There is a story from the life of then-Elder George Albert Smith while he was visiting Oakland, California, in 1924. At that time he was quoted as saying, “I can almost see in vision a white temple of the Lord high upon those hills, an ensign to all the world travelers as they sail through the Golden Gate into this wonderful harbor” (see Chad S. Hawkins' "The First One Hundred Temples").
The Oakland California Temple can be seen from the temple visitors center. | Kenneth Mays
Forty years after that pronouncement, the Oakland California Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated by President David O. McKay. President McKay’s health had been so fragile that his associates assumed he would be unable to travel to Oakland for the dedication services. Just the month before, his sons read his addresses in the October 1964 general conference. President McKay made the trip to Oakland. He delivered the dedicatory address and prayer, standing at the pulpit without support for over an hour. Some present noted that the “effect on the congregation was electrifying” (see "David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism," by Gregory Prince and Robert Wright).
In addition to its formal sacred purposes, the Oakland California Temple is now a site where many, regardless of religion, come to take pictures with the temple as a backdrop. Even newly married couples from other religious traditions come to the temple for wedding photos, as do high school students on prom night and other activities.