Jean-Baptiste Louis Bourgeois (March 19, 1856 – August 20, 1930) was a Canadian architect, active in Canada and the United States. He is perhaps best known for designing the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.
Jean-Baptiste Louis Bourgeois (March 19, 1856 – August 20, 1930) was a Canadian architect, active in Canada and the United States. He is perhaps best known for designing the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.
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The Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois (or Chicago Baháʼí Temple) is a Baháʼí temple. It is the second Baháʼí House of Worship ever constructed and the oldest one still standing. It is one of eight continental temples, constructed to serve all of North America.
The temple was designed by French-Canadian architect Louis Bourgeois (1856–1930), who received design feedback from ʻAbdu'l-Bahá during a visit to Haifa in 1920. To convey the Baháʼí principle of the unity of religion, Bourgeois incorporated a variety of religious architecture and symbols. Although ʻAbdu'l-Bahá participated in a ground-breaking ceremony in 1912 that laid a cornerstone, construction began in earnest in the early 1920s and was delayed significantly through the Great Depression and World War II. Construction picked up again in 1947, and the temple was dedicated in a ceremony in 1953.