San Luis Obispo County CA Archives Photo Place.....The Temple Of The People, Halcyon 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 6, 2006, 10:59 pm

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THE TEMPLE OF THE PEOPLE 
Halcyon, California

History and Description:

The Temple of the People is located in Halcyon, California, just west of the
community of Arroyo Grande.  The building itself looks kind of interesting,
being three-sided and curvilinear, set among homes of pre-1930 origin.  It has
no windows on the first level and eight windows on the second level blocked out
with white paint.  The architecture of the building is a direct representation
of the group's beliefs; everything is symbolic.  A little of the temple's
background is required here to relate the theology to the building.  In 1898,
the "Temple of the People" was founded by Francis A. LaDue and Dr. W. H. Dower
in Syracuse, New York.  It moved to Halcyon four years later and the temple
itself was built in 1903 and guided in California by Pearl F. Dower as the 36th
Order of Wisdom Religion.

The temple has 13 pillars on a side and a total of 37 pillars which is the
number in the cosmos assigned to the earth.  The shape of the temple is a
combination of a heart and a triangle.  The heart symbolizing man from within
and the triangle is the Irinity, The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost, and
also a symbol in the masonic order.  These two symbols form the building shape.
 In the center of the building at the top is a light to symbolize the all-seeing
eye as on the pyramid on the back of our dollar bill.  There are seven degrees
of attainment in the religion which are symbolized throughout by use of seven
doors and an interior cross distance of 7' x 7' = 49'.  The fence around the
building is even made up of seven squares per unit.  The temple itself is three
risers off the ground symbolizing their four levels of man, the fourth being the
highest--The Temple.  As in most temples the altar is to the west.  The finish
is white which is derived from the "Great White Council" which is a major part
of the religion.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

Discovering San Luis Obispo County
by
Carleton M. Winslow


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