Welcome to the Sanctum
Sri Venkateswara Temple of Greater Pittsburgh, perched on a wooded hilltop in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, holds a unique place in the story of Sanatana Dharma abroad — consecrated on June 8, 1977, it is the first traditional Hindu temple built in North America following the Vaikhanasa Agama. Affectionately known as the "Tirumala of America", SV Temple Pittsburgh was the result of a nine-year fundraising and construction effort by Telugu-speaking NRI families and pandits dispatched from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), who installed the Moolavar Sri Venkateswara murti according to the same Agama procedures performed at Tirumala.
The granite and concrete Vimanam rises 56 feet above the Pittsburgh hillside, its carved gopuram a direct homage to the Ananda Nilayam of Tirumala. Inside, the 30-foot-long garbha griha houses the Moolavar Swami, flanked by Sridevi and Bhudevi, with Goddess Padmavati installed in her own separate shrine downstairs — a twin-sanctum arrangement that follows the Tirumala-Tiruchanur model. For over four decades, the temple has served Hindu devotees across Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York and Eastern Canada.
— ॐ नमो वेङ्कटेशाय —
Heritage
The story carved into stone, copper, and prayer.
The temple’s story began in 1968 when Alagappa Alagappan, a visionary diplomat and devotee of Venkateswara, proposed building a classical Hindu temple in America. By 1972, the Sri Venkateswara Temple Society was incorporated in Pittsburgh, and after extensive consultation with the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and TTD, the current Penn Hills site was acquired in 1975. The founders deliberately chose Pittsburgh for its large engineering and academic NRI community, most of whom had emigrated from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the first post-1965 wave.
Ground was broken on July 21, 1976 with the Bhoomi Puja performed by Sri Sannidhanam of Ahobila Mutt. Thirteen sthapathis from Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram arrived with pre-carved granite panels; they trained local volunteers in traditional construction. The Kumbhabhishekam was performed on June 8, 1977 by TTD Agama acharyas, with a consecration fund raised almost entirely from individual $100 donations sent by NRI families across the US and Canada.
In the years that followed, SV Pittsburgh served as technical consultant to virtually every major South Indian temple built in the US: SV Temple Bridgewater (NJ), Sri Ganesha Nashville, Hindu Temple Society of North America (Flushing, NY), Meenakshi Pearland (TX), and the Malibu Hindu Temple. The Pittsburgh priests have travelled widely to perform Kumbhabhishekam ceremonies, and its founders have authored the authoritative English-language manuals on Vaikhanasa Agama that most American temples still use.
The temple underwent major expansions in 1988 (adding the Padmavati shrine and community hall), 1996 (Ashtabandhanam punar-prathishtha), and 2018 (Samprokshanam and new vimanam gilding). Its endowment — now exceeding $25 million — funds priest salaries, free archana for the needy, Sanskrit and music schools, and community social work including the annual Tirumala pilgrimage assistance programme for first-time NRI visitors to Tirupati. Every year on June 8, the temple celebrates its Pratishtha Varshikotsavam with a full 11-day Brahmotsavam that draws over 20,000 devotees.
Sacred Offerings
Offerings performed by ordained priests under the guidance of vedic tradition — for every milestone of life.
Free
The morning awakening chant composed by Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan, sung daily at the opening of the sanctum just as at Tirumala.
Book Now →$301 (couple-sponsored)
Celestial wedding re-enactment of Venkateswara and Padmavati, performed every Saturday — couples sponsor as vivaha-prapti or anniversary blessing.
Book Now →$11 / $51
Archakas chant the devotee’s gotra, nakshatra and name while offering flowers and prasadam at the feet of the Moolavar.
Book Now →$251 per sponsor
The rare monthly occasion when the Moolavar is given a full Panchamrita abhishekam in front of devotees — one of the most sought-after sevas.
Book Now →$1,008
A thousand sanctified kalashas are poured over the utsavamurti during the 11-day Brahmotsavam — sponsorship is typically booked 2 years ahead.
Book Now →Daily Worship
Open all days of the year
Sacred Calendar
Days that turn the temple into a constellation of light, music, and shared prayer.
11-day festival with daily Vahana Sevas — Garuda, Hanumantha, Suryaprabha, Chandraprabha — attended by over 20,000 devotees.
Devotees pass through the Vaikunta Dwaram for moksha — the only day of the year when the northern archway to the main sanctum is opened.
Telugu panchanga sravanam and Ugadi pachadi; one of the largest Telugu community events in the US East Coast.
Lakshmi Puja, 10,000 diya lighting around the temple hillside, and community fireworks display.
A week-long Carnatic music festival honouring Saint Tyagaraja, with kritis sung in the temple auditorium by NRI and visiting artists from India.
Sacred Moments
A visual pilgrimage — captured in the soft light of dusk and the gold of dawn.
Devotee Voices
Words from those whose lives were touched within these walls.
We make the journey to Sri Venkateswara Temple every year on our wedding anniversary. The vow my husband took when our daughter was ill twelve years ago has become our family's most sacred ritual. Lord Venkateswara has given us everything.
First time at Sri Venkateswara Temple, I was overwhelmed by the crowds. By the third visit, I learned to see the silence inside the noise. Now even the queue is meditation. Govinda! Govinda!
I sponsored my first laddu prasadam dane-sevā the year my startup got funded. I had vowed it during the lockdown, when I had nothing. Bhagwan kept his end. I make sure to keep mine.
Plan Your Visit
Address: 1230 S McCully Drive, Penn Hills, PA 15235, United States, Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, United States 15235
Nearest airport: Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) — 32 km
Nearest railway: Pittsburgh Amtrak Union Station (14 km)
Nearest bus stand: Penn Hills Port Authority bus stops
Phone: +1-412-373-3380
Email: info@svtemple.org
Official website: www.svtemple.org
