Welcome to the grounds of the Salt Lake City, Utah temple. At 253,015 square feet, it is the largest of all Chucrh of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints temples by floor area. It was dedicated in 1893 and is the sixth temple completed by the church. Taking 40 years to complete, It is made from quartz monzonite (similar to granite) quarried from Little Cottonwood Canyon 20 miles southeast of Salt Lake. The temple went under a major renovation and was closed from 1962 to 1966.
It is currently under an additional renovation, closing on 29 December 2019. Early plans were to close for four years for restoration and renovation to the grounds and surrounding facilities, but additions to early plans led to a longer timeline and it is currently scheduled to open in 2025
Here;s what to expect from the renovation:
New landscaping throughout temple square.
The North Visitor's Center will be removed and replaced. (The Christus statue was removed for preservation and will be reinstalled on temple square at the end of the renovation)
The plaza between State Street and Main Street will be improved.
New entrances will be added.
The renovation will include a seismic upgrade to help the temple withstand an earthquake and it will add a new tunnel entrance underneath.
In March 2020, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake rocked the temple, knocking the trumpet from the hand of the Angel Moroni statue at its peak and dislodging some spire stones. The golden sculpture was removed in May 2020. It will be repaired and returned along with the mended stones.
As 2022 began, the Salt Lake Temple renovation project began its third year. Over the past two years, two tower cranes were erected on the north and south sides of the temple. These cranes have been used for various purposes, such as removing stones from the walls and towers. These stones will be cleaned and repaired, and then replaced in their original locations. The cranes have also been used to lift materials for workers into and around the temple. An additional crane with greater lifting capacity was used to lift the new roof trusses.
To log this cache:
As this is currently a construction site, all you need to do is take a photo of you or a personal item at your favorite spot at the temple or near the grounds/gates surrounding it.
Hint: You have an extremely good vantage point of construction from the rooftop garden at the conference center directly north of the temple. (Waypoint 1)
Each log needs to have a photo, so if you are in a group, take multiple photos for each person.
No photos from prior visits and no logging from a drive by from a car window.
It will be fun to see the construction progress.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BMars7391 for a very speedy FTF!