This amazing temple mixes detroit history with Indian culture.

In the mid-1920s, Lawrence Fisher of the Fisher Brothers Body firm, which supplied parts for General Motors, decided to build a magnificent mansion on the outskirts of Detroit to show off his wealth and good fortune. He hired C. Howard Crane, the man who also built the Fisher Theater, to design this elaborate home. The mansion was built in 1928 at 383 Lenox Ave. in Detroit and cost about $2 million.

Some of the floors and tiled walls have real gold and silver trim in them. There are intricately carved wood ceilings that took two years to build and some Mediterranean-style ceilings. African zebra wood designs are on the walls of one room, and silk fabric adorns the walls of another. The library has real hand-painted leather on the walls, and fossils are preserved in the stone fireplace. Ornate trim can be found throughout the mansion, and some of the original furniture is still there, just as Fisher left it. It’s an incredible part of Detroit history, and it is now The Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center of the Hare Krishna.

From Mansion to Temple

In 1961, Lawrence Fisher passed away, and the city of Detroit acquired the mansion. Since the mansion was not located in an upscale neighborhood, interested buyers were scarce. In 1975, Alfred Ford, great grandson of Henry Ford, and Elisabeth Reuther Dickmeyer, daughter of Walter Reuther, paid $80,000 for the mansion and donated it to the Hare Krishna. In 1976, the Hare Krishna devotees moved in, and they are still there today. The temple is open to the public, and everyone is welcome to come in and enjoy the beauty of the structure, observe or participate in the rituals, and learn about the Indian culture.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/old-fisher-mansion-detroits-hare-krishna-temple-210400474.html