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A
Visitor's Guide to the Temple
Ocean
Park's Oldest Historic Treasure
 The
Temple
at Ocean Park is the principal Ocean Park programming facility.
Entered into the National Register of Historic Places, the nation's
official list of historic places important to our history and worthy
of preservation, on April 28, 1975, it is a multipurpose building, used
for a variety of cultural, educational, and religious programs during
the ten week assembly season.
The
building was originally known as the "Way of Truth Temple".
This name is still in use on town and county records. On many Sunday
mornings it is filled to capacity, approximately 800 people, with additional
seating on the benches in the grove beside the Temple. In earlier years,
the two side rooms, off the stage, had seating for additional worshipers
and there were 35 benches outdoors. In those days, total capacity was
1,450. All of the furnishings are moveable, providing greater flexibility
for programming.
Interdenominational
Sunday services feature speakers with national reputations. The Temple
services have also been known throughout the years for their outstanding
music program, featuring the fifty voice Temple Choir with Stewart Shuster
as director and organist. In addition, the Temple Junior Choir (ages
7-12), the Temple Bell Choir (teenagers and adults) and the Temple Brass
Ensemble enhance the services.
The
Temple Organ and Piano
The "new" Temple organ is a tracker organ built by David Wallace
of Gorham, Maine. The console was built by Stanley Griskivich of Cousins
Island, Maine. The wood is cherry with stop jams of mahogany.
The
wind chests are from three organs built a long time ago. The first chest,
on the left, was built in 1867 by George Sevens of Boston and was previously
part of the organ used in the Methodist Church in South Berwick, Maine.
The center chest was built by Elias and George Hook of Boston in 1954.
It was originally built for St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire
and was last used in Trinity Episcopal Church, Portland, Maine. The
chest on the right was built by Hook and Hastings, also of Boston, circa
1870. The organ has 26 ranks of pipes.
In
1988 a new Young Chang grand piano was acquired. Funding was provided
through the contributions of those who attended Sunday worship services
that year.
Historic
The Temple was built in 1881 by James Bickford, a builder from Portland.
The firm of Dow and Wheeler drew up the plans, charging $27.50 for the
work. Construction began on June 6, 1881 and the building was dedicated
on August 2, 1881. The total cost of construction was $3,550, with an
additional charge of $42.00 for shutters. The original benched, many
still in use, cost $.30 per linear foot with 200 chairs included as
a discount. In 1927 the Temple stage was built into the rear extension,
expanding seating on the main floor by 300 seats. In 1986 the stage
was expanded and in 1989 improvements were made in the lighting. An
FM system was installed to assist the hearing impaired during Sunday
morning worship, programs, and special events. The Heritage Challenge
Capital Fund Drive restored the Temple and provided for 21st century
amenities including new plumbing and fixtures and a state-of-the-art
sprinkler system.
An
Unusual Design
The octagonal shape of the Temple was a popular design at the time the
building was constructed. There is an octagonal house on Saco Avenue
in Old Orchard Beach as a well as a few octagonal towers on local houses.
The design was evident in the White Mountain area of New Hampshire and
there are still several octagonal barns in Vermont. Many Chautauqua
sites have at least one octagonal building. Two notable sites are Chautauqua,
New York and Ocean Grove, New Jersey. At the time of construction, the
Temple was, and still is, one of the largest octagonal buildings in
existence. The symmetry of the design and the unique extended post and
beam superstructure lend a particular architectural appeal to the building.
Temple
Square
Porter Hall, built in 1902 is located to the west of the Temple. Jordan
Hall, to the east, was built in 1915. The Bell Tower, located between
the Temple and Jordan Hall, was built in 1882. All four structures are
on 24 lots of land set aside in the original Ocean Park plan for Assembly
use and are collectively known as Temple Square.
The
land across the street from the Temple, both front and rear, remains
vacant as in the original plan. It is preserved in this way to prevent
encroachment upon the Assembly building and as well as to give the entire
area its park-like effect. All four buildings were entered into the
National Register of Historic Places on March 2, 1982, as the Ocean
Park Historic Buildings.
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