Kirtland Ohio Temple (1836) Virtual Tour

Well, my friends, it is finally here! It has been months in the making, and there are problems galore with the model, but it’s done for now.

If you watch this on your phone, move the phone around you to look around the temple interior. If you are on a computer, click and drag in the video to look around.

Some things to be aware of regarding the 1836 version, Joseph Smiths version, of the temple:

• The white exterior we are now familiar with was added in the 1950s. Prior to that, the temple had a tan/gray color.
• Fake mortar lines had been pressed into the exterior originally. There is some indication they were painted light blue, which is how they are depicted here.^[1]Robison, Elwin C. “The First Mormon Temple, Design, Construction and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple,” Brigham Young University Press, Provo Utah, 1997
• The Roof of the temple was finished with a mix of Red-Lead paint base and linseed oil, likely further tinted to match the plum colors popular in ohio at that time ^[2]Robison, Elwin C. Received by Brian A. Olson, Kirtland Temple, 13 Oct. 2017.
• The reversible slip pews in the upper assembly hall were added to the temple for the first time in 1913-1918. Prior to that, the upper story contained tables and chairs.^[3]Robison, Elwin C. “The First Mormon Temple, Design, Construction and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple,” Brigham Young University Press, Provo Utah, 1997
• This model is missing the curtains that the temple had and used to divide the assembly halls.
• The trim was likely dark-colored, not white as I have depicted.^[4]Based on an early interior photo, source currently unknown
• The louvers in the tower were most likely added after 1875, I have mistakenly included them here.^[5]Robison, Elwin C. “The First Mormon Temple, Design, Construction and Historic Context of the Kirtland Temple,” Brigham Young University Press, Provo Utah, 1997

I hope that you enjoy this video.

I hope you go easy on me for the many errors this video still contains.