Conference Center
On April 6, 1996, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced plans to construct, "another dedicated house of worship on a much larger scale that would accommodate three or four times the number who can be seated in the Tabernacle" (Gordon B. Hinckley, “This Glorious Easter Morn,” Ensign, May 1996, 65). This building would become what is now known as the Conference Center.
Planning immediately began following the announcement. An architectural firm, Zimmer Gunsal Frasca based in Portland, Oregon were picked to develop the building. The Church’s own architect, Lee Gray also helped in the design.
July 24, 1997 a groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin the construction of the Conference Center. During construction nearly 750,000 cubic yards of dirt were excavated. 15,000 tons of concrete steel, and 10,000 tons of structural steel were used to build the building. Church leaders wanted the outside of the building to made of granite similar to the Salt Lake Temple. Granite was quarried from Little Cottonwood quarry and used to make the exterior of the building.
A 92-foot glass spire was placed on the top of the building to make its religious purposes visible. The spire has a 67-foot waterfall that descends from it and flows into a creek that winds its way through the 4-acre wildflower meadow that is on the roof of the conference center.
In terms of size, the Conference Center is enormous. It has 1.4 million square feet of floor space, and covers 10 acres or an entire city block. This is same amount of space that all of Temple Square sits on. The Center can seat 21,000 people more than any other religious auditorium in the world and there are 13,000 parking spaces. It also houses an 850 seat theatre.
The pulpit is made of a walnut tree that President Hinckley planted in his backyard in the 1960’s. He told Church members that he was “speaking to them from the wood of the same tree his children had played under” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “To All the World in Testimony,” Ensign, May 2000, 4). At the request of President Hinckley a beehive symbol was carved into the pulpit. There are no visible pillars inside, so there are no bad seats. The organ in the Conference Center has 7,667 pipes, and 50,000 miles of electrical wire, enough to wrap around the world twice, was used to wire the Conference Center.
The building was completed in Spring of 2000, just in time to hold April Conference in the building. 370,000 people inquired about tickets for this first General Conference in the Conference Center. The Conference Center was formally dedicated on October 8, 2000. Its mostly used for General Conference meetings which are held each year on the first weekends in April and October. However it is also used for concerts and other large meetings. For example, President Hinckley’s 90th birthday celebration was held there in June 2000.
Free tours are given through the Conference Center daily.
For More Information
- Wikipedia's article "LDS Conference Center"
- "Pipe Organs of Temple Square"
