Manhattan New York Temple (2 Lincoln Square)
125 Columbus Avenue | also 60 West 66th Street, 2 Lincoln Square | Lincoln Square | built 1974
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The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1975
The building at Lincoln Square is dedicated by Spencer W. Kimball
Church president Spencer W. Kimball dedicates the original building in May 1975. Its third floor holds a chapel, cultural hall, baptismal font and classrooms, a church public affairs office is on the second floor, and the New York New York Stake has its offices on the fourth. In 2002 the church begins adapting the building into a temple.
“The original building was dedicated in May 1975 by church president Spencer W. Kimball and still houses a church public affairs office on the second floor and a chapel.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1989
The Museum of American Folk Art opens a branch gallery at 2 Lincoln Square
In 1989 the museum opened a new branch, the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, at 2 Lincoln Square, across from Lincoln Center. The space later became more central: after the museum sold its West 53rd Street building to the Museum of Modern Art, its Lincoln Square location served as the main place for exhibitions and its shop.
“…a new branch of the museum, the Eva and Morris Feld Gallery, opened at 2 Lincoln Square, New York, opposite Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2002
The LDS Church announces a Manhattan temple at Lincoln Square and breaks ground that September
Church president Gordon B. Hinckley announced the temple on August 7, 2002, and a groundbreaking ceremony followed on September 23. Rather than build from scratch, the church adapted an existing stake center across from Lincoln Center, a choice made after weighing property values in the area. Frank Fernandez was the architect.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2004
More than 53,000 visitors tour the temple during its month-long open house
Before the dedication, the temple holds a month-long open house in May 2004. More than 53,000 people of various faiths tour the converted building across from Lincoln Center, and visitors comment on the sense of peace they feel. The Ensign magazine notes that the temple serves 42,000 members who previously had to travel to Boston or Washington, D.C.
Source: churchofjesuschrist.org
- 2004
More than 2,400 young Latter-day Saints fill Radio City Music Hall for a jubilee
To mark the temple, church members produce a jubilee at Radio City Music Hall, with Gordon B. Hinckley attending and speaking. More than 2,400 young Latter-day Saints take part, the largest cast ever to perform on that stage. The program mixes song, dance and videotaped segments and showcases church members who perform, direct or produce Broadway shows.
Source: churchofjesuschrist.org
- 2004
Gordon B. Hinckley dedicates the Manhattan New York Temple in four sessions
Hinckley dedicated the temple in four sessions on Sunday, June 13, 2004, nearly two years after the groundbreaking. A cornerstone was laid during the first session, with a time capsule of New York memorabilia, including a copy of The New York Times, placed inside it.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2008
Protesters over Proposition 8 gather outside the Lincoln Square temple
On November 12, 2008, a large crowd of demonstrators, many of them gay rights activists, assembled outside the temple. They were protesting the LDS Church's support for California's Proposition 8, a ballot measure. Wikipedia notes that no vandalism to the building was reported.
Source: Wikipedia
- 2024
The temple closes for a multi-year renovation
The church announces in August 2023 that the Manhattan temple will close for renovations expected to take about three years. The temple closes on March 2, 2024. Local congregations that use the meetinghouse within the same building are relocated to other meetinghouse space in the area for the duration.
“On August 28, 2023, the church announced the temple would close in 2024 for renovations of about three years. The temple closed for renovations on March 2, 2024.”
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- Manhattan New York TempleWikipedia
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