Vacation Ideas: Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Temple Square is located in downtown Salt Lake City situated on a beautifully landscaped 10-acre plot of ground. It is one of Utah’s most visited attractions.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Tabernacle Organ

Visit the home of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The auditorium is dome-shaped and so acoustically sensitive you can hear a pin drop on the pulpit 170 feet away at the back of the hall. Enjoy the symphony of sound from a magnificent pipe organ with 11,623 pipes, one of the world’s great musical instruments. The Tabernacle organ was originally built by Harris Ridges. The organ has been rebuilt, electrified and enlarged to its current size.

A Gothic-style building with stained-glass windows sits on the southwest corner of Temple Square. This is the Assembly Hall, a jewel of a building, constructed by Latter-day Saint pioneers in 1877. The Temple Square Concert Series presents complimentary hour-long concerts every Friday and Saturday evening. Admission is Free. Only those eight years of age or older are admitted to the concerts performed by local and international artists.

June through August, the Temple Square Concert Series performs Concerts in the Park at the Brigham Young Historic Park on the southeast corner of State Street and Second Avenue.

Concerts are held Tuesday through Saturday during the Christmas season.

Seagull Monument

The Seagull Monument located on Temple Square stands a memorial to the flocks of seagulls that saved the crops of the early Saints in the Salt Lake Valley during the summer of 1848.

North Visitor’s Center

There is a magnificent 11-foot statue of the Savior, and on the recently remodeled main and lower levels there are exhibits on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Representatives are available for complimentary tours of the visitor’s center and Temple Square as well as other sites nearby.

The Museum of Church History and Art

Features:

• A covered wagon like those used by pioneers
• An immigrant’s ship bunk
• View of an 1847 log home
• An original 1830 Book of Mormon
• Fine art from around the world
• Exhibits about migration, settlements and men who served as prophets and presidents of the Church from 1830 to present
• Interactive media, films, and demonstrations enhance the treasured artifacts, art, and documents
• Children’s activities such as puppet shows, films, and costumed actors.

Tour the Joseph Smith Memorial Building that was formerly the Hotel Utah built in 1911. The stately building has been completely renovated and reopened in 1993, named in honor of the man who was instrumental in restoring the gospel of Jesus Christ, translating the Book of Mormon and organizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the building’s Legacy Theater you can view the film that last approximately 70 minutes and depicts the life and legacy of Joseph Smith.

Take a look at the Salt Lake Valley from the 26th-floor observation decks of the 28-story Church Office Building, which is headquarters of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On the east, is a view of the Wasatch mountain range, on the west is the Oquirrh range, and the State Capital Building to the North. This view is one great way to become oriented on a visit to Salt Lake City.

The Beehive House

This is a free 30-minute tour of the home Brigham Young and his family lived in during the 1800s. It is now a National Historic Landmark, beautifully restored with furnishings of the period. The house was built in 1854 and was Brigham Young’s home when he was President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and governor of the Utah Territory.

Source: Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah Online

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