Today’s video is a 1904 update to the Salt Lake Temple. This particular video is the essence of nit-picky, as the whole reason it exists is a 18×8 foot vestibule added on to the front of the temple annex. I only learned of this addition last month, and just in time to work it into the Historic Temple video line-up. The following changes have occurred on temple square since the last Salt Lake Temple video was posted:
New vestibule/entry on the annex,
Conservatory (greenhouse) completed
Old Greenhouse (remains of Endowment house) removed
New greenhouse built in North West Corner
Bureau of Information constructed on south lot (octagonal building)
Temple is a darker gray, due to soot fouling from the Boiler House
Taller Chimney on boiler house in unsuccessful attempt to reduce soot fouling
Due to recent research, I have revised the date of this video from 1900-1927.
Well, we are back into the changes made to the St. George Temple, of which, there were many. Today’s video is most about changes to the annex.
Right around the turn of the century, the water tower was removed. The water tower had supplied water to the font, and was determined to no longer be necessary. The water tower was removed and the annex, already in place around the temple, was remodeled and expanded into the space where the tower had been.
Long before it was a temple, The Provo City Center Temple was the Utah Stake or Provo Tabernacle. Following a devastating fire in December of 2010 the decision was made to save the shell and incorporate it into a new Temple.
This video represents the Tabernacle as it would have looked when it was first completed and dedicated. Enjoy!
Having finally got caught up with the Church again for the third or fourth time this year, I am diving back into my historic Temple models once again. Today’s installment int he Series is the ‘as dedicated’ version of the Salt Lake Temple.
I spent much time on this temple model working on that fantastic annex that the temple originally had, as well as the boiler house. A close look at the grounds will show the guardhouse, formerly the architects office, as well as Orson Pratt’s observatory. The greenhouse that was originally included in as an attached part of the Garden Room is included, as is the last remaining bit of the endowment house, which functioned temporarily as a greenhouse for the temple grounds themselves.
The Elevator Myth
There is a story widely spread about the elevators at the Salt Lake Temple. I have also heard it told about Cardston Temple, but just once, and even then it was absurd.
The story is short, and says that Brigham Young demanded that large open shafts be left inside the temple, and required they not be filled. Later when it came time to install elevators int he temple, these shafts proved to be exactly the right size, even though elevators had been unheard of prior to that point.
I have not been able to find a source for this myth, often these stories have at least some basis in truth, but this one, I cannot find anything at all that could conceivably be linked to the origin of this one.
The Truth Of It
Even at the time the saints were crossing the plains, elevators were already in use elsewhere in the world, especially in Europe. When Truman O. Angell did his study mission in Europe, looking over famous bits of architecture, several of the buildings he visited had elevators int hem, including the Palace of Versailles in France.
Meanwhile, back in the United states, the Otis Elevator Company was founded, patented and sold their first commercially available elevator in 1853, the year the Saints broke ground for the temple. Partway through the construction of the temple, Otis Elevator Co would provide the church with a bid for elevators for the then still under construction temple. This bid can be seen in the Church History Library’s online archive, and is dated June of 1883, 6 years BEFORE the temple was completed. The Angel on the top of the east tower was still planned to be a weather vane until at least 1887, so the plans for Elevators pre-date the plans for the Angel Moroni statue. An elevator lift and elevator equipment can be seen on one of the later floorplans of the temple.
The fact of the matter is the Salt Lake temple was dedicated with the Elevators already functioning and in place. There never were any mysterious shafts, and the same goes true for any other temple you hear this rumor about.
Released just last week, I have completed my video for the Taylorsville Utah Temple today. There are still some parts of it that I am still uncertain on though, so there will likely be another draft in the future.
Due to recent research, I have moved the date of this video from 1888 to 1833, being the time that the tower and annex were both added to the temple.
Today’s video depicts the St. George Temple as it would have looked when the annex was first added. According to my recent research, the new annex was added in conjunction with the construction of the temple’s taller, more stately tower. Few pictures exist of the temple in this state, but those that do clearly show the water tower of the temple sticking up right through the roof of the annex!
Enjoy the video!
The Lightning Myth
Much has been said about how the spire came to be, and the stories are, more often than not, wrong. Tradition holds that Brigham Young hated the short spire, and demanded the spire be replaced with a taller one. The saints, however, were tired of the labor of building the temple, and refused, with President Young eventually relenting. The temple was dedicated 6–8 April 1877, with Brigham in attendance. President Young would then pass away August 29, 1877 Just over four months later.
Then, in a violent storm in October of 1878, just 14 months after Brigham’s passing, the tower is struck by lightning, and burned down to the rock underneath it. The local saints, humbled by the event and mindful of Brigham Young’s desires, rebuild the spire, taller this time.
The Enlightened Truth
Brigham Young was not well as the temple neared completion. For the last few years of his life, He wintered every year in St. George, finding the environment better for his health. During his visits, he spent nearly every day at the temple. With Truman O. Angell, the temple’s architect, in Salt Lake working on the Temple there, Brigham was the first and last word on all things relating to the temple’s construction during his visits, the Temples only on hand architect.
During one of his visits to St. George, President Young took a private tour of the temple with his son and then apostle, Brigham Young Jr. on May 10, 1876. Elder Young recorded the visit in his journal as follows:
“The tower is wooden and very unsatisfactory piece of work,” Young, Jr. wrote in his journal. “Father remarked he would keep the tower locked, that he was ashamed of the framing and the design. It was is some 12–18 feet too low to look well. Prest [Brigham Young, Sr.] says they will have that remided [remedied] some these days,” (Brigham Young Jr., Journal, May 10, 1876, 83).
There is no recorded evidence, anywhere, that anyone other than Brigham Jr. knew of his father’s dislike of the spire. The journal itself would not be discovered by researchers until the 1970s, which, coincidentally, seems to be about the same time the first recorded versions of this myth came into being.
It is also interesting to note that President Young only wanted the spire 12-18 feet taller than the dedicated version (left.) The end result would have looked more like The middle image, and not the final finished spire (right.)
The lower portion of the modern temple is placed at about the same height Brigham wished he had made the entirety of the spire to begin with.
There is evidence that temporary repairs were done to the tower (which was severely damaged, but not burnt completely down) in 1878. Letters between local authorities go into great detail as to the level of damage the tower and other portions of the roof received. They are decidedly absent of mentions of Brigham Young, or any concerns about the size of the now damaged spire.
The New Tower
The decision to make a taller tower would be made about 21 months after repairs on the original spire were completed. Announcements of the pending renovation and change were made both in the local papers and papers in Salt Lake City. None of these articles mention either Brigham Young or the lightning strike of two years prior. However, the tower was not made taller until 1883, 5 years after the strike. News reports at the time of the spire replacement announcement and the construction of the taller tower made no mention at all of Brigham Young.
Origin Of The Myth
Well, as these things sometimes happen, the Journal entry of Brigham Young Jr. was discovered in the 1970s, and someone, somewhere, likely related the story of Brigham wishing the spire was taller along with a reference to the lightning strike. In 1977, the first printed version of this story appeared in The Color County Spectrum and soon a similar story appeared in St. George Magazine, only this time with more details than had been shared in print before. In future print versions, the story would continue to receive even more new details and variations. In what was probably a matter of months, an off handed story along the lines of “wouldn’t it be funny if” became a full on struggle between the prophet and his people over who was going to have the final say in the design of the temple.
Sources
The information from this article came from the following:
The St. George Temple Tower: Evolution of a Design
Darrell E. Jones Journal of Mormon History Vol. 34, No. 2 (Spring 2008), pp. 113-129
All That Was Promised The St. George Temple and the Unfolding of the Restoration
Blain M. Yorgason, Richard A. Schmutz and Douglas D. Adler 2013, Deseret Book Footnote #5, pages 320, 321
These photos were taken specifically for a post I made about the storied doorknobs and hinges on the temple. For more information on that, see the post here.
Being caught up with the Temple render releases for now, I am back to my Historic Video series. Today takes us forward to the year 1888, and for the first time, the Manti Utah Temple. the video here shows the temple as it would have looked when completed, as well as other buildings representing the support structures built to help the workers in the construction effort. Historic photos show that these buildings remained on site for many years after the dedication.
I created this just one week after the Church released the official render. That render was rather low resolution, so I had to make guesses about the small details. I am not confident about ANY of those at all. So there will be another video later. In the meantime, enjoy this one!
I have a new video for you today. Shortly after the Logan Temple was dedicated it was decided to expand the annex to add more area for the administrative side of things. Additionally, a new entrance was added on the east side of the annex. This addition was to help shelter the original entrance from the bitter winds in the area, especially in the winter. This two door setup is similar to the double sets of doors seen on many temples and other buildings today.
