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.

Murray First Ward: Exterior Stained Glass

I have posted on the Murray First Ward chapel--its original building, and the new building where the stained glass was moved--a long time ago. Only recently was I able to visit the chapel at night, when the exterior window is lit from behind.

(Image Source: J. Willard Marriott Library)

It's quite a beautiful sight.

The Sunstone Magazine had small photos of the stained glass, as it was before it was moved to the original building. It leads to some interesting comparisons.

(Image Source: Sunstone Magazine)

Not only has the panel of Christ has been flipped, but so have the landscape panels on the sides. I'm not sure what the reason for this was.

It was common for stained glass to be ordered from the eastern United States; the pieces would be shipped to Utah and assembled by a local company. This explains the depiction of Christ, which has several traits that are unusual for a Mormon chapel (the haloed head, the feminine features).

Delicate fleur-de-lis symbols grace the top windows; the side panels depict a beautiful landscape.

There are some concerns I have. First of all, some of the plexiglass--particularly on the left side--has become clouded over time, making it difficult to see the window. You can see this in the image below: the panels on the left look cloudy.

What's more, the left landscape panel has a square near the bottom that was later replaced with a dark green piece of glass, and a small piece is missing next to one of the flowers at the bottom. This obviously occurred a while ago--you can see those things in the older image, as well. However, the left landscape panel is also beginning to bend outward at the bottom. This is really concerning.

Plexiglass is almost always placed over stained glass to protect it from wind and vandalism; however, it also traps heat in between the stained glass and the exterior plexiglass, which over time can melt the lead that holds the pieces of glass together. I hope this window gets looked at soon, and that the plexiglass can be cleaned.

Along the bottom is a note about the donation--on the left is "In Memory of Reuben Miller"; on the right is "In Memory of James R. Miller." The window was donated by Mary Jane Gardner Miller and Margaret Gardner Miller, in memory of their husbands, James and Reuban, who had passed away. The center panel says "Donated by J.P. Freeze and H.W. Brown." I was unaware of the involvement of these two individuals in the window.

Mary Jane Gardner Miller, incidentally, also donated the window that stood in the Millcreek Ward.

This window is absolutely lovely. I guess it would be nice if it could be seen from the chapel, as well, but it's nice that it's automatically lit at night. I hope this window can continue to be preserved for years to come.

(Image Source: Sunstone Magazine)

Murray 1st Ward: Interior Stained Glass

Just a few blocks down from the original Murray First Ward Building is the new chapel that was built in the 1960s. The stained glass was transferred to that building.

Besides the major stained glass at the front of the chapel, there is also glass on many of the doors. These also came from the original building. These are the doors to the chapel:

But I was very surprised when I entered the chapel itself:

I was under the impression that the stained glass would be visible at the front of the chapel, but it's not. There's no way to see the stained glass from the inside. This is a real shame, because the window is really beautiful. In the words of Joyce Janetski, "[The] large pipe organ, though impressive, has cost the ward more than money; the members have sacrificed a great percentage of their inheritance...where much is given, surprisingly little is really expected; this congregation seems to have gone to great lengths to hide the beauty of the old Murray Ward's stained glass" (A History, Analysis, and Registry of Mormon Architectural Art Glass in Utah).

I have since been able to visit the chapel at night, when the window is lit from behind. Those pictures will be posted shortly.

Murray 1st Ward: Tower Detail

Murray 1st Ward

The Murray First Ward Chapel was completed in 1907.

(Image Source: Church History Library)

It was sold in the 1960s, and now houses the Mount Vernon Academy.

 The school still uses the building, including the original Recreation Hall, which is connected to the east side.

Of course, the biggest change visible in the pictures is the absence of the large stained glass window at the front. According to the Church website, it was a window depiction of Christ beckoning "Come Unto Me." Fortunately, the glass was preserved and moved to the new chapel built down the street. I'll have pictures of that chapel in my next post.