Chanhassen, site of the ECK Temple, received its first settlers in 1852. One of these homesteaders, William S. Judd, named the small lake nearby in honor of his wife, and so it became Lake Ann. The name Chanhassen comes from two Sioux words. What better name for the location of this ECK Temple of Golden Wisdom. All three are modified octagons.
Square pillars adorn the outside of the Temple complex.
For special events, temporary seating on the ground floor provides room for several hundred more people. A pale golden ziggurat crowns the Temple. The stepped, pyramidal roof is reminiscent of architecture common to ancient Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria. The design symbolizes mankind's spiritual journey up the plateaus of life. Humanity starts at the level of the human consciousness and makes its deliberate way to the summit, which is God Consciousness.