Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina
Cary, North Carolina (Research Triangle), USA
- Deities
- Venkateswara (Vishnu), Padmavathi, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Ayyappa, Subrahmanya, Hanuman, Narasimha
- Traditions
- vaishnava, shaiva
- Worship status
- active
- Address
- 21 Balaji Place, Cary, North Carolina
- Coordinates
- 35.8014, -78.8053
- Darshan hours
- Varies by season; consult the temple's own website for the current daily schedule before visiting.
- Best time to visit
- Year-round; Brahmotsavam and the temple's founding anniversary draw especially large crowds.
- How to reach
- At 21 Balaji Place in Cary, North Carolina, in the Research Triangle area; reachable by car, with Raleigh-Durham International Airport the nearest major airport.
Location
Open in Google MapsRising demand for a South Indian-style temple in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, tracing back to 1988, led a local community to purchase 2.8 acres in Cary in July 1998 and hold a Bhoomi Puja land-purification ceremony the following January. After the Town of Cary approved zoning in 2002 and construction began in 2007, the Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina was consecrated in a Prana Pratishtha ceremony on 29 May 2009 and opened to the public the next day, drawing more than 10,000 guests to the celebration. Modeled on the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Dravidian architectural style, its main sanctum houses a nine-foot, 4,000-pound murti of Venkateswara, crafted alongside black granite floors and decorative stonework hand-carved in India by fourteen visiting artisans.
The temple, which now serves an estimated 21,000 Hindus across the Triangle, has grown its campus from 2.8 to 9 acres and in October 2022 inaugurated an 87-foot Rajagopuram entrance tower said to be the tallest of its kind in North America. It has also become a landmark of civic recognition for the state’s Hindu community: Governor Roy Cooper signed North Carolina’s first-ever Diwali proclamation at the temple on 18 October 2017. The property additionally preserves the Nancy Jones House, Cary’s oldest standing structure (built 1803), which the town purchased in 2019 for historic preservation.
Sources
- historical record: Cross-checked via Wikipedia's 'Sri Venkateswara Temple of North Carolina' article: rising demand from 1988 onward led to a 2.8-acre land purchase in July 1998, a Bhoomi Puja land-purification ceremony in January 1999, zoning approval from the Town of Cary in 2002, construction beginning in 2007, and a Prana Pratishtha consecration on 29 May 2009 (opening to the public the next day), an event that drew over 10,000 guests. The temple is modeled on the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Dravidian style; its 9-foot, 4,000-pound Venkateswara murti and black granite floors were crafted with decorative elements hand-carved in India by 14 artisans; the campus has since grown from 2.8 to 9 acres, and its 87-foot Rajagopuram entrance tower -- described as the tallest in North America -- was inaugurated in October 2022. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed the state's first Diwali proclamation at this temple on 18 October 2017. The property also includes the Nancy Jones House, the oldest building in Cary (built 1803), purchased by the Town of Cary in 2019 for historical preservation.