Friday, June 12, 2009

Tabernacle on Temple Square

Admission: free
Hours: Sun - Sat, 9:00a.m. - 9:00p.m.

Open for tours as well as for most of the weekly rehearsals (usually Thursday evenings from 8:00-9:30p.m.) and Sunday broadcasts (must be seated by 9:15a.m.) of the world-famous Tabernacle Choir.

Organ recitals are given daily beginning at 12:00 (noon) Mon - Sat, and at 2:00p.m. on Sundays. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, recitals begin at 12:00 (noon) and 2:00 p.m., and at 2:00p.m. on Sundays.

Come see the home of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Visit the dome shaped auditorium which is so acoustically sensitive that a pin dropped at the pulpit can be clearly heard at the back of the hall, 170 feet away. Listen to the symphony of sound from one of the world's great musical instruments, a magnificent pipe organ with 11,623 pipes.

Construction on the Tabernacle began in 1863 and ended in 1875. The exterior of the completed building is 150 feet wide, 250 feet long, and 80 feet high. This unique Tabernacle was a marvel of its time. Through the bridge-building technique of Henry Grow, the Tabernacle roof was able to span its 150-foot width without center supports–an amazing achievement in both engineering and acoustics. Meetings and concerts are still held in this historic building.

The impressive Tabernacle organ was built by Joseph Harris Ridges. Suitable timber was brought by volunteers from the Parowan and Pine Valley Mountains, three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City. In later years the organ has been rebuilt, electrified, and enlarged to house its current 11,623 pipes.

Return to Temple Square page


Compilation of information gathered from www.visittemplesquare.com (and) www.lds.org/placestovisit/location/0,10634,1888-1-1-1,00.html
original photography

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