Salt Lake Assembly Hall
The Salt Lake Assembly Hall is one of the buildings belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the southwest corner of Temple Square in Salt Lake City , Utah . It has seating capacity for an audience of approximately fourteen hundred people.
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The Salt Lake Assembly Hall is a neo-Gothic assembly hall. Rough granite walls are laid out in a cross shape, so from the outside it looks like a small Gothic cathedral . Twenty-four helmets mark the perimeter of the building's floor plan and a tower stands on the crossing . The cross plan is supplemented by a Star of David , high above each entrance. These symbolize the Mormons' view that they are a restoration of the biblical Israelites .
However, the neo-Gothic exterior facade is deceptive. It hides a modern interior without a vaulted ceiling.
Although it was built from the same stone as the Salt Lake Temple , the outer shell of the hall looks completely different. The stones for the hall were not hewn like those of the temple. This is responsible for the dark, rough walls and the wide joints between the stones.
The Seagull Monument is directly in front of the building, to the east.
history
Construction of the hall began on August 11, 1877. Construction began on the southwest corner of Temple Square , where the "Old Tabernacle" formerly stood, which had been demolished earlier that year. The old building was made of adobe , and the Church decided it was insufficient and had it demolished. The "Old Tabernacle" should not be confused with the Salt Lake Tabernacle , which is still standing , which was built in 1867. The covered tabernacle is due north of the Assembly Hall.
During the first two years of construction the hall was confusingly called the "new tabernacle". John Taylor , then President of the Church , resolved the confusion by naming the building in 1879 the Salt Lake Assembly Hall.
Obed Taylor was the architect assigned the contract and he built the hall in the neo-Gothic style which was popular at the time. Mostly stones were used that were left over from the construction of the Salt Lake Temple . The chief builder Henry Grow completed the construction in 1882 at a total cost of $ 90,000.
Assembly Hall is the second permanent building in Temple Square after the Salt Lake Tabernacle . However, it has been changed several times since it was completed. A flying angel as a wind direction indicator like on the Nauvoo Temple has been removed. In addition, the original murals were painted over, depicting ancient and modern prophets of the LDS Church.
The most extensive renovations were carried out between 1979 and 1983. All 24 helmets were replaced by fiberglass-reinforced plastic parts. In addition, all the softwood benches were renewed and a new organ with 3489 pipes with a “German accent” was installed. The soundscape in the building has been improved by adding hundreds of small microphones.
Nowadays the Assembly Hall is used for free concerts and is used as an extra room for the general conference audience .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2005/0525/
- ↑ https://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/about/organs/organ-information/assembly-hall.html
