Preservation Update: Progress on Manti Tabernacle, Provo City Center Temple

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.
 
I was able to present in a symposium at Brigham Young University last week about LDS Tabernacles. The paper has been accepted for publication; however, I am going to see if I can write up a series on this blog following tabernacles from their construction and seeing the reasons for the destruction or preservation of these buildings. Hopefully I can begin the series in the next couple of weeks. In the mean time...

I had the opportunity to visit the Manti Tabernacle last week to see how the renovation was going.

The most interesting thing is the current state of the steeple. The steeple has been white as long as I can remember.

This either means that the exposure of wood is part of the renovation process, and will shortly be covered, or that it will stay. After all, some of the earlier pictures of the tabernacle show a darker steeple:

(Image Source: Church History Library)

I have no idea what will happen, but it sounds like the Church is taking very good care of this tabernacle--and good thing, too. It's a beautiful building.

In any case, the tabernacle is scheduled to be done this summer, so we'll have to keep an eye on what happens.

***

The Provo Tabernacle, now the Provo City Center Temple, is coming along very well, and the majority of the exterior work has been completed:

(Image Source)

A good blog that follows the progress of this tabernacle is the New Temple in Provo blog. There's a lot to see between the towers, windows, and other work being performed. The temple should be completed by the end of this year or into the beginning of next year.

Provo First Ward: Cultural Hall

(Source: BYU Archives)

Again, the details on the ceiling are not there anymore. That's too bad, as it gave the hall a much more ornate appearance.

Provo First Ward: Window Detail

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

Provo First Ward: Organ Detail

As mentioned in an earlier post, the organ was not originally part of the building. Apparently, there was a chapel with a similar floor plan in Arizona that had this organ, so when that building was demolished, the ward leaders arranged to purchase it and move it here--seeing as it fits perfectly in the arch at the front of the chapel. It's a lovely addition.

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.