The old temple of the Vedanta Sangha, built in 1906, was the first Hindu temple in America. The history of the Vedanta Sangha in America begins in the late 19th century. After attending the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, Swami Vivekanandaji traveled to San Francisco, where he gathered a significant group of students. The Vedanta Sangha of San Francisco was founded in 1900. Vedanta, one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy, was brought to America by Hindu disciples of Ramakrishna, including Vivekanandaji and Swami Trikunathitananda. At Vivekanandaji's invitation, Trikunathitananda arrived in San Francisco on January 2, 1903. He supervised classes and lectures at the local Vedanta Sangha. The small space they had been using there was no longer adequate for their activities, so they built a new house for the Sangha at the intersection of Webster and Filbert Streets. The first two floors of the building were completed in August 1905, and the building served as an office and teaching space, as well as living quarters for the Swamis and their assistants. The temple aawas officially dedicated in January 1906. In 1908, an additional floor was built, containing a balcony and the main tower. The Vedanta Sangha was architecturally a mixture of a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque, a Hindu monastery, and an American residence. Its onion-domed towers were mostly in the Russian style. Its towers, in Indian, Mughal, and Western architectural styles, were intended to symbolize the harmony of all religions, with pointed arches and domes and the upward desire of the spiritual quest. Designed by Swami Trigunathidhananda and architect Joseph A. Leonard, the temple survived the San Francisco earthquake and fire of April 1906. It served the local Vedanta community until a new temple was built on Vallejo Street in 1959. The old temple is now used as a dormitory and classroom space.