Los Angeles California Temple facts for kids

Los Angeles California Temple
Number	10	edit data
Dedicated	Quick facts for kids March 11, 1956 (March 11, 1956) by David O. McKay
Site	13 acres (5.3 hectares)
Floor area	190,614 sq ft (17,709 m2)
Height	257 ft (78 m)
Preceded by	Bern Switzerland Temple
Followed by	Hamilton New Zealand Temple
Official website: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/temples/details/los-angeles-california-temple • News & images
Additional information Announced March 6, 1937 Groundbreaking September 22, 1951 by David O. McKay Open House December 19, 1955 – February 18, 1956 Designed by Edward O. Anderson Location 10777 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, California United States Exterior finish Mo-Sai stone facing Temple design Modern, single-tower design Ordinance rooms 4 (four-stage progressive sessions) Sealing rooms 10 Clothing rental Yes Cafeteria Full Visitors' center Yes

The Los Angeles California Temple is a special building for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's located on Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, California. This temple was the tenth one built by the church and is currently its second-largest.

When it was first opened in 1956, it was the biggest temple the church had. Later, the Salt Lake Temple became larger after some additions. The Los Angeles Temple serves many church groups in Los Angeles, Ventura, Kern, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties. On its grounds, you can find a visitors' center, which was updated in 2010. There's also a Family History Center where people can learn about their ancestors. Both of these are open to everyone. The temple grounds also house the main office for the church's California Los Angeles Mission.

Building the Temple: A Look Back

The idea for the Los Angeles Temple was first shared on March 23, 1937, by church president Heber J. Grant. The church bought a large piece of land, about 24 acres, from a movie company. Building was supposed to start soon, but there were some big challenges. Money was tight because of the Great Depression, a time when many people didn't have jobs. Then, World War II happened, which also caused delays.

Later, during the Korean War, there wasn't enough steel to build. Church leaders had to ask for special permission to get the steel they needed. The temple was then allowed to continue construction. The official start of building, called the groundbreaking, happened in 1951. The plans for the temple were changed a bit then. They added a large meeting room and made it big enough for 300 people to attend ceremonies at one time.

This temple was the first one since the Salt Lake Temple to have a statue of the angel Moroni on top. When the statue was first put up, it faced southeast. But later, church president David O. McKay asked for it to be turned to face east. For a while, this temple used live actors for its special ceremonies, called the endowment. But soon, movies replaced the live actors. Also, instead of moving from room to room, people started staying in one room for the whole ceremony. In 2003, the temple went back to a style where people move between rooms, but it still uses a film. The Terrestrial room, a special room inside, was also completely updated.

The Los Angeles California Temple closed for updates in late 2005. It reopened on July 11, 2006. During this time, the building was made stronger to handle earthquakes. The baptistry, a room for baptisms, was also completely redone because it had problems with mold. In 2012, a fire damaged a nearby building that was being built for the mission president.

In 2020, like all other temples, the Los Angeles California Temple closed for a time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Temple Grounds and Location

The Los Angeles Temple at night

The temple is located at 10777 W. Santa Monica Boulevard in the Westwood area of Los Angeles. It sits on a small hill where Overland Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard meet. The beautiful grounds around the temple are open to everyone. They are filled with many different plants, like Canary Island Pine trees, various palm trees, Bird of Paradise trees, olive trees, and rare Chinese Ginkgo trees. There are two fountains on either side of the temple and a large reflection pool in the front. Several statues of families also make the grounds lovely. In December, the temple grounds are decorated with thousands of colorful lights for Christmas.

The temple is a well-known landmark on the westside of Los Angeles. Many other church buildings are on its grounds. These include a meetinghouse, a baseball field, the main office for the church's California Los Angeles Mission, and apartments. These apartments are used by missionaries, temple workers, and church leaders who visit.

The rest of the large property was divided into lots for houses. Selling these lots helped pay for building the temple. The Los Angeles Temple was one of the first temples designed for cars. It has very large parking areas, and there isn't a direct walking path from the front doors to Santa Monica Boulevard.

Temple Design and Features

The Los Angeles Temple in 2006

The temple's design is mostly Modernist. It is covered with special pre-cast concrete called Mo-Sai. This material is a mix of crushed quartz and white Portland cement from Utah and Nevada. The temple is 369 feet (112 m) long, 269 feet (82 m) wide, and stands 257 feet (78 m) tall. On top of the temple is a 16-foot (5 m) tall statue of the angel Moroni. The architect, Edward O. Anderson, based his design on ancient Mayan buildings.

Inside, the temple has a baptistry and a celestial room. It also has four ordinance rooms for special ceremonies and ten sealing rooms for marriage ceremonies. There is also a large assembly room that runs the entire length of the temple. The Los Angeles Temple also has two 30-foot (9 m) pools on each side of the connected buildings. The walls of its ordinance rooms, including the celestial room, feature beautiful murals. Only a few other temples have murals in their celestial rooms.

See also

In Spanish: Templo de Los Ángeles (California) para niños

• Comparison of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• List of temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by geographic region
• Temple architecture (Latter-day Saints)
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California