Kanab Ward

Built in 1923-24, the Kanab Chapel has a long history of renovations, but remains the physical center of the community.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

This was the first official chapel in town. Prior to this building, they met in a hall, a bowery, and other locations. The town citizens donated their time, money, and labor for the building. It's built from local red bricks and stone from a quarry. A clock tower was above the building on the steeple.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

The cornerstone was taken from Kanab Canyon. It has a landscape image in it, a unique touch for LDS cornerstones.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

Heber J. Grant dedicated the building in 1928. In 1959, an expansion was made, including a brand new chapel. The original chapel area was converted into classrooms. The clocktower was moved to the new steeple of the expansion.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

When the building became dated, the Church originally planned to tear down the whole thing and build a new Church. Kanab members asked that the original building be preserved. And so in 2011, the extension was torn down, and a brand new chapel was build to the west. Instead of tearing down the original chapel, they restored the exterior and converted it to a Familysearch Center. It opened in January 2013.

The interior is bright and new, but has local relics and artifacts.

(Image Source: FamilySearch)

As for the clock tower? It's now in the steeple of the new chapel next door.

Clock towers in LDS chapels are not common. I'm aware of ones in the St. George Tabernacle (1871) and in the Cedar City First Ward (1931). The fact that all 3 are in the same geographical area makes me wonder if the Cedar City and Kanab clock towers were "inspired" by the St. George one, since St. George was the regional hub of the area, both economically and spiritually (with the temple). 

One thing I'm not totally aware of is the history of the bells with the clock tower. I'm assuming it had some type of bell that rang, as do the towers in St. George and Cedar City. Now, the clock tower is connected a 1997 Verdin Campana carillon, which plays bells on the hour (here, playing "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go"):

(Source: Sarah U., LinkedIn)

It's a beautiful building with a fun history, and it's still right in the center of town.

Albuquerque (NM) Ward

I am unsure on the timing of the original and first chapel built in Albuquerque. It was likely in the 1940s or 1950s. 

(Image Source: Church History Library)

I came across a piece of history related to this building in faraway Bountiful. Lyle Hilton, a member of the ward, purchased a painting of Christ Blessing the Children from Isaac Loren Covington, who had done similar paintings for chapels across Utah, including Kanarraville, St. George, and Blanding.

When the building was later remodeled, the painting was ordered removed. Lyle Hilton took the painting and sent it to his son-in-law, who later placed it in the primary room of a chapel in east Bountiful.

It's always interesting to sometimes see how historic items in the Church have been dispersed across areas, especially with paintings. Paintings were often returned to members who had purchased or donated them when they were removed, or sometimes moved to other chapels. It means you sometimes encounter history in unexpected places.

Bountiful 4th Ward: Interior & Painting

 The interior of this building is fairly typical. The chapel has natural light on both sides and a simple design in the ceiling. The most notable feature is a large mural behind the pulpit.

The painting, done by W. Dean Belnap, is a reproduction of Christ with the Fishermen, by Ernst Zimmerman. Reproductions of famous paintings of Christ were very common in Latter-day Saint (and general Christian) art, beginning in the 1800s. 

W. Dean Belnap was a resident of Bountiful for most of his adult life, and was age 26 when the chapel was dedicated, although it's unknown if the painting was installed sometime after the chapel was dedicated. 

Bountiful 4th Ward

Built in the early 1950s and dedicated in 1952 by (at the time, Presiding Bishop) LeGrand Richards, the Bountiful 4th Ward is a fairly typical postwar Church building. However, it has some nice artwork in the chapel that I was able to document and will show in my next post.

Bountiful Tabernacle: Staircase Details

The stairs are reminiscent, albeit not as grand nor as tall, as the staircases in the St. George Tabernacle. They are one of the most beautiful parts of the tabernacle.

Bountiful Tabernacle: Interior Details

On the entablature above the windows are laurel wreaths with a ribbon across the bottom.

The balcony has some beautiful woodwork. The columns have some graining to make them appear marble, a common practice at the time.

The woodworking pattern along the bottom of the balcony railing is in a Greek key pattern; a classic decorative motif that has been around more thousands of years. While a common design, it has some symbolism referring to eternity or infinity.

While now connected to a larger building, the adobe walls of the tabernacle are apparent when you enter the chapel or look through the windows. The walls are a few feet thick.

Bountiful Tabernacle: Painting Details

Behind the pulpit in the Bountiful Tabernacle is now organ pipes. However, prior to its 1970s renovation, there was a large piece of artwork, commissioned by Brigham Young and completed by Dan Weggeland, depicting the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Brigham Young told Dan that the Prophet Joseph Smith was never able to see Zion (the Intermountain West, where the Church was able to be established and grow). In the painting, the Prophet, in a form of a bust, is gazing out on the Promised Land. 

The painting is done in shades of gray to create the illusion of a three-dimensional sculpture. The bust of Joseph Smith is underneath a trailing scroll with the words "Holiness to the Lord," held up by two cherubs on the corners. Underneath the bust on the column are several symbols. On the sides are suns, moons, and scrolls; in the center is the all-seeing eye, the Urim and Thummim, the sword of Laban, and the Book of Mormon. 

The art was removed in the 1970s renovation and is now in the Church History Museum. A small copy of the art hangs in the Tabernacle lobby.