During a
Pongal celebration in 1972, a group of Pittsburgh-area Hindus established a shrine with images of Hindu deities in a store basement. In the summer of that year, a
granite Ganesha statue was donated to the group. Since Ganesha is worshipped before beginning an auspicious endeavor, the group saw the gift as "a good omen to invoke blessings to a larger project." The temple's groundbreaking occurred on April 17, 1975. After the groundbreaking, tensions developed between two factions of the community: those who thought the temple should reflect South Indian traditions and architecture, and those who wanted
North Indian traditions and deities represented as well. This led to a split between the factions. The North Indians constructed their own temple in suburban
Monroeville, and the South Indians' temple was built in Penn Hills. In 2005, the temple was remodeled to resemble the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati at a cost of $1.5 million. In 2011, $15,000 in credit cards and jewelry was stolen from the temple. ==Design==