kids encyclopedia robot

Salt Lake Tabernacle facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
The Salt Lake Tabernacle
Mormon Tabernacle
S.L. Tabernacle on Temple Square.jpg
The exterior of the Tabernacle in December 2008
Location 50 W. North Temple
Salt Lake City, Utah
Coordinates 40°46′13.5″N 111°53′35.3″W / 40.770417°N 111.893139°W / 40.770417; -111.893139
Public transit Temple Square Trax Station
Owner The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Type Auditorium
Seating type Reserved by Section
Capacity 3,500 (after 2007 renovation)
Construction
Broke ground 1864
Opened October 1867 (First General Conference held)
October 1875 (building dedication)
Architect Henry Grow
Truman O. Angell (1870 gallery addition)
with contributions from William Folsom and Brigham Young
Website
Salt Lake Tabernacle
Salt Lake Tabernacle circ 1870s
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, taken in the 1870s as part of a series of photos for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (established in 1870), showing granite blocks for the construction of the Salt Lake Temple (completed in 1893).

The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, in the U.S. state of Utah. The Tabernacle was built from 1863 to 1875 to house meetings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was the location of the church's semi-annual general conference for 132 years. However, because of the growth in the number of conference attendees, general conference was moved to the new and larger LDS Conference Center in 2000. In the October 1999 General Conference, church president Gordon B. Hinckley gave a talk honoring the Tabernacle and introducing the new Conference Center. Now a historic building on Temple Square, the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still used for overflow crowds during general conference.

The Tabernacle is the home of the world-renowned Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and was the previous home of the Utah Symphony Orchestra until the construction of Abravanel Hall. It is the historic broadcasting home for the radio and television program known as Music and the Spoken Word. In 2005, the Tabernacle was closed for two years of intensive renovations that greatly increased its ability to withstand earthquakes. It was reopened and rededicated by Hinckley during the Saturday afternoon session of the church's general conference on March 31, 2007. The Museum of Church History and Art opened an extensive display on the Tabernacle as part of the rededication of the historic edifice.

The Salt Lake Tabernacle was inspired by an attempt to build a Canvas Tabernacle in Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s. This tabernacle was to be situated just to the West of the Nauvoo Temple and was to be oval shaped, much the same as the Salt Lake Tabernacle. However, the Nauvoo edifice (never built) was to have amphitheater-style or terraced seating, and was to have canvas roofing.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Tabernáculo de Salt Lake City para niños

kids search engine
Salt Lake Tabernacle Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.