Preservation Update: Pioneer Temple Renovations

2/10/20 - The St. George and Salt Lake Temples are now well into their renovations, and the work has ramped up quickly.

The Church provided an update on the St. George Temple recently. The entire annex is gone, along with the 1970s addition on the west (back) end of the temple.This means that you can now see original temple walls, windows, and doors that have been covered up.

In the picture below, you can see the annex is gone, along with the temple walls that were originally covered by the annex. They've also started covering up the stairways on the temple's east (front) end.

Meanwhile, the removal of the addition on the temple's west end has exposed the original window frames (and one of the original windows). The original window went directly into the temple's priesthood assembly room. When the temple was renovated in the 1970s, they just put up sheetrock over the window and built right onto the temple's back without removing it. It's nice to see it--although the new renovation will put on a new addition.

 Meanwhile, the Salt Lake Renovation is being well-documented by the Church Newsroom, including some great pictures of the Temple's assembly hall on the top floor and its celestial room. (Although it is odd to see these pictures with construction works in them.)

The assembly hall is being cleared of all of its chairs and tables:

The celestial room's furniture is also being wrapped and removed:

 And even the annex is being prepared for demolition. This is the chapel annex, which is actually quite beautiful. The annex is going to be demolished during this renovation, so I'm not sure if they will save the painting or otherwise have a large chapel for meetings like they do here.

 I'll keep you updated as these renovations move along!

12/4/19 - The Church provided some more details on the Salt Lake Temple renovation, including some images. Here's some before/after images:

Grand Hallway

 Note that the old picture on the left is a little out of date. The banister itself is also now white, except for the very top. The main differences in the hallway are the return of so many colors: Wood restored to the doors, moldings, and banister, green paint on the walls, etc. It looks wonderful. Currently, the entire hallway is carpeted, but this shows some of the original wood floors underneath! The Church obtained some of the original hallway carpet from the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers organization, and they will copy that carpet for authenticity.

Creation Room

The creation room shows the smallest change. The seats will be reoriented to face the garden room.

Garden Room

The garden room will also be more colorful with its carpet and the return of the original wood.

World Room

Same for the world room. The wood in the hallways and rooms will be regrained and restored. The colors used in the hallway are based on Victorian-era colors used, and the murals will be cleaned and become much more vibrant as a result.

The Church is also being cautious, hiring extra firefighters to make sure the building doesn't receive any fire damage during the renovation.

One of my main concerns was whether live endowments would still be done in the Salt Lake Temple. The Church is adding screens to the rooms (likely drop-down screens in the ceiling), but they said today that live sessions will still be the normal routine. However, those wanting to do a film session (especially in other languages) can schedule a film session to attend. This is a great compromise--it means those that speak other languages can still perform endowments in this temple, but the live ceremony will be retained.

The more I find out about this renovation, the more excited I get. The Church is taking good care of what it calls its 'legacy' temples (its historically significant temples). I can't wait to see the end result!

5/22/19 - Today the Church announced the details on the St. George Temple's renovation. I have updated my "Preservation Predictions" post with details on that renovation and my thoughts on it.

4/19/19 - Today the Church announced the details on the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple. It will begin in December 2019 and last approximately four years. The main purpose of the renovation is to seismically strengthen the temple. However, here are some details pertaining to the temple's historic character:

• The current temple annex (constructed in the 1960s) and south visitor's center will be demolished and replaced. These buildings are not historic and so I am fine with the changes, and how the building arrangements will emphasize the temple itself.
• They reiterated several times that they are making every effort to maintain the temple's historic and pioneer character. They have done extensive research on this. I am very confident this renovation will be sensitive and preserve the temple's historic elements.
• The temple will offer both live and film endowments. The addition of film endowments is a great choice, since it increases language availability, and putting a screen that comes down from the ceiling shouldn't ruin any of the original endowment rooms. However, the preservation of the live endowment is wonderful to hear! Of course, it begs the question of why the same thing couldn't be done in St. George and Logan, once they are restored...
•  They mentioned that in the 1960s renovation, many things were painted white. They plan to restore the temple to its original, more colorful scheme. The murals will be restored.
• They do want to increase accessibility, but they plan to do it in a very sensitive way that matches the historic character.

They briefly mentioned other renovations: they are reporting to the First Presidency on the St. George Temple in May, and public details will follow. They are studying the Manti Temple and taking care to preserve the murals and other experiences there. They are just starting to study the Logan Temple.

My overall impressions: I am excited! This will be great to see. What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment below!

10/7/18 - Today in General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced that the Salt Lake Temple, as well as other pioneer-era temples, will be renovated in the coming months and years. What does this mean for the historic architecture that is contained within?

Salt Lake Temple Celestial Room

The least surprising of these announcements is the Salt Lake Temple. The St. George and Logan Temples received substantial renovations in the 1970s, and the Manti Temple had a large one in the 1980s. The Salt Lake Temple, while it did receive some treatment in the 1960s, is largely overdue for sensitive treatment, particularly in terms of seismic stability.

I am not too concerned about the architecture, murals, paintings, stained glass, and other historic features of these temples being disturbed. Since 1980, and in recent renovations, the Church has shown incredible sensitivity in restoring its historic buildings to modern standards while preserving the historic features.

Manti Temple Spiral Staircase

It's possible that there may be a few changes, but I would be surprised if there were any that weren't absolutely necessary. I also doubt that the Church would remove the live endowment in the Salt Lake and Manti Temples, since these are the only places where it can be experienced. I also am not sure if the Manti Temple needs a major renovation, since it received one in the past 40 years. (The same applies to the Cardston Temple.)

Logan Temple World Room, pre-renovation

Meanwhile, a renovation for the Logan and St. George Temples could only be beneficial, particularly for the Logan Temple. Hopefully a renovation there would restore the murals, and possibly some type of progression, if possible, as well as making the building's feel to match the timeline in which the temple was built. The St. George temple could also have more of its murals restored/recreated while sensitively updating the building's architecture.

St. George Garden Room, pre-renovation

I will keep a close eye on announcements about these renovations and post my thoughts here.