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

Open House and Rededication

A public open house has been announced for the newly renovated San Diego California Temple. Guests will be welcomed to tour the interior of the temple from Thursday, June 18, through Saturday, July 11, 2026 (excluding Sundays). The open house with kick off with a media day on Monday, June 15, followed by two days of tours for invited guests. The rededication will be held on Sunday, August 23, at 10 a.m. with a rebroadcast at 2 p.m.¹

Temple Locale

Situated near the upscale community of La Jolla in San Diego, the striking double towers of the San Diego California Temple soar above I-5 in heavily populated Southern California. Connecting the towers at the center is a star-shaped atrium filled with a colorful garden. The atrium is accessed from the two-story Celestial Room featuring towering art glass, suspended light fixtures, and a grand staircase to an upper-level balcony. The public is invited to tour the manicured temple grounds and a visitors' center honoring the San Diego Mormon Battalion, located 10 miles south of the temple in Old Town San Diego.

Temple Facts

The San Diego California Temple was the third temple built in California, following the Los Angeles California Temple (1956) and the Oakland California Temple (1964).

The architects for the San Diego California Temple were William S. Lewis, Jr., design architect; Dennis Hyndman, project architect; and Shelly Hyndman, interior design architect. The Hyndmans, who are Roman Catholic, had not toured the interior of a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until the Las Vegas Nevada Temple open house commenced in 1989.

After suffering a mild heart attack four months earlier, President Ezra Taft Benson made his first trip outside the Salt Lake Valley to break ground for the San Diego California Temple—his first time presiding over a temple groundbreaking.

On Monday, December 23, 1991, the 186th anniversary of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, a gilded statue of the angel Moroni was installed atop the eastern spire of the San Diego California Temple. Shortly after the setting, a traveling flock of seagulls—a bird of symbolic significance to the Church—circled the new statue about three times before continuing on its course.

Over 720,000 visitors attended the widely publicized open house for the San Diego California Temple. Tours of the temple were offered for six weeks.

President Benson's ailing health did not allow him to preside at the dedication of the San Diego California Temple. President Gordon B. Hinckley was assigned to dedicate the temple in 23 sessions where 49,273 persons attended.

The San Diego California Temple was honored as Headliner of the Year for 1993 in the landmark category by the San Diego Press Club.

For its efforts during the open house of the San Diego California Temple to increase public awareness of the Church and the role of the temple, the Church was presented with the Public Relations Society of America's prestigious Silver Anvil Award in the category of special events and observances by non-profit organizations.

On July 31, 2023, the San Diego California Temple closed for extensive renovations. The exterior was repainted and brightened, and the landscaping was refreshed. The interior was reconfigured to improve accessibility and enhance the patron experience. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning system was upgraded, and improvements were made to the roof. The temple’s cafeteria area was removed, and that space was repurposed as a waiting room for guests attending weddings. The art glass, carpet, lighting and furnishings were also replaced. It was rededicated just over three years later on August 23, 2026.

Temple Design

Exterior

The four-story San Diego California Temple consists of a combination of structural steel, precast concrete and marble chips set within marblecrete plaster. The unique design, featuring 10 spires, is unlike any other Latter-day Saint temple in the world. The spire on the east side features a statue of Moroni, a prophet from the Book of Mormon.

The perimeter is enclosed by a painted wrought-iron fence designed to complement the temple’s distinctive architecture.

The grounds have been fully renewed, incorporating updated plantings that are suited to the San Diego climate. The refreshed landscape elements harmonize with the temple’s striking exterior and the surrounding environment.

Interior

The temple features a unique eight-pointed star-shaped atrium, and the interior design consists of interlocking square patterns and an ancient symbol featuring an eight-pointed star formed by two overlapping 45-degree-offset squares. These symbols are woven into the carpet, ceilings, art glass and lighting fixtures to provide unity throughout the building’s design.

Custom gold carpet featuring an interlocking square motif is used throughout the temple. The dressing rooms have carpet tile in a gold tone with a large geometric pattern. Area rugs include a pink and purple floral wall-to-wall rug in the bride’s room and decorative wool rugs in the entry with geometric patterns in purple and gold.

Light-créme and medium-brown marble are used throughout for the flooring and stone base, including a star pattern in the entry and at the grand stairs. Crema Marfil marble is used for countertops in dressing rooms and the extra-large sealing room. The floor under the baptistry font features an interlocking square-and-star pattern made from Giallo Reale Gold, Giallo Provenza and Crema Nuova stone.

Updated satin brass fixtures with white alabaster acrylic are used in the entry, waiting rooms and instruction rooms. The sealing rooms feature polished silver fixtures with Asfour crystal. Four chandeliers and sconces in the celestial room incorporate a satin gold finish and Asfour crystal with alternating square tiers to reinforce the interlocking motif. A three-tier chandelier with satin gold and Asfour crystal is placed in the celestial corridor on the third floor.

Cherry veneer and solids are used extensively for the baseboards, door casings, cabinetry and grand staircase railing. The dressing room lockers feature durable phenolic cabinetry with a cherry-grain laminate and hardwood caps.

The fiberglass oxen are the originals but have been refinished. The font railing is stainless steel with a matte finish.

The doors are painted creamy white and feature vertical decorative panels comprised of multiple interlocking squares. The hardware throughout the temple is a combination of brass and bronze, with escutcheon plates reflecting the same motif.

The walls in the temple are painted with soft gold and various shades of white. Decorative vinyl wallcoverings in various rooms feature geometric or textured patterns selected to complement each room’s function and aesthetic.

Ceilings are primarily painted gypsum with sloped designs and open reveals for slot diffusers. Gold and cream opaque acrylic diffusers are used in waiting areas, offices and vestibules. The extra-large sealing room includes a round skylight with a decorative metal grill featuring petal shapes. Sealing rooms incorporate unique ceiling art with interlocking squares, petal designs and gold leaf. Functional areas use acoustic lay-in ceiling tile. The entry ceiling features a large decorative cloud in an octagon and an interlocking-square pattern painted gold.

Exterior windows feature gold, tan and textured glass arranged in interlocking-square patterns. Entry doors and initiatory areas use cut glass incorporating the overlapping-square motif, reflecting the temple’s unified design language.

The temple features several original art pieces, including “Evening Tide” and “Coastal Surf” by Grant Romney Clawson; “Summer Storm,” “Torrey Pines” and “Peaceful Stream” by Frank Magleby; “Pacific Evening” by David W. Meikle; and “San Diego Landscape” by Walter Rane.

Church History in San Diego

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints strive to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ by serving their neighbors and building strong families. They have shaped Southern California since the state’s earliest days.

Church members first arrived in San Diego in January 1847 as members of the Mormon Battalion, a volunteer infantry unit of the United States Army. The unit never saw combat, but they established a route and furnished reports on the habitability of much of the American Southwest as they marched from Kansas to the California coast. Most of the participants mustered out and then traveled to Utah Territory to reunite with families. A few stayed in California, establishing a Church presence in the state that has remained uninterrupted since 1847.

The Church opened a mission in California with headquarters in San Francisco, but it recalled missionaries and most members in 1858 when the U.S. Army threatened Church settlements in Utah.

Missionary work in California resumed in 1892. The following year, the mission reported eight members and seven children residing in San Diego. Regular missionary proselytizing followed, with formal congregations established by 1895.

The Church in San Diego grew steadily during the first part of the 20th century. The local branch donated labor and half the funds for the first building in the area, a chapel at Tenth and Pennsylvania Streets. It was dedicated in 1916. By 1930, there were 836 members worshipping in branches in San Diego, East San Diego and National City, with another branch in Logan Heights. Steady growth warranted the creation of the San Diego California Stake (a collection of congregations) in 1941. Additional congregations in the South Coast district of the mission worshipped in Escondido, Laguna Beach and Carlsbad.

At the height of World War II, the Church established a Latter-day Saint Servicemen’s Center in the North Park chapel, and many members supported troops training in the area with dinners and with recreational and social opportunities.

The dedication of the Los Angeles California Temple in 1956 reduced the effort and travel time for members to perform sacred ordinances. This coincided with accelerated growth in the area. Additional stakes were created in El Cajon (1958), Carlsbad (1960) and Escondido (1972). By the end of 1973, more than 29,000 members worshipped in the area.

Since the Church’s earliest days, its members have been involved in every aspect of community life. Congregations hold cleanup projects, blood drives, concerts and cultural events involving people of all faiths. Church youth regularly participate in annual service projects to clean parks and trails and contribute to area food banks. In 2007, after wildfires ravaged San Diego County, the Church opened chapels to evacuees, sent semitrucks full of emergency supplies, provided over 4,000 hours of service and coordinated with government and community organizations to provide relief to victims.

In April 1984, with area membership exceeding 39,000 people, the First Presidency of the Church announced plans to build a temple in San Diego. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in February 1988. Approximately 720,000 people toured the completed building during a six-week open house in 1993 before it was dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley, then serving as the First Counselor in the First Presidency. The temple was closed for extensive renovation in 2023 and will be rededicated on August 23, 2026.