Glistening above Interstate 5 in sunny Southern California, one of the most marveled, recognized and revered temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is reopening to the general public this week.

After three years of renovation work, the 10-spired San Diego Temple will welcome guests from Thursday through July 11 in advance of its Aug. 23 rededication.

The four-story, 58,000-square-foot edifice features two prominent steeples (one sporting a golden Angel Moroni statue) and eight smaller ones. It originally debuted in 1993 to become the church’s 45th temple.

“The temple itself is stunning when you drive on the freeway and you see it,” church historian Spencer McBride said in a Monday news release. “It’s white, and the people who built the temple blew chips of marble into the plaster on the exterior to give it kind of a glisten, especially when the sun hits it.”

This effect harks back to the faith’s first temple in Kirtland, Ohio, more than 190 years ago, when early Latter-day Saints added broken china and crockery into the building’s stucco finish.

It’s loved inside and out

The San Diego Temple’s interior also draws raves from members, especially for its two-level Celestial Room and the atrium in the heart of the building.

“The ceilings are high,” McBride explained. “You can go to a second level of the Celestial Room [and] look up and just be in awe of the space while taking in the serenity of that space.”

Rachael McKinnon, a San Diego resident for the past eight years, wrote on Facebook that the temple has been her family’s favorite.

McKinnon points to the garden with a skylight between the two tallest towers.

Salt Lake City resident James Bramble praises the temple’s setting.

“I love how its location makes it a landmark,” Bramble said on social media. “Everyone knows exactly where it is. Kind of like [the church’s Washington D.C. Temple]. Millions of people drive by.”

Geoff Openshaw, a resident of the Washington, D.C., area, grew up in California and attended the San Diego Temple’s first open house some 33 years ago.

He said he still remembers being awestruck by the building and later married his wife there.

“As an adult, I’ve come to appreciate the incredible architecture of the San Diego Temple,” Openshaw wrote on Facebook. “I appreciate it all the more as I’ve seen a handful of … contemporary templates used for most temples.”

Oppenshaw said he plans to attend the open house with his family and expressed excitement at showing his kids where he married their mother.

What the workers did

Renovations were aimed mostly at replacing aging glass windows, which were suffering from heat damage and cracking, the church’s release said. The windows were redesigned with modern insulated glass units and were repositioned to prevent future heat buildup.

Crews installed a new mechanical system with updated heating, ventilating and air-conditioning units. They also converted a cafeteria and dining room into a workers’ break room and a marriage waiting room, while combining two sealing rooms to create a larger space.

Exterior upgrades included restoring the marble-crete facade to its original sparkle and removing stains from Interstate 5 traffic and marine layer growth.

“That was for sure the biggest challenge,” church special projects manager Joshua Young said in the release, “but also the most rewarding when we figured out a process that would work and provide that same aesthetic appeal that it’s always had.”

Apostle Neil L. Andersen welcomed the hundreds of thousands expected to tour the showcase temple during the open house.

“Many have seen this beautiful building for years and wondered what it is like inside,” Andersen said in the release. “Nothing here is secret — it is sacred to us. We are grateful you can come, see and feel the goodness and holiness of what happens in this House of the Lord.”

Latter-day Saints view temples (there are 385 existing or announced temples worldwide) as Houses of the Lord and, unlike their more common meetinghouses, are places where devout members participate in the faith’s highest religious rites such as eternal marriage.

Consider the San Diego Temple open house a bite-size warmup for the millions of visitors expected to attend next year’s six months of public tours of the iconic Salt Lake Temple.