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The Temple at Grimsby Park was built in time for the opening of the 1888 season. This large structure was a dominant feature in the Grimsby Park landscape.

"It stretches its wide umbrella-like expanse over the place where once the "fathers" held their outdoor meetings. An architectural curiosity it is certainly unique, but language fails when one attempts a description of it. Built from laminated planks taken from the site where it was built, the domed roof soared 100 feet above the floor with a cupola on top (a domelike roof), which filtered natural light into the building." Grimsby Park: Historical and Biographical Sketches, Harriet Phelps Youmans, 1900.

The Mormon Temple was said to be famous for its acoustics but the Temple at Grimsby Park had a slight echo, so bunting was hung to eliminate this problem. The floor was covered with sawdust, which deadened the sounds of scuffing feet, coughs, and whispered conversation.

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The Grimsby Park Temple.
1888
Grimsby Park, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

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The Park Temple erected this season is a marvel of construction, grand and imposing. It will cover from 7000 to 8000 people; is from the ground to top of dome 100 feet; the dome alone is 112 feet in diameter, without brace or truss of any kind; the piazza surrounding the dome 372 feet long, 15 feet wide, supported by strong brackets; one hundred and eighty thousand feet of lumber, 3 1/2 tons of nails were used in its construction. The City of Toronto can be seen from the top of the dome quite distinctly - 36 miles distant.

Grimsby Park Programme 1888

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Walkway to the Temple, Grimsby Park.
1890
Grimsby Park, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

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This photograph shows the narrow roadway that led to the Grimsby Park Temple. The enormous size of the building dwarfed all other structures.

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Sketch of The Grimsby Park Temple showing the inside seating plan.
1890

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Model of The Temple in Grimsby Park.
1963

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Scale model of the Grimsby Park Temple built by R. Cecil Bowslaugh, grandson of John Beamer Bowslaugh. The model is part of the permanent collection of the Grimsby Museum.

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Band Concert in The Temple
1905
Grimsby Park, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

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In later years The Temple was used for concerts and other types of 'appropriate' entertainment. The photograph shows the capacity of The Temple and the inside of this magnificent building.

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The Temple at Grimsby Park was razed in 1922.
1922
Grimsby Beach, Grimsby, Ontario, Canada

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Photograph of the Grimsby Park Temple after it was razed.

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By 1922 after 34 years of service, (the last few years used for storage) the Temple was found to be rotting and was declared unsafe and it had to be torn down. The building was razed by placing dynamite under the supporting posts. Much of the wood from the Temple was taken to the beach and burned in a huge bonfire. The wood in good condition was used in houses and barns in Grimsby.