Radiance from Halcyon: A Utopian Experiment in Religion and Science

Chapter 7: An Architecture of Spiritual Forces: The Blue Star Memorial Temple

American Theosophical Architecture, 1897–1930 In the 1890s, theosophists were poised to build their own edifices for worship and education. What would such structures look like? As they began to conceive permanent buildings, schism occurred. Newspapers speculated about the creation of a new college, already planned by Judge, and in 1896 reported that it would be built in Boston, or perhaps California. The Washington Post described what the theosophists desired: In the building of this college there will be exactness down to the very inch. There is a reason for this. Occult philosophy holds that the whole universe is constructed on lines of pure geometry and mathematics and that a perfect reproduction of divine mathematics on earth carries with it a tremendous potency. . . . As to the appearance of the temple, it is stated that there will be nothing prosaic about it. . . . Mr. Harding suggests the following by way of illustration: the first story might be circular, with a 143 7 an architecture of spiritual forces The Blue Star Memorial Temple The motto of the Temple is, “Creeds Disappear, Hearts Remain.” The Temple building exemplifies the motto. It is a heart-shaped Temple and in its construction is full of the symbology of Number and Line, built to function the cosmic forces of Compassion and Redemption, which flow from the Heart of God into the Heart of mankind. —Fred Whitney, Artisan, 1924 A Temple made by human hands indeed shall man yet build; a Temple worthy of the presence and the peace of God. —From the Mountaintop, 1914 07chap7_Layout 1 2/12/2013 05:35 Page 143 cube as second story, and surmounted by an equilateral triangle pyramid as a third story. The three principal figures of geometry, the circle, square and triangle, would thus be presented. If this were the design, it will be seen that a very unique structure would be the result. Every room, compartment, door or window will, it is said, have the most exact dimensions. Each stairway will have just so many steps. The numbers seven and thirteen, it is expected, will play a conspicuous part in all measurements.1 At the Theosophical Society’s convention in 1896, Tingley talked about her new school. Many in the East were surprised that it would be located in California, since they thought it should be on their side of the Mississippi River, preferably in New Hampshire or Vermont, “where there are plenty of mountains which are favored retreats for the Mahatmas.”2 Tingley envisioned a White City, with a school as its centerpiece, when she began building at Point Loma in early 1897. Stylistically hybrid, her Raja Yoga Academy featured an entrance through elaborate Roman and Egyptian gates. The buildings, nearly fifty of them by the time of the community ’s demise in 1942, were made of wood with wire and cement painted to look like gray stone. Tingley drew some of the elevations herself, but she also had staff architects who were instructed to design and build in a blend of Moorish, Egyptian, and classical styles, with obvious Victorian elements. Tingley’s group also remodeled the hotel and sanatorium built in 1897 by Dr. Lorin Francis Wood, physician and theosophist, for use as the Academy by 1905. Called the Homestead, it was a panoptic design, surmounted by a huge aquamarine glass dome, one hundred feet in diameter, punctuated by three other domes. The space this created over the patio was a perfect place for social, dramatic, and musical gatherings. It was razed in 1950. The circular Aryan Memorial Temple of Peace was erected in 1900. This striking two-tiered structure was ringed by an arcade and surmounted by a huge amethyst-colored dome punctuated by a decorative glass sphere that was twenty feet in diameter. Meetings were held on the large first floor; art and music studios were located on the second floor. The rotunda was decorated with murals and carvings. This temple was destroyed by fire in 1952. Other large buildings were planned, but attacks on Tingley and the “stress of persecution” caused her to stop construction.3 An octagonal house, topped by another glass sphere, was built for sporting goods magnate Albert Spalding, one of Tingley’s chief benefactors, in 1902. Scottish theosophist Reginald Machell’s symbolist ornament graced 144 An Architecture of Spiritual Forces 07chap7_Layout 1 2/12/2013 05:35 Page 144 the interior. The house featured a winding staircase outside...