Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Preservation Update: Idaho Falls Temple Renovation & Murals Evaluation

Note: Preservation Updates are a regularly occurring series of posts where I round up recent information on historic LDS buildings and their futures. Depending on the age of the post, there may be newer information available. Click here to see all Preservation Updates.
 
Scott Haskins, an art preservationist who does work for the LDS Church, reported that the murals in the Idaho Falls Temple were evaluated earlier this week (on Monday): namely, the mural of Christ teaching (a large mural visible when patrons leave the assembly hall and go up the stairs to the endowment rooms), the murals in the baptistry, and the murals in the Creation, Garden, World, and Celestial Rooms. (To see the post where I included pictures of these murals and gave my thoughts on the temple, click here.)

 
The temple apparently has a scheduled renovation for 2015 to 2016. The temples in Rexburg, Twin Falls, and possibly Logan would take over for the temple district until Idaho Falls reopens.

I'm always happy to see steps being taken to preserve the distinctive nature of our architecture. We'll have to see when the renovation actually happens.

6 comments:

  1. Do you know what month it will close in 2015?

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    1. I'm not sure. Scott Haskins has since removed the post, but he said the temple was supposed to close for renovation from 2015-2016. I'm assuming it would be the later half of the year, if it does happen--we would probably have heard an official announcement by now if it was in the early part of 2015.

      Also, in my last Preservation Update post I linked to an article from a Church representative who said that nothing was announced yet about any remodel for the temple. I'm not sure if that means that it won't be closing, though. I'll keep an eye out for an announcement.

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  2. Being that we love the rumor mill, I think this issue has been handled poorly. This should have been limited to a few people and those people sworn to keep it quiet until an official announcement could be made to prevent inaccurate information being spread around. That said, according to those in our branch who are workers at the temple, they have received official word from the temple as of last week that this is actually going to happen.

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    1. It does seem sort of weird that at least a few people were told about it, rumors started, and then an announcement was made that there was still nothing official. It probably could have been clearer--but thanks for the update! Looks like it'll probably happen, then.

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  3. Does anyone know who the LeGrand Richards is that signed one of the murals in the baptistry of the Idaho Falls temple?

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    1. That was Lee Greene Richards; he did the murals in the baptistry and in the Celestial Room. See this post for more info: https://ldspioneerarchitecture.blogspot.com/2014/08/idaho-falls-temple.html

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