celestial room, which reinforces the clipped corner shape that occurs in the ceilings and floors throughout the building. The carving was done at the time of manufacture by the company that made the rugs, Rugs International of Georgia (with representation in Utah).

The Crema Marfil, Simena, Cenia M, and Yellow River marble were quarried and fabricated in Spain. Scroll shapes reminiscent of Spanish colonial architecture are water-jet-cut into the baptistry font decorative border. The stone was installed by Peritia Stone of Waterloo, Iowa.

Th decorative painting patterns were designed by VCBO Architecture and installed by Dale Gierisch of Finessed Finishes Inc., located in Springville, Utah. Decorative painting is featured on the ceilings of ordinance spaces, the bride’s room, hallways, the entryway, waiting areas, and the celestial room.

The interior art glass was designed by Bovard Studios in conjunction with VCBO Architecture and fabricated by Holdman Studios. Interior art glass is located in the doors into the celestial room, sealing rooms, baptistry and confirmation room and in a large viewing window into the baptistry font area.

Interior lighting was designed by VCBO Architecture with Preciosa Lighting of the Czech Republic and BNA Consulting of West Valley City, Utah. Lighting fixtures are made with a variety of materials, including acrylic, bronze and crystal.

The recommend desk, altars and the proscenium arch in the instruction rooms feature a carved repeating pattern of barbed quatrefoils. Citrus blossoms are carved into the altars, reflecting the local landscape and agriculture. Millwork was fabricated by Client’s Design in Woods Cross, Utah.

The patterns in the font railings are citrus blossoms (to reflect the local landscape and agriculture) and scrolls that exemplify the Spanish colonial style of the temple. Th e railings were fabricated by Smith Design of Gunter, Texas, out of glass and bronze with an antique brass finish.

The doors are made of mahogany, and the door hardware is bronze with an antique bronze finish. Masonite International of Tampa, Florida, fabricated the doors. Decorative hardware was manufactured by Luna Bronze, located in Heber City, Utah.

The walls are painted and have a custom decorative plaster. Decorative plaster is used as an accent finish in special areas of the temple, such as inside wall recesses in the celestial and sealing rooms, on the walls of the instruction rooms and in the bride’s room. Alicyn Wright of Utah designed and fabricated the wall coverings.

The ceilings are constructed of gypsum board, acoustic ceiling tile and glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum (GFRG). In the celestial room, GFRG is used for the barrel-vaulted ceiling, fabricated by Architectural Mall Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas. Crown moldings can be found throughout, fabricated by Client’s Design. They are finished with paint, decorative paint and gold leaf.