Baháʼí World Centre buildings

Shrine of the Báb

The Shrine of the Báb is the location where the Báb's remains have been finally laid to rest. The location was designated by Baháʼu'lláh himself in 1891 while he was camped, with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, on Mount Carmel. The location is right above the German Colony, which was established in the 1860s by the German Templer Society, who were working for the Kingdom of God on earth. The initial shrine was built by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and completed in 1909. Many years later, the superstructure was completed by Shoghi Effendi, and finally dedicated in 1953.[5]

The architect was William Sutherland Maxwell, a Canadian Baháʼí who was a Beaux-Arts architect and the father-in-law of Shoghi Effendi. Shoghi Effendi provided overall guidance, including in the use of Western and Eastern styles, but left the artistic details to Maxwell. Maxwell's design of the Rose Baveno granite colonnade, Oriental-style Chiampo stone arches, and golden dome is meant to harmonize Eastern and Western proportions and style. Some remaining aspects of the dome's structural engineering were designed by Professor H. Neumann of Haifa's Technion University.[5]

After Maxwell died in 1952, Leroy Ioas, an American Baháʼí who had been closely associated with the construction of the Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois helped Shoghi Effendi in the construction process. Ioas employed his administrative skills and practical mind to supervise the building of the drum and dome, a task done without the availability of sophisticated machinery.[5]

The Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá is where ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's is buried.

The Arc composes a number of administrative buildings as revealed by Baháʼu'lláh in the Tablet of Carmel, built in the shape of an ark which include, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Seat of the International Teaching Centre, the International Baháʼí Archives and the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts. The fifth building, the International Baháʼí Library has yet to be built.

Seat of The Universal House of Justice.

The Seat of the Universal House of Justice is the building located in Haifa, Israel where the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Baha'i community, sits. It is a large building where the House of Justice consults on the affairs of the worldwide community, meet dignitaries and pilgrims, and attends to other business. It also houses a few other offices of the Baháʼí World Centre.

The building is located at the apex of The Arc and has sixty Corinthian columns around it to mirror the design of the International Archives. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 1982 during the second stage of building on the Arc, to be occupied in 1983.

During a Baháʼí pilgrimage the Universal House of Justice addresses the pilgrims and then the members greet each pilgrim in turn.

The International Teaching Centre Building

Built in the third stage of the building of the Arc, the International Teaching Centre Building is where the International Teaching Centre is based. This institution coordinates the growth and protection of the Baháʼí community. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 2001.

Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts

Built in the third stage of the building of the Arc, the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts is the base of the scholars and translators who study and translate the Baháʼí texts to assist the Universal House of Justice. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 1999.

The International Archives

The International Archives, designed by Mason Remey,[6] is the first building to be built on the Arc and holds many of the most sacred items within the Baháʼí Faith,[7] but most importantly is built for the viewing of the paintings and drawings of Baháʼu'lláh and the Báb, along with a single photograph of Baháʼu'lláh. Although some of these items are available on the internet today, most Baháʼís prefer to see these items only in a reverent atmosphere, during the pilgrimage.

Shoghi Effendi chose the Parthenon as the basis for the design, possibly due to the apparent enduring beauty even after thousands of years.[8] The capitals of the fifty columns were Ionic rather than the Doric Order.[8] It was finished in 1957 however Shoghi Effendi never lived to furnish the interior. This was left to his wife Rúhíyyih Khanum.

Previously the rear three rooms of the Shrine of the Báb and then the building beside the Monument Gardens now called the Department of Holy Places were temporary Archives buildings.

The International Baháʼí Library Building specified by Shoghi Effendi is not yet built.[9] The Baháʼí World Centre Library holds an extensive collection of Baháʼí literature. The Universal House of Justice stated: "In future decades its functions must grow, it will serve as an active centre for knowledge in all fields, and it will become the kernel of great institutions of scientific investigation and discovery."[10]

The Monument Gardens within the Baháʼí World Centre are a set of gardens which hold the graves of some of the members of the Baháʼí holy family:

• Mirzá Mihdí — Baháʼu'lláh's youngest son from his first wife
• Ásiyih Khánum — Baháʼu'lláh's first wife
• Bahíyyih Khánum — Baháʼu'lláh's daughter
• Munirih Khánum — ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's wife

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  The grave of Bahíyyih Khánum within the Monument Gardens.
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  The graves of Navváb and Mirzá Mihdí within the Monument Gardens.
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  The grave of Munírih Khánum within the Monument Gardens.

The Terraces are garden terraces that form nine above and nine below the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel within Haifa, Israel.

Nine concentric circles thus provide the main geometry of the eighteen terraces. Just as the identification of a circle presupposes a centre, so the terraces have been conceived as generated from the Shrine of the Báb. The eighteen terraces plus the one terrace of the Shrine of the Báb make nineteen terraces total. Nineteen is a significant number within both the Baháʼí and Bábí religions.

The Visitors Centre is an underground structure on the 11th terrace behind the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel within Haifa, Israel. It can be found on street level under the Hatzionut Bridge which the terraces pass over.

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  Baháʼí gardens in Haifa
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  Terraces at night
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  The Terraces Visitors Centre.

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, who was the head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 to 1921, designed and built a house in Haifa on 7 Haparsim (Persian) Street after his father Baháʼu'lláh died. It was completed in 1908, and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá moved to the house in August 1910. It became his official residence. After his travels to the West, it became the place for the reception of pilgrims to the Baháʼí World Centre. The election of the first Universal House of Justice occurred in this house in 1963.

Pilgrim Houses signify buildings where pilgrims are (or were) greeted and housed during pilgrimage to the Baháʼí holy places. There have been numerous buildings within Haifa, Israel dedicated to this throughout the last century.

The original Western Pilgrim House, located at 4 Haparsim (Persian) Street in Haifa, Israel, was used as a Pilgrim House for members of the Baháʼí Faith of Western origin, who had come for pilgrimage during the early years of the 20th century, before it was replaced by the new Western Pilgrim House on 10 Haparsim Street.

The house is currently part of the Baháʼí World Centre. While it was originally rented to serve as a Pilgrim House, the house was then bought by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. After being replaced by new Western Pilgrim House, the site was then used by members of the Baháʼí holy family. It left Baháʼí hands shortly before being re-bought by the Universal House of Justice.

10 Haparsim Street

The second Western Pilgrim House, often referred to as "the old western Pilgrim House", located at 10 Haparsim (Persian) Street in Haifa, Israel, was used as a Pilgrim House for members of the Baháʼí Faith who had come for pilgrimage during the first half of the 20th century. It is currently part of the Baháʼí World Centre and used by the Baháʼí International Community Secretariat and related offices.

The house was originally paid for by William Harry Randall, a wealthy American Baháʼí, who felt the facilities of the previous Western Pilgrim House at 4 Haparsim were inadequate. Its construction was started under the instruction of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, but was only completed during the time that Shoghi Effendi was the head of the Baháʼí Faith. Although it served originally as the Pilgrim House for western Baháʼís, it has been used for other purposes more recently:

• From 1951 to 1963 it housed the International Baháʼí Council;
• From 1963 to 1983 it served as the Seat of the Universal House of Justice;
• From 1983 to 2000 it was occupied by the International Teaching Centre.

Haifa Pilgrim House

The Eastern Pilgrim House or the "Haifa Pilgrim House" is a Pilgrim House for Baháʼís when they go on pilgrimage. The house was built after ʻAbdu'l-Bahá interred the remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel. The construction of this stone building was supervised by Mírzá Jaʼfar Rahmání of ʻIshqábád, who also paid all the expenses. It is known as the "Eastern Pilgrim House", as for decades it housed the Persian pilgrims. After 1951, when the Western Pilgrim House at 10 Haparsim Street became the seat of the International Baháʼí Council, it became the Pilgrim House for all pilgrims.

Haifa Pilgrim Reception Centre

The Pilgrim Reception Centre or the "Haifa Pilgrim Reception Centre" was the old Pilgrim Reception Centre for pilgrimage to sites near the Baháʼí World Centre. It comprised two conjoined buildings of a historic medical clinic, that had been remodeled and opened in October 2000. While open, the building could serve up to 500 people on pilgrimage. It has now been replaced by a newer Pilgrim Reception Center situated near the Shrine of the Bàb.[11]

Resting place of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum.

The Resting place of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum is situated within Haifa, Israel as part of the Baháʼí World Centre. Originally bought to make sure that the area around the House of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was not built up, and used as a garden, it was selected as the burial ground for Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum after she died in 2000.

75 HaTzionut Avenue is a building within Haifa which is part of the Baháʼí World Centre that is not particularly celebrated but has been an integral part of the centre for many years. Amongst other things it has been used for:

• A building where Shoghi Effendi oversaw the development of the Baháʼí gardens.
• An architects office for the building of the Arc.
• As the International Archives building before the permanent building was finished in 1957.

It is currently used as the Baháʼí "Department of Holy Places".

Obelisk marking the position of the future Baháʼí House of Worship (Mas͟hriqu'l-Ad͟hkár), Mount Carmel, Israel; Haifa, Israel

Another structure in the Haifa region is the site of the future Mas͟hriqu'l-Ad͟hkár.

House of ʻAbbúd

The House of ʻAbbúd refers actually to two houses:

• The westerly house owned originally by ʻAbbúd himself. It was the first property to be rented after Baháʼu'lláh's release from confinement into house arrest.
• The easterly house which was owned by ʻÚdí Khammár originally until he let it to the Baháʼí holy family after a few years. ʻÚdí Khammár also owned the Mansion of Bahjí which the Baháʼís later acquired.

The house provided a home for Baháʼu'lláh's first wife Navváb and her family. It was in this building that the Kitáb-i-Aqdas was written.

House of ʻAbdu'lláh Páshá

The House of ʻAbdu'lláh Páshá is one of the properties the Baháʼí holy family used in the Akká area. It was acquired by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to fit the growing family and also provide space to welcome pilgrims who had started to arrive.

The name derives from the Akká governor Ibrahim Pasha who owned the house in the early decades of the 19th century.

The first western pilgrims were welcomed here on December 10, 1898.

Garden of Ridván, Acre

The Garden of Ridván (lit. garden of paradise) is a Baháʼí holy place situated just outside Acre within modern Israel. Originally known as the 'garden of Naʻmayn', it was rented by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá for Baháʼu'lláh where he enjoyed spending the later part of his life, after years in a desolate prison cell. Although it shares the same name it does not have the same significance of the Garden of Ridván, Baghdad and no connection to the festival of Ridván.

During the 1930s and 1940s the island setting of the garden disappeared, as a result of a draining project against malaria. In 2010 a three-year restoration and conservation project of the garden and the original water canals surrounding it was completed, after which the Ridvan Garden, referred to by Baháʼu'lláh as 'Our Verdant Isle', became an island once again.[12]

In 2019, in its annual Ridván message, the Universal House of Justice announced that the future Shrine of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá is to be constructed in the vicinity of the Garden of Ridván.[13]

Prison Cell of Baháʼu'lláh, Acre

The prison cell in which Baháʼu'lláh lived between 1868 and 1870 has now become a Baháʼí pilgrimage location. Its restoration was completed in June 2004.[14]

The Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh

Located in Bahjí, the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh is the most holy place for Baháʼís — their Qiblih. It contains the remains of Baháʼu'lláh and is near the spot where he died in the Mansion of Bahjí.

The Mansion of Bahjí

The Mansion of Bahjí is the house where Baháʼu'lláh died in 1892. It was built in 1870 over an earlier, smaller building by ʻUdi Khammar, a wealthy merchant from Akká who was also the original owner of the House of ʻAbbúd. It remained in his family's hands until 1879, when an epidemic caused the inhabitants to flee. The mansion was subsequently rented to the Baháʼí holy family for a very small amount of money. ʻUdi Khammar's tomb is still within the main Mansion compound, on the southeast corner of the wall. The Mansion is now a Baháʼí pilgrimage site.

Bahjí Visitor Centre

Located in Bahjí and near the Shrine of Baháʼu'lláh, the Bahjí Visitor Centre contains basic facilities used by visitors and Baháʼí pilgrims.