BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chicago
Bartlett, Illinois (Chicago suburb), USA
- Deities
- Swaminarayan, Radha Krishna, Rama Sita, Shiva Parvati
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- 1851 S Illinois Route 59, Bartlett, IL 60103.
- Coordinates
- 41.9429, -88.2061
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season; consult the temple's own website for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Year-round; consult the temple calendar for major festivals.
- How to reach
- In Bartlett, Illinois, a Chicago suburb roughly 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago; reachable by car.
Location
Open in Google MapsDistinct from the Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago in nearby Lemont, this BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir traces its Chicago-area roots to 1972, when small groups of devotees began gathering in members’ homes under the guidance of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, who visited the community in 1974, 1977 and 1980. An initial mandir opened in Glen Ellyn in 1984 before the growing congregation acquired its current 27-acre site in Bartlett in 1994. A haveli (cultural and community hall) was inaugurated on October 29, 2000, and the mandir proper was consecrated and opened on August 7, 2004. Built in traditional Shilpa Shastra style from hand-carved Italian marble and Turkish limestone — carved by roughly 2,000 craftsmen in Rajasthan and shipped to Illinois for assembly — the 22,000-square-foot, 78-foot-high structure features 16 domes, 151 pillars, 117 arches, five pinnacles and four balconies. Its central shrine enshrines Bhagwan Swaminarayan alongside Gunatitanand Swami, with additional shrines to Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita and Shiva-Parvati. The mandir has drawn architectural recognition beyond the Hindu community, winning a Chicago Building Congress Merit Award in 2004 and being named one of 150 Great Places in Illinois by the American Institute of Architects.
Sources
- historical record: Wave 2 re-verification: address and coordinates confirmed via Komoot Photon geocoding, which identifies this temple (under two slightly different OSM name tags, 'BAPS SwamiNarayan Sanstha Temple' and 'BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir', with one mislabeled to a 'Lake in the Hills, IL' postal locality) at the same coordinates, 1851 South Illinois Route 59, Bartlett, IL 60103 (41.9428916, -88.2061334); this ZIP and street are consistent with the temple's well-documented Bartlett, IL location.
- historical record: Wikipedia article 'BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Chicago': small groups of devotees began gathering in homes from 1972 at the direction of Pramukh Swami Maharaj, whose visits in 1974, 1977 and 1980 grew the community; an initial mandir opened in Glen Ellyn, Illinois in 1984; the current 27-acre Bartlett site was acquired in 1994; a haveli (cultural hall) was inaugurated October 29, 2000, and the mandir itself was consecrated and opened August 7, 2004; the 22,000-square-foot, 78-foot-high mandir has 16 domes, 151 pillars, 117 arches, five pinnacles and four balconies, hand-carved from Italian marble and Turkish limestone by roughly 2,000 craftsmen in Rajasthan before shipment to Chicago; the central shrine houses Swaminarayan with Gunatitanand Swami, with additional shrines to Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita and Shiva-Parvati; the mandir won a Chicago Building Congress Merit Award in 2004 and was named one of 150 Great Places in Illinois by the American Institute of Architects.