ISKCON Los Angeles (New Dvaraka)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Also known as: Hare Krishna Temple of Los Angeles
- Deities
- Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadisha
- Traditions
- vaishnava
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- 3764 Watseka Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90034 (Palms neighborhood, on the Los Angeles/Culver City border).
- Coordinates
- 34.0251, -118.3971
- Darshan hours
- Daily, in several sessions from early morning (Mangala Arati ~4:30 AM) through evening (~8:30 PM); exact times vary by season and around festivals — consult the temple's own website before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Janmashtami and the annual Festival of the Chariots (Ratha Yatra), which the temple organizes as a major public event.
- How to reach
- Located at 3764 Watseka Avenue in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles, immediately adjacent to Culver City; reachable by car or LA Metro bus routes serving the area.
- Festivals
- Janmashtami (August/September), Ratha Yatra / Festival of the Chariots (varies, typically spring/summer)
- Associated saints
- A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Location
Open in Google MapsISKCON’s presence in Los Angeles traces to 1968, when followers of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada first began operating out of storefronts in the LA/Hollywood area, moving briefly in 1969 to a former church on La Cienega Boulevard. The current temple at 3764 Watseka Avenue — known as New Dvaraka — was formally established on 25 February 1970, and Prabhupada personally installed the presiding Deities, Sri Sri Rukmini-Dvarakadisha, in the summer of 1971. Prabhupada is said to have spent more time at this temple than at any other Western ISKCON center outside India, and by the early 1970s Los Angeles had become the movement’s American headquarters. Today the temple remains an active center of daily worship, home to an on-site Bhagavad-Gita museum and the long-running Govinda’s vegetarian restaurant, and it organizes an annual Festival of the Chariots (Ratha Yatra) as a major public event in the city.
Sources
- historical record: Checked against the temple's own official website (iskconla.com), which gives a detailed founding history (arrival of the movement in LA in 1968, a temporary site in 1969, official establishment at the current Watseka Ave address on 25 February 1970, and installation of the presiding Deities by Prabhupada in summer 1971) and a current daily worship schedule confirming active operation. Cross-checked against Wikipedia's article on A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, which independently confirms Los Angeles had become the movement's American headquarters 'by the early 1970s.' Address and neighborhood (Palms, bordering Culver City) confirmed via OpenStreetMap geocoding of the temple's street address.
For review
- The temple's own site describes it as having been 'the only temple ISKCON actually owned' in its early years and associates it closely with the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust's founding-era work; these specific claims come from the temple's own history page and were not independently corroborated by a third-party source in this pass. The temple is often colloquially described as being in 'Culver City,' but its postal address is Los Angeles, CA 90034 (Palms); this entry uses the postal city and notes the border location.