New Video and Pictures of Provo's Castle!

Last week, I told you about how it burned down five years ago, but today, this majestic castle that has been restored to my city. (If you missed it, you can read about the Provo Tabernacle - Provo City Center Temple Restoration and Construction here.) 

 This video shows so much that I wanted to share with you—the devastation of that fire, the joy we felt when its reconstruction was announced (you can hear the crowd in the Conference Center actually gasping, which we did as well, at home, right as the tears started), and the wonder at the feats the architects performed. It also gives us a better look inside the building itself, which is even more beautiful that I'd imagined!

A three-story staircase inside the Provo City Center Temple was crafted out of wood, keeping with the Victorian interior design of the tabernacle. (Image source)
The chandelier and ceiling inside the celestial room of the Provo City Center Temple. (Image source)

Art glass windows and hardware have been customized for the Provo City Center Temple. (Image source)

Floral patterns can be found in the Provo City Center Temple, including art glass featuring the lotus flower common in religious buildings throughout the world. (Image source)

The entrance to the Provo City Center Temple in Provo, Utah. (Image source)

The main entrance to the Provo City Center Temple includes a reclaimed stained glass image of Jesus Christ that dates back to the early 1900s that came from a Presbyterian church in New York that was demolished. (Image source)
This reminds me so much of the Provo Library, my other favorite building in Provo. It used to be the Brigham Young Academy. (Read more about my library here.)

Oval-shaped baptistry of the Provo City Center Temple. (Image source)

We get to go tour the inside this weekend! I am so excited!!!! If you're in the Provo area and want to come to the open house, check to see if the free tickets are available here. (**Update: This event has ended.)

You can learn more about the LDS church here. And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

#ProvoRocks 
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    My City's New Castle

    The Provo Tabernacle - Provo City Center Temple Restoration and Construction #ProvoRocks 
    Image source and news story
    Five years ago, my favorite building in Provo, UT (the city we live) burned down, and I cried like a baby.

    (Video slideshow of the history and reconstruction) 

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    And I cried even more every time I drove by it's hollowed out shell. 
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    This building was in the center of the city. We used to drive by it frequently, we got to have occasional church meetings in it, we watched parades from its front steps, and played on its grounds. 

     Our daughter, July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds
    Erik and our two oldest sawing wood for wood burning activity,
    July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds
    Our youngest, July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds
    Old two oldest children, July 4, 2010 - Independence Day Festivities on Provo Tabernacle Grounds

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    It was one of the first things I loved about Provo. 

    Then came the announcement. Our church was going to restore it and convert it into a new temple! So many of us cried with joy when we heard the announcement.

    The first temple I ever got to go inside of, Portland, OR. It was built when I was 7 and living in Oregon.
    If you've never seen or heard of LDS temples, here's more about them and a few pictures:
    Erik and I were married in this temple, so it's an obvious favorite! Oakland, CA




    St. George, UT
    Logan, UT
    Bet you can see why I was so excited, huh? :)


    The original structure of the Provo Tabernacle had a cupola (spire thingy in the center) that had be removed because it wasn't structurally sound. The new design put it back in!

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    I still don't quite understand how they did it, but they gutted the building and raised it up on stilts to build the foundation and lower level.  (Video about this engineering feat here here.)

    The exterior walls of the Provo Tabernacle are secured for the construction of the Provo City Center Temple. Image source

    Locations are prepared for installation of the stained-glass windows in the Provo City Center Temple.  Image source
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    Over the next few years, we got to witness the construction of our new temple.

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    They also had to remove, restore, and replace the spires.

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    The skylight in the celestial room.  Image source

    The steeple on the Provo City Center Temple. Image source
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    Construction on the middle floor in the Provo City Center Temple.  Image source
    The under-construction baptismal font at the Provo City Center Temple in January 2014. Image source
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     Construction has finished now, and we just got tickets to the open house! That's another really neat thing about LDS temples. Even though only temple recommend-holding members are allowed inside after the building is dedicated, there is an open house for the public to come look inside before hand.

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    The inside of the temple even includes some pieces that were salvaged from the original building, like the pulpit.





    This piece was salvaged, and now replicas are in the new building as well:


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    As workers peeled away paint and plaster from the burned walls, they uncovered a layer of painted plaster. The stenciled designs were pieced together using historic photographs as a guide. The design now appears again as a motif in the bride’s dressing room of the temple (see image below) - Source

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    We are so excited to go explore our new castle! If you're in the Provo area and want to come to the open house, check to see if the free tickets are available here. (More are added periodically, so don't give up!) 

    You can learn more about the LDS church here. And, as always, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me!
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