ISKCON New York, 26 Second Avenue

It was a home for Srila Prabhupada, Founder of ISKCON, from July 1966 to that difficult New York winter of 1967. It’s the first Krishna temple in the west, the birthplace of ISKCON, and the site where nineteen fresh-faced Americans received the Sanskrit names they’d use for the rest of their lives.  

Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York in September of 1965, after crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a freighter - The Jaladuta.  In May of 1966, Srila Prabhupada, with the help of just two followers, rented a storefront in New York's Lower East Side - here at 26 Second Avenue. The storefront was previously a curio shop with the name, "Matchless Gifts." Early visitors to Srila Prabhupada's new center were struck by the prophetic name. In July of 1966, Srila Prabhupada incorporated his institution, ISKCON, with headquarters at this storefront. Later, he often fondly remembered those early days, as he saw the Hare Krishna Movement quickly grow into the world-wide movement we see today. From 1966 to 1968 ISKCON was headquartered here at 26 Second Avenue. As the numbers of followers grew, the storefront became too small. Then, the temple moved to larger locations, leaving the humble storefront behind -- but never forgotten.
About twenty-five years and hundreds of worldwide temples later, the directors of the Brooklyn-based Hare Krishna temple, led by Ramabhadra Prabhu, re-leased the original ISKCON temple at 26 Second Avenue. Then to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the founding of ISKCON, members of the Krishna temple in Brooklyn renovated the site and reopened it to the public in July of 1991.
Web site: http://www.krishnanyc.com/
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