Built in 1930, this meetinghouse close to the entrance of Zion National Park was built in the early 1930s.
 |
| (Image Source: Church History Library) |
In 1983, the Church was sold, and it currently houses some shops and restaurants.
None of the religious character of the building was changed when it was sold, most notably, the steeple. This is in contrast to other buildings, like the Smithfield Tabernacle, where the steeple was removed before it was sold.
Unfortunately, the Church does not like to see its meetinghouses used for other purposes once sold. The sale of the Heber Tabernacle to the city led to an empty, decaying building for a couple of decades while the city got the funds to renovate it; when concerned residents offered to purchase the Coalville Tabernacle, the stake president declined, citing the Heber Tabernacle's poor condition as the reason. Other meetinghouses have sometimes been sold and later served as night clubs or other purposes that the Church doesn't like connected to its buildings.
The Church now has a policy that when meetinghouses are sold, the buyer must demolish the building. While I can understand the reasoning, this blanket policy has resulted in unfortunate razings of really beautiful meetinghouses, such as the Wells Ward in Salt Lake City or the 1890s-era Payson Second Ward (both of which the respective cities expressed interest in buying and repurposing as a library). I hope to see some flexibility in this policy at some point.
Have you seen this?
ReplyDeletehttps://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/salt-lake-temple-interior-renovation-harmonizing-sacred-past-future
Yes I did! I'll be doing a post shortly on it. Sounds like the assembly hall, celestial room, terrestrial room, and 2 original sealing rooms (off the celestial room) will be preserved pretty well.
DeleteConfirms the administration office level has been gutted and I wonder about the anti rooms behind the original sealing rooms and the holy of holies.
DeleteSince the sealing rooms are being preserved and the Holy of Homies is right between them, I'd imagine that the Holy of Holies is also being preserved, but that they didn't want to draw attention to it in the news release.
DeleteSuch a neat building. Very similar floor plan to the 30th and 32nd wards in Salt Lake as well as the South Ward in Fairview. I do think it's sad that now the Church will now have the new land owners of a sold warehouse demolish the building
ReplyDeleteThe Idaho Falls 6th Ward building was recently repurposed (without a steeple) as the community food bank.
ReplyDelete