Temples

Temple Square renovation update: See video, plus 11 photos, on latest work on and around temple

From spires to the north addition and interior reinforcements, renovation work continues on the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square

By Scott Taylor Sept 28, 2023 12:41 p.m. EDT

Temples

Temple Square renovation update: See video, plus 11 photos, on latest work on and around temple

From spires to the north addition and interior reinforcements, renovation work continues on the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square

By Scott Taylor Sept 28, 2023 12:41 p.m. EDT

From the tops of the Salt Lake Temple’s spires to the underground floors of the temple’s north addition, work continues on the temple and Temple Square renovation projects.

Increased visual attention will come this weekend as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conducts its October 2023 general conference in the Conference Center, just across the street from ongoing work.

Landscaping work next to the Tabernacle.

The latest updates were published Thursday, Sept. 28, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Most of the concrete walls have been poured for the north addition on the Salt Lake Temple’s north side, with the addition’s three underground floors to house two baptistries, additional sealing rooms, dressing rooms and other administrative areas.

See past updates on the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square renovation projects

Aerial view of work being done on the north side of the Salt Lake Temple.

Inside the addition, walls are being framed, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-suppression systems are being installed. Finish work is expected to begin next year.

Inside the temple proper and on the fourth and fifth floors, some 200,000 pounds of steel beams were temporarily installed to shore up the structure.

Installed on the beams were 50,000-ton hydraulic jacks and a hydraulic manifold system, which allowed the weight bearing of the pioneer-era temple walls to be transferred to the steel system while the retrofitting of the seismic upgrades took place on the floors below.

The effort is highlighted in the video “Buildings of the Temple: Steel Workers.”

On the east side of the temple, 94 of the 98 base isolators are in place both inside and outside of the temple.

Construction on the east side of the Salt Lake Temple.

Transfer girders — each 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide and made of reinforced concrete — will rest on top of the base isolators, which are key to the seismic upgrade and stabilization during earthquakes. The weight of the temple will be transferred through the transfer girders to the base isolators, which now rest on the new lower footings.

In May, the first of the six steel spire structures to sit atop the temple’s towers was installed on the northwest side. Now, only one more placement remains to be completed.

Also on the towers, crews are beginning to reinstall stones, the latest in the process of carefully removing, cataloging, cleaning and repairing the stones before reinstallation.

About 54,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured — more than 50% of the total concrete required for the renovation projects.

Construction of the South Pavilion area on Temple Square.

Construction has started on the plaza level — or ground level — of the South Pavilions, with work proceeding on the above-ground structures.

Landscaping work next to the Tabernacle building in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sept. 12, 2023.

Landscaping has started on the northwestern area of Temple Square, with stones being placed for some of the wall sections. A reopening of that part of Temple Square is planned for January 2024.

4 more photos

Workers install walls for the south visitors center at Temple Square.

Construction on the outside of the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sept. 12, 2023.

A construction worker moves inside a rebar cage outside of the Salt Lake Temple.

Work continues on the north side of the Salt Lake Temple.