Salt Lake 20th Ward
Peggy Fletcher Stack’s recent article in the Salt Take Tribune on historic Mormon meetinghouses is definitely worth a read. Stack’s question about who decides which of the LDS Church’s buildings will be renovated and which will not is an important one, especially in light of the 1971 razing of the Coalville Tabernacle. The fate of the tabernacle clearly had a galvanizing effect on Utah’s historic perservationist community, and helped to bring preservation-related issues to the attention of many of the state’s citizens, LDS and non-LDS alike.
Yale Ward
“In recent years,” Stack writes, the LDS Church “has developed a systematic way to manage the tension between the desire to preserve historic structures and the reality of contemporary congregational needs.” Naturally, money plays a part in the decision-making. “If one of these historic chapels needs a major repair,” writes Stack, “such as replacing a roof, boiler system or plumbing—Salt Lake City’s codes may require the church to include costly seismic or other upgrades. Such upgrades could make renovations impractical.”
But decisions aren’t necessarily top-down edicts. According to Steve Olsen of the LDS Church’s historic sites committee, judgments about properties with historical value are “are negotiated in good faith by all parties involved—from the physical-facilities managers to local ecclesiastical leaders to architects and historians.”
Salt Lake 2nd Ward
Don’t miss the Tribune’s multimedia tour of such architectural gems as the Highland Park Ward (2535 Douglas Street), Salt Lake 20th Ward (107 G Street), and Forest Dale Ward (729 E. Ashton Avenue) meetinghouses.
5 responses so far ↓
Jared T. // July 22, 2009 at 7:12 pm |
Thanks for this post. As I drive around Salt Lake I’m all the time amazed at the rich religious architectural heritage we have.
beehivearchive // July 22, 2009 at 7:34 pm |
I’m with you, Jared, when it comes to being amazed by SLC’s and Utah’s architectural heritage. I remember seeing the Forest Park chapel for the first time and thinking that it could not possibly be an LDS meetinghouse because of its classical style and dome.
At the same time, I’m also cognizant of what we’ve lost. The Coalville Tabernacle was torn down the year I was born, and I’ve often thought about how things could have turned out very differently.
Christopher // July 23, 2009 at 4:15 am |
Thanks for this, Brandon. I’ve never seen that Yale Ward cultural hall before. The basketball hoops and court look out of place.
Do you have a favorite historic LDS chapel?
beehivearchive // July 23, 2009 at 4:00 pm |
Christopher-
I’d have to say I’m partial to the Forest Dale chapel, mainly for its classical style, but also because it was the first early-twentieth-century LDS chapel to which I was exposed.
I also really like the Salt Lake 2nd Ward chapel. Its stained glass window depicting the First Vision is quite stunning
beehivearchive // July 23, 2009 at 4:01 pm |
In my comment responding to Jared’s comment, “Forest Park” should read “Forest Dale.” A slip of the finger.