Joseph Smith Memorial Building facts for kids
The Joseph Smith Memorial Building, originally known as the Hotel Utah, is named after Joseph Smith, who founded the Latter Day Saint movement. You can find it in Salt Lake City, at the corner of Main Street and South Temple. Today, it's a busy social center with three restaurants: The Roof Restaurant, The Garden Restaurant, and The Nauvoo Cafe. It's also a popular place for events, offering 13 banquet rooms, catering services, event planners, and a flower shop called Flowers Squared. Many floors in the building are used as offices for different departments of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), like FamilySearch. On January 3, 1978, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Hotel Utah.
Quick facts for kids |
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Hotel Utah
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View from the South.
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 Location in Utah
Location in the United States
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| Location | S. Temple and Main St., Salt Lake City, Utah |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1909-1911 |
| Architect | Parkinson & Bergstrom |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival, Modern Italian Renaissance |
| NRHP reference No. | 78002673 |
| Added to NRHP | January 3, 1978 |
Contents
History of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building
The spot where the Joseph Smith Memorial Building stands has always been important in Utah. Before the Hotel Utah was built between 1909 and 1911, this site was home to the LDS Church's main tithing office, a storehouse, and the Deseret News printing factory.
Construction on the hotel, which was designed in the Second Renaissance Revival style by Parkinson and Bergstrom, started in June 1909. Two years later, on June 9, 1911, the Hotel Utah officially opened. The LDS Church was the main owner, but many community and business leaders, both Mormon and non-Mormon, also bought shares. They all wanted Salt Lake City to have a top-notch hotel.
To help pay for the $2 million construction loan, the hotel included various business ventures. The financing was arranged by Charles W. Nibley, a leader in the LDS Church, with New York financier Charles Baruch.
In the past, the hotel had a policy that allowed Black employees but not Black guests. This meant famous performers like Lillian Evanti, Harry Belafonte, Marian Anderson, and Ella Fitzgerald were not allowed to stay there. Eventually, Marian Anderson was allowed to stay, but she had to agree not to use the elevator and to eat her meals in her room.
In 1947, Wataru Misaka, the first non-white professional basketball player, signed his first NBA contract at this hotel. He later shared that at the time, non-white people were not allowed to stay at the hotel. These policies are now a part of history and are no longer in place.
The building is ten stories tall and made of concrete and steel. It is covered with white glazed terra cotta and brick. Over the years, the building has been expanded and updated, including a large addition to the north side and changes to the restaurants on the roof.
The building was featured in the 1973 movie "Harry in Your Pocket." In August 1987, it stopped operating as a hotel. After a big renovation, it reopened in 1993 for both community and church events. Church leader Gordon B. Hinckley chose the new name, Joseph Smith Memorial Building. He felt there were many monuments to pioneer leader Brigham Young, but none to Joseph Smith.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, the building was decorated with the words "SALT LAKE 2002." In 2011, the building celebrated 100 years since it was first built.
Films and Features
The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd is a 67-minute film produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It shows the life of Jesus in Jerusalem and also events from the Book of Mormon that happened around the same time. The film's most exciting part is when Jesus appears in the Americas after his resurrection. This movie was first shown in the Legacy Theater on a huge 62x31 foot screen. It took the place of Legacy: A Mormon Journey as the main film shown in the building in March 2000. Later, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd was replaced by Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration, a film made to celebrate 200 years since Joseph Smith's birth.
What the Building is Used for Today
The LDS Church uses the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for many different things:
- There is a large, beautiful lobby with a white statue of Joseph Smith and a huge crystal chandelier. You can often hear live classical music playing here.
- The FamilySearch center is where anyone can use computers and materials to do family history research.
- The Legacy Theater offers free showings of different church-produced movies. Past films include Legacy: A Mormon Journey, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration, and Meet the Mormons.
- Two restaurants, The Roof and The Garden, are on the top (tenth) floor. They offer amazing views of downtown Salt Lake City.
- Many floors inside the building are used as offices for various church departments, including those that support family history centers around the world.
- Many rooms on the ground level, and on the ninth and tenth floors, can be rented for events like wedding receptions or dinners.
- There is a chapel where different downtown wards (congregations) hold their Sunday services. The chapel has a large pipe organ with 2,484 pipes.
- A pair of peregrine falcons comes back every year to nest in a nest box at the top of the building. There are two webcams installed in the nest box, so people can watch the falcons online.
| Preceded by Boston Building |
Tallest Building in Salt Lake City 1911 - 1912 56m |
Succeeded by Walker Center |
See also
In Spanish: Joseph Smith Memorial Building para niños
