Twenty-seventh Ward: Stained Glass Details

The stained glass on the three sides of the chapel lets in a lot of colored light. They're really some beautiful art.

Preservation Update: St. George Tabernacle Closes for Renovation; Other Updates

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.

It has been several months since I took the time to compile a Preservation Update. Let's jump right in!

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The St. George Tabernacle closed a couple of weeks ago for a major renovation that will take up to two years. The sources I've been able to find indicate that these are mostly for seismic purposes, and little changes will be made to the actual building. The project's stated description is to "Perform Structural Upgrades to roof connections, and install helical piers, and others indicated in Contract Documents. Install new wood shake roof." It is estimated to take about 18 months to complete.

The tabernacle was extensively restored in the 1990s, and its appearance now is historically accurate. The St. George Tabernacle is one of the most used--along with well-preserved--tabernacles owned by the Church. Click here to see all the posts documenting this beautiful building.

I will probably not follow this renovation as meticulously as I did for the Manti Tabernacle, but I will provide updates, when possible.

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One of the first buildings documented on this blog was the Spring City Endowment House. I visited Spring City last year (to document its chapel) and noticed little changes to the building; however, since then, it has received some fresh coats of paint. Here's the before and after pictures:

Before

After (Image Source)

The building is much more colorful now. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm glad to see that it's being so wonderfully preserved.

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The Arizona Central recently ran a report on the Phoenix Area's most endangered historic buildings. Included on the list is the Scottsdale Ward, which was originally built in 1950-1951. Here's the building as it originally looked:

(Image Source: Church History Library)

And as it looks now:

(Image Source)

It's a shame this building is coming to its end. It may not be the most unique in terms of LDS chapels, but we need to keep every historic chapel we can.

Twenty-seventh Ward: Chapel Interior

I originally visited, and posted about, the Salt Lake 27th Ward quite a while ago. However, the actual chapel was occupied, so only recently was I able to visit again and get pictures of this part of the building.

The organist faces away from the congregation, but a couple of mirrors allow them to see the conductor.

Beautiful stained glass is on three sides of the building. Close-up pictures of the windows will be posted soon! The doors in this photo go out to the corner tower.

The corner tower is a beautiful room, with stained glass on both sides and a high, arched ceiling.

Ogden Fourth Ward: Font Room

This mural was not original to the building; it was added some years later.

The font used to be directly underneath the mural; now it's on the other wall (where all the chairs are facing).

It was painted by Charles Ephraim Tillotson. He was born in 1890 in Brigham City, Utah. He later moved to Ogden as would take painting lessons as a child. He later studied at the Art Institute in Chicago. He spent a month painting this mural (which is 6' by 11.5').

Ogden Fourth Ward: Chapel Details

Ogden Fourth Ward: Stained Glass Details

Here are some shots of the windows lining the chapel and cultural hall:

A window from the coat room:

The windows above the main entrance:

Ogden Fourth Ward: Interior

When I took the interior pictures of this chapel, it wasn't the best lighting, so the quality isn't as good as I would have liked. But here we go...

Upon entering the building, a grand staircase takes you up to the main floor. Looking back, you can see the stained glass windows above the door (Close-up pictures of all of the stained glass will be highlighted in a future post).

Going up the staircase and to the right takes you into the chapel. Stained glass windows line both sides of the chapel.

Here's a picture with better lighting that I found:

(Image Source)

Here's the view from the podium. There's stained glass at the back of the chapel, too.

If you take a left at the stairs, you will reach the cultural hall. It also has its stained glass windows.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the stained glass!