Obed Taylor
Obed Taylor was an architect noted for his fine structures in Utah. As a partner with William H. Folsom, they designed the Deseret National Bank and the original ZCMI with its cast-iron storefront. Independently he designed Ogden’s ZCMI, the First National Bank Block, and the Coalville Tabernacle. He designed the former Salt Lake 18th Ward meetinghouse, which was the home ward for many of the presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Taylor had been an architect in San Francisco.
In the late 1870s, Taylor was called to be a supervising architect under Truman O. Angell. He designed the Temple Square Assembly Hall. The building was completed after his death, as was a building at the University of Deseret. He also designed the Walker Opera House, which burned down in 1891.
Taylor was born on April 27, 1824. baptized by Parley P. Pratt in the spring of 1854. He joined the Saints in Zion in about 1871. He died on July 30, 1881, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
