Bountiful Tabernacle Exterior
This building is unique in that every President of the Church has spoken from its pulpit except for Joseph Smith. Ground was broken by Lorenzo Snow on Feb 11, 1857, with the first stone being laid the next day. Construction was halted and grain stored in its 6′ deep x 9′ high stone foundation during the Utah War in 1858. Built almost entirely of local material and local labor, the building cost was about $60,000. The tower is capped with a unique 5-spired steeple that was part of the original Greek Revival design. Built of adobe walls and roof timbers fastened with wooden pegs, the building was dedicated on March 14, 1863 by Heber C. Kimball at a meeting presided at by Brigham Young.
The spires were blown off the tower during a wind storm in 1906. Although repairs were attempted several times, the spires would remain off the building until they were finally replaced in 1955. A north wing with amusement hall and classrooms was added in 1925. Installation of a new pipe organ and a complete remodel happened in 1942. And a rear wing was added containing a Relief Society room, kitchen and offices in 1957.
March 14, 1963 featured a Centennial celebration, where Hugh B. Brown rededicated the building for another hundred years. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the Tabernacle today remains the oldest chapel in continuous use in the state of Utah, if not the entire Church.
Sources:
National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
Utah History Encyclopedia
Davis Clipper
55 S. Main
Bountiful, UT
Built 1857-63
Architect: Augustus Farnham
National Register of Historic Places
Map Location of Building
LDS ARCHITECTURE 