Shiva-Vishnu Temple, Livermore: hours, dress code, priest services and how one temple serves both traditions

When is the Livermore Shiva-Vishnu Temple open, and what are the rules? The temple's own daily schedule (checked 18 Oct 2026 for dates in October and November) shows two patterns. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, it's open 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. On Monday to Thursday, it's open 9:00 am to noon and again 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Festival days run on their own timetable. The temple asks visitors not to wear shorts or distressed jeans, and it says photography inside is strictly prohibited. The Hindu Community and Cultural Center (HCCC) runs it, and its own FAQ says it is also known as the Livermore Temple. Everything below comes from HCCC's own website.

One temple, two great traditions

The name says what makes this temple different. Many diaspora temples centre on one presiding deity. HCCC's temple is officially the Shiva-Vishnu Temple, and its religious-services page lists a main temple that holds both families of deities side by side:

• Ganesha
• Shiva, Parvati and Kartikeya
• Vishnu with Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhoodevi
• Radha-Krishna and Rama-Sita, with Hanuman
• Navagraha
• Kalabhairava
• Dashabhuja Durga

Kanaka Durga Devi has her own prayer hall, completed in 2011.

You can see the two traditions running side by side in the day's schedule. On the dates we checked, the morning opened with both a Shiva Suprabhatam and a Balaji Suprabhatam at opening time. Next came a nitya puja for all deities, with that day's Navagraha archana. Shiva abhishekam appeared every morning. The day ended with Balaji Ekanta seva at 7:30 pm, before closing at 8.

The temple's annual abhisheka list covers Venkateswara (Balaji), Shiva (daily), Ganesha, Kartikeya, the Navagrahas, Rama, Anjaneya, Parvati, Mahalakshmi, Bhoodevi, both Durgas, Narasimha, and Garuda, Nagaraja and Dwara Ganapati. Its list of key events mixes North and South Indian occasions too: Maha Shivaratri, Sri Rama Navami, Holi, Vasantha Panchami, Thai Pongal, Thaipusam, Ugadi, Tamil New Year, Andal Kalyanam, Ayyappa Makara Deepa Pooja and more. HCCC says its aim is to serve devotees according to their own traditions and sampradayas. For dates, check your local panchang, because the temple's site is the place to confirm its own celebrations.

Hours

HCCC's website shows "Temple Open Hours" for the current day, loaded from the temple's daily schedule. We read that schedule for a range of dates on 18 Oct 2026:

Days	Hours shown
Monday to Thursday	9:00 am to 12:00 noon, then 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday	9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Festival days	Different. On one festival day we checked, it opened an hour early

Plan around the weekday midday break. On a Monday to Thursday, the temple closes for the afternoon at noon and opens again for evening services at 6 pm. The site shows each day's schedule, so check it on the morning you go.

Dress code and photography

HCCC posts a "Temple Visit Etiquette" notice (checked 18 Oct 2026). It asks:

• men not to wear shorts, distressed jeans, or T-shirts that expose the chest
• women not to wear shorts, midi dresses or distressed jeans
• everyone to take no photos inside the temple. The notice puts "PROHIBITED" in capitals.

HCCC's volunteer guidelines separately ask volunteers to keep shoulders and knees covered. That's a useful benchmark for visitors too, though the visitor notice itself doesn't use those words. For a wider comparison, see temple dress codes by temple.

Priests, pujas and samskaras

This is a working temple for family ceremonies, and the website is unusually detailed about them.

Who does the pujas. HCCC says it has 12 priests and two pachakas (cooks who prepare the naivedyam, the laddu and vada prasadam, and the weekend annadana food). It says its priests know the pujas and traditions of different sampradayas and speak several languages. The site doesn't list which languages, so if your family wants a ceremony in a particular language or style, ask the office which priest suits your tradition.

At the temple, the services page lists abhisheka, akshara abhyasa, annaprasana, ashtottara and sahasranama archana, bhoomi puja, hiranya shraddha, namakarana, punyahavachanam, samarpana, shanti puja, shashti abda poorthi, upanayana, vastu puja and vivaha.

At your home, the list includes akshara abhyasa, annaprasana, griha pravesha, hiranya shraddha, homa, kalyanotsava, mundana, namakarana, punyahavachanam and sahasranama archana.

What to bring. The site publishes item lists for many ceremonies, for example the rice, coconuts, betel leaves, ghee and fruit needed for a wedding or upanayana. It adds extras such as a new pair of scissors for a mundan, or a slate for akshara abhyasa. It also tells families to confirm the list with the priest. Garlands are supplied only on advance request and payment.

Sponsorships (as listed, checked 18 Oct 2026): weekly abhisheka for one deity for a year is listed at $1,116, and once a month for one deity for a year at $301. There are higher tiers for five or nine deities, and an all-inclusive annual programme.

Food: annadana and prasadam

HCCC says annadana, a free meal, is served at weekends and during major events. It lists laddu and vada prasadam, temple calendars and sesha vastras as available for a suggested donation. The site describes an Akella Annadana Kitchen, completed in 2012. It doesn't list a separate paid canteen with hours, so if you're planning lunch on a weekday, don't count on a meal.

How the temple came to be

HCCC's history timeline (checked 18 Oct 2026):

• 1977: HCCC incorporated
• 1980 to 1983: land bought in Livermore. An interim temple ran from 1983 to 1986
• 1984 to 1985: idols donated by the Tamil Nadu government and TTD
• 1984 to 1986: foundation stone laid by N. T. Rama Rao. Shilpis arrived from India to build. Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan took part in foundation ceremonies for the cultural centre
• 13 July 1986: kumbhabhishekam
• 1992: raja gopuram and the other gopurams completed
• 1998, 2010 and 2022: maha kumbhabhishekams. The 2022 one added new moola murthis for the Rama parivar, a Chandikeshwara shrine and gold-plated dhwaja stambhas
• 2011 to 2013: the Kanaka Durga prayer hall, administrative building, annadana kitchen, Lakireddy Auditorium and east parking lot

The site also links a longer temple-story PDF and an archive of HCCC history.

Community beyond the shrine

HCCC lists human services, youth and education programmes, a young-adults group, a Golden Agers group for seniors, cultural events and spiritual services. It also rents out its halls. Its timeline marks its first health fair in 2002. It accepts donations of sealed, long-dated tinned food in bins in the Akella Assembly Hall lobby, behind the temple. Volunteers help with parking at big events, garland making, the kitchen and the front office.

Getting there without a car

HCCC's public-transport page names LAVTA's "Wheels" buses. Routes 11 and 15 stop near the temple, at the Bluebell Drive stop, a couple of minutes' walk away. From BART, the page suggests going to Pleasanton, taking route 10R to the Livermore Transit Center, then changing to route 11 or 15. It notes that routes 11 and 15 don't run on Sundays or holidays. Uber and Lyft come right up to the temple. HCCC actively encourages transit on its busiest days, such as New Year's Day and Sri Rama Navami.

What first-timers don't expect

• Midday closure, Monday to Thursday. Noon to 6 pm is the gap that catches people.
• No photos inside. Not even a quick one of a shrine. The notice is firm.
• The clothing notice names specific items. Distressed jeans and midi dresses aren't usual on temple notices, but they're on this one.
• Big crowds on major days. Volunteers manage parking during major events, and HCCC itself suggests transit.
• Bring your samagri list. For a booked ceremony, much of the material comes from your family, not the temple.

Questions people ask

What are the Shiva Vishnu Temple Livermore hours? Fridays to Sundays, 9 am to 8 pm. Monday to Thursday, 9 am to noon and 6 to 8 pm, per the temple's daily schedule (checked 18 Oct 2026). Festival days differ.

What is the Livermore temple dress code? Men: no shorts, distressed jeans or chest-baring T-shirts. Women: no shorts, midi dresses or distressed jeans.

Can I take photos inside the Livermore temple? No. HCCC's notice says photography inside the temple is strictly prohibited.

Does the Livermore temple have a canteen? HCCC lists free annadana at weekends and major events, and laddu and vada prasadam for a suggested donation. Its site doesn't list a separate paid canteen.

Do Livermore temple priests do pujas at home? Yes. HCCC lists home services, including griha pravesha, homa, namakarana, annaprasana and mundana.

Which gods are in the Livermore temple? Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, Kartikeya, Vishnu with Sridevi and Bhoodevi, Radha-Krishna, Rama-Sita, Hanuman, the Navagrahas, Kalabhairava and Dashabhuja Durga, with Kanaka Durga in her own hall.

If you're outside the Bay Area and need a pandit for a family ceremony, message ProperPandit on WhatsApp. We'll reply with what can be arranged near you. Online live puja is coming soon.