The surprisingly complicated crystal structure of (bis (terpyridine)) copp er (II) tetraphenylborate [Cu (tpy)(2)]-(BPh4)(2) (tpy = 2,2':6',2 ''-terpyridine) consists of six crystallographically independent [Cu(tpy)(2)](2+) complexes. At ambient temperature, five out of six [(CuN6)-N-II] chromophores appear to be compressed octahedra, while at 100 K, four exhibit elongated and only two compressed octahedral geometry. Temperature dependent single crystal UV/vis (100, 298 K) and EPR measurements (20, 100, 298 K) as well as AOM calculations suggest that the octahedra which show apparently compressed octahedral geometry (XRD) result from dynamic Jahn Teller behavior of elongated octahedra [(CuN6)-N-II]. The detailed correlation of structural and spectroscopic data allows an understanding of the strongly solvent-dependent structures of the [Cu(tpy)(2)](2+) complex in solution.