Preservation Update: Murray Ward Lawsuit, Idaho Falls Healing Center

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.

Right now, a lawsuit is progressing its way through the courts to try and save the historic Murray First Ward building. While downtown buildings in Murray were originally preserved through a city ordinance, a few years ago, the ordinance was modified to allow exceptions (including if a demolition would increase the city's tax base, which is almost guaranteed in the case of a historic building).

The city council voted to demolish the building in the summer of 2017. An appeal to delay the process was denied, so the only other option was a lawsuit. A motion to dismiss the case was denied, and the hearing date was set for March 19.

A small group is trying to raise funds and support to save the building. Their site can be found here.

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The Idaho Falls Third Ward building, which was sold by the church in the 1980s, now has a new owner. Over the past few decades, it has been owned by other churches, and it was almost used as a haunted house before community opposition prevented that from happening. It has now been renovated and will serve as a "healing sanctuary" which practices holistic medicine. They've done a wonderful job with the building, including adding leaded glass that depicts a sego lily, which the building originally had.

(Image Source, by Stephen Loosli)

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Meanwhile, the Church has updated plans to restore buildings in Nauvoo, Illinois. These include the homes of William Weeks (architect of the temple), Esther & William Green, and Marinda and Orson Hyde. The home of Edward and Anna Hunter, which is just down the hill from the temple, was excavated in 2016, and will be rebuilt. Joseph Smith spent some of his time in hiding in the basement of the house, and may have received D&C 128 in that home. It will be exciting to see these changes come in the next few years.

Redondo Beach Ward

In terms of Mormon architecture, the Mormon Corridor--the main area of early Mormon settlement that extends from Cardston on the north to the Mexican colonies on the South--is usually where the vast majority of unique buildings can be found. There are a few exception to this, such as Hawaii and some South Pacific Islands where early chapels can be found.

California is a unique place where there are still some nice buildings, even though Mormon growth in California didn't really take off until the 1940s. This was just early enough for some unique buildings to be made, with some really nice elements. 

The Redondo Beach Ward is one nice example. While not one of Mormonism's most unique buildings, it has some very nice elements that could be appreciated.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

(Image Source: Church History Library)

You'll notice that one unique element of this building was its stained glass window at the end of the chapel. While the building no longer stands--and the new building isn't unique at all--the window was moved to the new chapel, where it is lit electronically at the front of the pulpit.

I'm glad that the window was preserved, and that it remains at the head of the chapel, although I wish I could see it in its original architectural context. If I find a photo of the chapel's original interior in the future, I'll be sure to post it here.

South Weber Ward

One of the purposes of this blog is to demonstrate that the LDS Church has a rich artistic and architectural heritage; or at least, a greater heritage than most members assume. One of the important ways (for me) to show that is by highlighting chapels (instead of more well-known temples, or even tabernacles). I like to even find those simple, non-assuming chapels that still contributed to Mormonism's cultural identity. One example of this is found in the old South Weber ward chapel. 

(Image Source: Church History Library)

It looks like a fairly typical chapel, likely built in the 1930s. But the chapel's real artistic gem was found in the chapel, where Ivan Cornia had painted a mural:

(Source: John D. Bell, South Weber: The Autobiography of One Utah Community, 459)

His painting depicts the miracle of the seagulls eating the crickets. It's a unique and wonderful piece of artwork, but it didn't make it into the new ward chapel; it's rolled up and stored by a local member.

How many more gems like this are there to be found--before they disappear? Hopefully we can find as many as we can!

Farmington (New Mexico) Ward

Farmington, a town in the northwest corner of New Mexico, is close enough to the Mormon corridor to have a strong Mormon influence, which meant an early establishment of congregations. This also means that it had the chance to have some unique architecture, although not as much as central Mormon settlements.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

You can see that the building itself really isn't that unique, and it hasn't changed too much over time.


However, in conversations with the members, I learned that the chapel itself has a nice stained glass window, which was funded by a few members who got special permission. The window itself is still in very nice condition, although it was threatened in the 1980s when one of the bulbs burned out, and the Church's building department wanted to remove the window instead of fixing the bulb. After the ward and stake protested this decision, the window was allowed to remain.

It's a fine window for this chapel.