Tabernacle On Temple Square Reopens After Renovation

The Tabernacle on Temple Square is now open to the public, after having been closed for months for remodeling. The building is home to the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It is a key attraction on Temple Square, which is Utah's top tourist attraction. (Temple Square draws more tourists than our national parks.)

Free public concerts are once again being offered in the Tabernacle.

Seismic retrofitting was a key reason for the renovation. The original building would probably have sustained considerable damage in even a moderate earthquake, but it now meets or exceeds modern codes.

Numerous news stories have been published about the reopening. Here are excerpts from a NY Times article:

"The tabernacle's famed acoustics, which legend has it enabled a listener to a hear a pin drop from 250 feet away, were measured before the renovation began, modeled on computers and then assessed again recently, said Roger P. Jackson, the project's lead architect. Mr. Jackson said he expected the building's enveloping sound would be preserved."

"The wooden roof trusses have been girded with steel. The roof’s 44 stone support piers have new steel and concrete reinforcements. Fourteen layers of paint, including one of bird’s-egg blue, were removed from the ceiling. The rostrum, where nearly 100 church leaders sit facing the audience during religious services, can now be lowered with a hydraulic lift and replaced with a stage for an orchestra."

Read the complete Times Article.

Also see these articles:
What's changed at Tabernacle?
Photo gallery of the remodeled Mormon Tabernacle
A Tabernacle for the ages
Mormon tabernacle done