Historic Provo Tabernacle Fire

F OU R PAG E S O F C OV E R AG E I N S I D E

TABERNACLE FIRE SPECIAL Saturday

LOCAL NEWS FOR 136 YEARS

DECEMBER 18, 2010

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HERITAGE LOST

Photo courtesy Laura Rowley

Officials say the fire at the Provo Tabernacle started sometime around 2:30 a.m. Below, firefighters continued to try and put out flames Friday afternoon.

Jim Dalrymple

Online

DAILY HERALD

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range flames and a plume of gray smoke poured out of a gaping hole in the roof of Provo’s historic tabernacle early Friday morning.

In what officials are describing as likely a complete loss, the building was gutted by a blaze that apparently began sometime after midnight.

By Friday afternoon, what had once been a Utah landmark and city icon was little more than a charred shell belching ash onto mourning onlookers.

heraldextra.com/ tabernacle ∫ Up-to-date coverage on the fire at the Provo Tabernacle. ∫ Photo galleries, including historical photos of the Provo Tabernacle. ∫ Aerial video footage of Friday’s fire. ∫ Video interviews with community members’ reflections. ∫ Share your memories with the Provo community. ∫ History of a special, local landmark. ∫ On Twitter, readers share their perspectives.

∫ TEAMS FROM PROVO CITY and the LDS Church — which owns the building — planned to assess the damage Saturday morning. Fire marshal Lynn Schofield said that the investigation into the cause of the fire could involve weeks of sifting through debris. He guessed that damage costs would easily reach into seven digits.

The tabernacle — which was begun in 1883 and completed in 1898 — was a centerpiece of Provo’s historic downtown district. It served as a cultural hub for the community, hosting frequent

concerts, LDS stake conferences and many other events.

The exact time the fire began remains unclear.

On Thursday night, Lex de Azevedo’s Millennium Choral Society held a dress rehearsal in the tabernacle for two weekend concerts. The program was to be filmed and produced by BYU Broadcasting, and during the dress rehearsal, BYU personnel, as well as lighting professionals, were

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Saturday, December 18, 2010

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Firefighters continued to try and put out flames Friday afternoon after a fire broke out at the Provo Tabernacle around 2:30 a.m. Friday, on University Avenue in Provo.

“It’s a total loss for so many people.”

Tabernacle

Some of the items lost

Continued from A1 working in the building. According to the choir’s president, Holly Dixon, some women in the performance reported smelling something unusual, but attributed the smell to production equipment present in the building. That equipment included lights, a fog machine and other stage instruments that Dixon said routinely produce odors during use.

Schofield said that fire officials have not yet had time to investigate any potential connections between the alleged odor and the fire.

Fire officials said that alarms notified them of a blaze in the historic building at 2:43 a.m.

Within minutes, crews arrived on the scene.

According to Deputy Chief Gary Jolley, those crews initially tried to enter the building through the front door, but quickly discovered that the fire was too large and that the building was unsafe. They retreated and took up defensive positions outside. Police closed University Avenue between 100 South and Center Street to through traffic, and advised commuters to avoid the area at least until the end of the day.

By 4:30 a.m., crews were still struggling to contain the blaze. Jolley said that the fire department initially hoped to salvage the building, but said that it posed a unique challenge because of its size and the large wooden timbers used to support its roof.

“This is kind of the worst-case scenario,” Jolley said.

By 6 a.m., most of the tabernacle’s roof had collapsed, pulling down the brick gables on the sides of the building with it. Jolley said that with the roof destroyed, his department’s strategy involved spraying water down into the building from above with extended fire truck ladders. But the collapsed roof also meant that saving the building would be difficult.

“It doesn’t look very good right now,” Schofield said early Friday. “There are some difficult decisions that are going to have to be made once this fire is out with what to do with this landmark.”

Well into the morning, Schofield said that one of the biggest challenges the fire department faced was simply getting water onto the flames. Even after the roof collapsed, much of the debris remained in the building piled up on top of the ground floor. When that lower section of the building began to burn, the debris isolated it from the fire hoses above. As a result, fire crews were forced to continue a pattern of containment, spraying the debris with water and waiting for the flames to exhaust themselves.

By mid-morning, the fire appeared to have shifted to the east side of the building. Jolley said that the west half had mostly burned out, and Schofield added that the color of the smoke meant that fire fighters were making progress.

“The white smoke and steam is a good sign,” Schofield said. “It’s a lot better than the black and orangish billows we saw earlier.”

Flames continued to flare out of the building’s lower windows into the afternoon, even as the surrounding trees drooped and cracked with ice from fire hose spray.

Schofield said it was too early to accurately estimate the state of the building, but a statement from the LDS Church described the damage as severe. Among the items lost in the fire was the building’s unique organ, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of video production equipment, a rented $100,000 Fazioli grand piano and other instruments. The building also housed an original Minerva Teichert painting.

∫ Rented $100,000 Fazioli grand piano ∫ Harp ∫ Timpani ∫ Personal instruments and choir uniforms ∫ An original Minerva Teichert painting depicting Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood ∫ 6 HD Broadcast video cameras worth approximately $300,000-$350,000 ∫ Broadcast jib arm, worth up to $60,000 ∫ Microphones, projects, monitors, and wiring worth at least $200,000 ∫ The building’s unique organ

Fundraising for a rebuild

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Damage is seen from fire at the Provo Tabernacle, on Friday on University Avenue in Provo.

As a result of the fire, all upcoming events will be canceled or moved to another location.

For the Millennium Choral Society, that means a last minute change to the American Fork Tabernacle, and a performance without most of the group’s customary equipment.

“I think they’re scrounging for instruments,” Dixon said. “As far as the production goes, all of our stuff was in there. It’s a total loss for so many people, for businesses, for the BYU production company.”

The choir has also added a performance, on Sunday night, at UVU’s UCCU Center. The show was made possible by UVU President Matthew Holland, and will include a memorial for the lost building.

Even into Friday evening, the fire contin-

ued to burn and smolder, and reactions from onlookers ranged from sadness to shocked disbelief.

Like many people, Kathy Kenison, 58, saw the smoke from her home and came to see what had happened. She said she had years of fond memories of playing the organ in the tabernacle.

“When I was younger, we did this Christmas thing where we’d play music and open the doors,” Kenison said, “and the music would spill out into the street.”

But on Friday, Kenison stood solemnly on University Avenue with other residents, many of whom had tears in their eyes, watching the street fill not with music but with smoke and soot.

hrough the Provo Foundation, a fund has been established at Zions Bank as a way for all who have been devastated by the fire at the Provo Tabernacle to contribute in a rebuilding effort. All funds received are tax deductible.

“This tragedy has caused such a shock for Provo residents and our community at-large,” said Provo City Deputy Mayor and executive director of the Provo Foundation Corey Norman in a news release. “The tabernacle has so much history and perhaps this effort will help support the Church in whatever direction it decides to go while providing residents a chance and mechanism to heal from this great loss.”

Individuals and organizations leading the charge to rebuild and heal include Mayor John Curtis; The Provo Foundation; Kelly Ward with Zions Bank; Gary Garrett with Nu Skin; Chris Nichols, president, and Taylor Oldroyd, CEO, of the Utah County Association of Realtors; Brian Chapman with BCR Political; Pro-Provo; Gary Winterton; and Provo council members. ∫ For more information, visit www.RebuildProvoTabernacle. com.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

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Building’s charm made fire hard to fight Joe Pyrah DAILY HERALD

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ruck 25 was just wrapping up a call at the Provo Towne Centre at 2:43 a.m. when the crew got another call: smoke and flames at the Provo Tabernacle.

It took all of two minutes to drive the 1.1 miles down University Avenue to the 112-year-old building at 100 South. They were met with smoke and flames licking up from the gabled ends of the building.

The crew from Truck 25 immediately grabbed their hose and went in the east front doors, only to discover that the fire was on the second story at the far end of the tabernacle.

They also found themselves stymied by what had previously been the building’s charm: narrow aisles, columns supporting upper levels and pews — “a lot of old, really dry wood,” said fire marshal Lynn Schofield.

They pulled back out, and with additional crews showing up by the minute including Schofield, a quick determination was made: The blaze, burning at 1,200 to 1,500 degrees, couldn’t be attacked.

“The risk of putting anyone inside was far too great,” Schofield said later.

Helpless to approach the fire from the inside, firefighters numbering more than a dozen took a defensive stance. Windows shattered as water was blasted through to gain any sort of advantage over the fire, and ladder trucks arrived to deluge the building from above. It’s a far safer method but takes much longer to knock a fire down.

At this point — around 3:30 a.m. — firefighters were also battling outside temperatures that dipped into the teens.

“It beats you down,” Schofield said, because of the extra gear necessary and the effect on the body. It also beats down equipment. The ladder trucks spraying water down on the tabernacle are remote-controlled but became difficult to use because of the hundreds of pounds of extra weight added by water freezing to them.

At 2,700 gallons a minute, crews have likely poured enough water on the building, as of this writing, to fill two Olympic-size swimming pools.

Spraying the roof was proving pointless until the west end finally collapsed shortly before 4 a.m. Even with an opening, fighting the blaze continued to be difficult because the underbelly of the roof was made of massive wooden beams that burned underneath after the collapse.

Crews continued to pour water onto the building for about two hours when the rest of the roof finally gave in around 5:45 a.m., collapsing in a cacophony that was only matched by a new eruption of flames.

“It introduced a lot of oxygen,” Schofield said.

Since then, firefighters have continued their work and are now looking toward Saturday and beyond. A truck will be on scene throughout Saturday night and inspectors, including Schofield, will go into the structure to see what they can see.

At one point late Friday afternoon, Schofield took a couple of minutes to catch up on another project he was supposed to be supervising — his LDS Church ward breakfast on Saturday.

Over the phone, he made sure there was at least 15 pounds of bacon purchased before hanging up with a sigh.

“I was going to go shopping today,” he said.

Oh Heartbreaking news....

My ancestor who was a stonemason helped build this beautiful building.

Makes me want to weep seeing these pictures.

— Pauline Riley I’m sooo sad. I learned to play the Tabernacle organ when I was 10 years old.

The Stake President gave me a key to the Tabernacle so that I could go down anytime I wanted to practice. Then when I was 13, I began performing there regularly with the Utah Valley Symphony in the viola section. Two years ago, my son, Matt Chambers, Jr. arranged for me to go down and have a couple of hours on the organ again.

It was a magnificent instrument, and lore has it that some of the pipes were from the original Salt Lake Tabernacle organ. Magestic wonderful old building that I will sorely miss!!

— Matt Chambers Sr. So Sad!!!:-( I grew up around this building and attended many events there. I pray they may be able to salvage the outside walls and rebuild.

— Georgette Whitehead Harrild As a member of the Utah Valley Children’s Choir for nine years, I had the privilege of performing at the tabernacle twice a year - Christmas and Easter - a tradition the choir continues even today having held their last concert there only a week ago.

Such a beautiful and historic building will be sorely missed. I have so many special memories there and will cherish the opportunity I had to be a part of its history.

— Shannon Lyster Eden How sad to see such a beautiful building burn! My husband and I drove by it just last week; it’s where my college graduation was held.

— Sandi Hudson heartbreaking...

— Lady Draven

Photo courtesy Laura Rowley

Firefighters battle the blaze at the Provo Tabernacle in the early hours of Friday.

Community reflects on loss of Provo landmark Remembering the Provo Tabernacle

Heidi Toth DAILY HERALD

No one expected the renovation of downtown Provo to include this.

There were questions but no answers Friday, even as icicles hung from the eaves of the Provo Tabernacle, which was still burning. Fire officials don’t know what caused the fire that gutted the 112-year-old building; it was too early for LDS Church officials to even discuss whether or how to replace a historic building in a downtown that’s fast becoming urban.

Instead, people spent the day reminiscing and mourning, often in tears.

They had gone to meetings there, gained testimonies there or simply viewed the stately towers from the outside. They sat on the wooden benches appreciating the stained glass windows, the original Minerva Teichert painting and the organ music.

Monroe Paxman, who grew up just a few blocks from the tabernacle and has lived in Provo for 92 years, had countless memories of that building. He and his wife, Shirley, attended every concert that was held there, she said, and they listened to famous musicians, smalltown choirs and church leaders alike.

Looking back, however, specific concerts didn’t stand out so much as the memory of sitting on those wooden benches during a concert that lasted through sunset.

“The sun coming through those beautiful stained glass windows was really heavenly,” Monroe said.

Shirley remembered when a group she was in invited Tasha Tudor, a children’s writer, to come and speak.

People from several states attended, and the tabernacle was full.

“We brought lots of speakers here that would attract people, and the tabernacle was the perfect setting for it,” she said.

Buddy Richards, who is the stake

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A fire at the Provo Tabernacle early Friday morning brought crowds of people taking pictures and video on University Avenue in Provo. president assigned to oversee the tabernacle this year, got a call early Friday about a small attic fire. He was shocked to arrive and find the building engulfed. Inside, he fretted, were the 1934 Teichert painting of ancient apostles Peter, James and John appearing to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and the organ, which was one of the best in the country west of the Mississippi.

Both most likely were lost, he knew.

There also were some photographs as well as original hardware from construction. Richards said all the prophets of the church since the building was dedicated have spoken there.

“It’s such a huge part of our connection to the history of the church,” he said.

The LDS Church’s facilities representatives and the office of the presiding bishopric will attempt to assess what was inside the building. Richards is assisting with that.

Provo resident Carl Bacon, who was an area representative for the LDS Church, showed up at the tabernacle before 6 a.m. Friday to see the roof in flames; the sight sickened him, he said.

Architecturally, he said, the building was unique in the county. It was sacred not only to Mormons but also to the history of the city.

“It was just a place that people loved to come because it had so many wonderful memories of people who built this beautiful structure,” he said.

Brent Ashworth, a downtown business owner and former chairman of the city’s landmarks commission, called the tabernacle the spiritual center of the community. The artwork in and around the building made it a historical artifact, and its size and location made the building perfect for concerts, meetings and other gatherings.

“That was our last real landmark from the pioneer days,” Ashworth said.

It served as something of a foundation for the dreams of a historic downtown Provo even while large modern buildings are either in the works or already there and mass transit is in its future.

Church officials still are assessing the damage and whether the building is salvageable, so the future of the block is unclear.

County Commissioner Steve White has worked across the street from the tabernacle for the last eight years. At noon on Friday, even while coughing because of the smoke, he was not ready to see the damage up close.

He talked about a few decades ago, when several LDS stakes collaborated to refurbish the building. At the same time, the county was restoring the Historic County Courthouse across the street.

As a member of the LDS Church, White had attended many stake conferences as well as concerts and recitals in the tabernacle, like performances of Handel’s “Messiah.”

“It’s a recital hall for the community as much as it’s been a worship place for Sundays for stake conferences,” he said.

As to the next step, he was hopeful.

“These are hard times for the LDS Church as well as everybody else,” White said. “It’s pretty tough to ask them to come and rebuild it. But we need to ask them to come and rebuild it. It’s something that we’re going to need desperately.”

For years, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions has held its annual Commencement Ceremony at the historic Provo Tabernacle. Our graduates have benefitted from the majesty of the building that enhanced the meaningfulness of the occasion.

There will never be another place like the Tabernacle.

We are truly devastated at the loss of the important piece of architectural and craftsmanship artwork.

— Jessica Dalby Egbert This brings tears to my eyes, What a tragedy. I did so many wonderful things in that building growing up and with my husband and children. I now live out of state but it will be deeply missed is they are not able to rebuild. : ( — Mariah Inanna Jonas this is a sad day. attended many meetings in the old building where pioneer prophets prayed and preached. hope it can be restored, like the old BYU academy but it will never be the same — John C Petersen I attended many R.S. Bazaars on the grounds of the tabernacle on the 4th and 24th of July. 37 yrs. ago my husband proposed to me there as well...I am so sad...

— Bonnie Wischmeier The grounds of the Provo Tabernacle was a great place to rest for the weary & have a picnic for the poor, it was nice to see something so old still standing. I lived in the Hotel Roberts that was next to the Tabernacle that also got taken away & was historical.

— Tammie Lynn Morgan

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1898-2010

Photos courtesy provotabernacle.org

This picture was taken in 1925 of the Provo Tabernacle on the corner of 100 South and University Avenue, during the celebrations of Brigham Young University’s semi-centennial.

Birth and life of a community icon Genelle Pugmire DAILY HERALD

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or more than a century, the corner of 100 South and University Avenue in Provo has been a gathering place for religious meetings, political gatherings, patriotic celebrations, graduations, concerts, weddings and funerals. Thursday morning residents of Provo flocked again to that corner to stand in reverence and shock as their historic Provo Tabernacle burned.

It’s impossible to tabulate the numbers of people who have gone through the Provo Tabernacle’s doors. However, it is testimony by virtue of the thousands of tweets, texts, e-mails, phone calls and public broadcasts, this building has touched people and leaves in its ashes numerous memories and stories.

“I’ve lived in that tabernacle,” said lifelong resident Carma de Jong Anderson, 80. “I remember as a 4-year-old girl sitting on the benches watching my parents perform.”

Clutching her camera in the freezing cold of Thursday’s early dawn, de Jong Anderson slowly made her way to the tabernacle one more time.

“I walked around this morning sobbing to see the windows fallen in because of heat.

To see the smoke billowing, it tore my heart out,” de Jong Anderson said. “I’ve buried many friends and relations this past year.

To have the tabernacle die is too much for me to bear. To see those skeleton windows where religion and art fused in beauty, it tears my heart. It’s a landmark of my highest aspirations.”

“The tabernacle is the only building where general conference of the church was held outside of Salt Lake City, during polygamy raid days during the 1880s — the plaster wasn’t even done. Outside of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, that was our last real landmark from pioneer days,” noted historian Brent Ashworth said.

“It’s not only on the National Historical Registry but is also on the church’s landmarks list. That means it is very significantly historical and as one of 20 tabernacles the church works very hard at preserving it,” said Jenny Lund, manager of church historic sites for the LDS Church History department.

15 years in the making

Construction of the tabernacle began in December 1882 , and the building was dedicated in April 1898. Cost was $100,000. The architect was William Harrison Folsom, who had designed the Manti Temple and the Salt Lake Tabernacle. “He was a significant early architect and the son-in-law of Brigham Young,” Lund said.

The tabernacle was dedicated by George Q. Cannon, who filled in when LDS Church President Wilford Woodruff fell ill.

Over its 112 years, the Provo Tabernacle has hosted world-class entertainers, symphonies, ensembles, soloists and other artists. It is thanks to people like de Jong Anderson’s father, Gerrit de Jong Jr., and Herald R. Clark that the Provo Tabernacle was graced by such talent. Clark was the dean of BYU’s College of Commerce and scheduled lyceums in the Provo Tabernacle for both students and residents.

According to historian D. Robert Carter in his book “Tales from Utah Valley,” “Late in 1938, Clark achieved Provo’s cultural coup of the century. He arranged for a concert from world-famous pianist and composer Sergei Rachmoninoff.” Prior to his concert in Provo he had performed at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Other notables on the list include opera singer Helen Traubel; Jascha Heifetz, violin-

A picture of the completed Provo Tabernacle before the original tabernacle, whose spire is visible at the left of the picture, was demolished.

Where that building stood, there is now a lush park today cornering on Center Street and University Avenue. The stack of the heating plant is visible also on the left.

ist; Paul Robson, singer; pianist Bela Bartok; French organist Marcel DuPre; and Tasha Tudor, children’s book writer.

Local stars including Robert Peterson, George Dyer, Michael Ballam, Kurt Bestor and Michael McClain have all performed there, according to Kathryn Allen, executive director of the Downtown Business Alliance of Provo.

Religious and political leaders graced the tabernacle pulpit as well. Nearly every LDS president since Lorenzo Snow has spoken there as well as leaders from other faiths, including Robert Schuller from the famous Crystal Cathedral in California. Two April General Conferences of the LDS Church were held there in 1886 and 1887.

In 1909, U.S. President William Howard Taft spoke at the tabernacle as a guest of Sen. Reed Smoot.

Through its life the tabernacle faced a number of close calls. According to Lund, it was partially condemned in 1913 because the roof’s truss system didn’t support the center tower. It was renovated in 1917 and the tower was removed.

It was condemned again in 1949 because of the roof system. “Fred Markham, a local LDS stake president, was an architect and he figured out a way to support the roof,” Lund said. At the time there was a serious move to tear down the tabernacle.

In the 1980s it was remodeled again and brought back to its historic character and was rededicated by now LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson.

The Provo Tabernacle featured Gothicstyle stained glass windows and a steep roof and corner turrets that gave the exterior a distinctive look. A pipe organ provided a stunning backdrop to the elaborate, handcarved rostrum.

“The woodwork was absolutely spectacular. It is the best woodwork outside a temple — the Provo Tabernacle is at the top of the

list,” Lund said.

The organ has gone through several rebirths as well. In the beginning it was just a reed organ. In the early 1900s they added pipes and did so multiple times, Lund said.

“Every historical building has its own significance,” said Cory Jensen, Utah State Historical Society. “This one had a broad appeal to the overall population in Provo and the region. Because of its size there was an impact on the community. It was a prominent religious edifice.”

Jensen said the tabernacle was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 9, 1975. It was found to be significant both under the areas of Architecture and Religion. Its architectural style was common in the mid-to-late 19th century, particularly for religious structures throughout the country.

“It’s clearly a building connected to everyone in the community, by the text messages I’ve been receiving. Even emotion from kids that have texted me,” said Lewis Billings, former mayor of Provo. “There was a historic feel when you were in there. It’s the real deal, a history tapestry.”

Multipurpose While used extensively by the community for a variety of events, the LDS Church still held meetings in the tabernacle and was scheduled for a stake conference in two weeks.

Carl Bacon, a longtime resident of Provo, has attended many meetings at the tabernacle over the years as a member and leader in the LDS Church and made arrangements for meetings there.

“It was a beautiful structure, similar in some ways to the tabernacle in Salt Lake with balcony, columns, beautiful organ structure, and a mural in back of the tabernacle,” Bacon said. “It was just a place that people loved to come because it had so many

wonderful memories of people who built this beautiful structure.”

The last hours of the tabernacle were perhaps some of its most glorious moments as it was decorated for the Christmas concert “Gloria,” to be performed by Lex de Azevedo’s Millennium Choral Society.

Tom Ashby, a member of the choir, left rehearsal Wednesday evening around 10:30 p.m. “I have been with the choir for two years and have performed in other churches and venues. The decorations and layout of the tabernacle was phenomenal.”

Ashby describes how the tabernacle looked in its final hours. He said as you looked from the ground to the pipe organ on either end of the pipes there were three levels of lighted Christmas trees. There were garlands strung along the bottom of the pipes at the base of the organ.

There were numerous lights rigged in the ceiling that projected red and green splash along the walls, as well as a smoke machine poised to set the ambiance. The choir had been preparing since October for this weekend’s concerts.

Barbara Lewis has many memories of the building, and echoed the sentiment of many residents.

“My family and I have many memories associated with the Provo Tabernacle. I can remember the building even when I was a young girl many years ago,” Lewis said.

“When my husband, Ben Lewis, served as a stake president, our stake conferences were held in this beautiful building. I recall one time when President Joseph Fielding Smith, who was an apostle at the time, visited this historic building with his wife, and I can still hear her wonderful singing voice. It is still a very fond memory. When I woke up this morning, I was devastated by the news of the fire. It is my hope and prayer that this Provo landmark can be restored to its original beauty.”

Saturday, December 18, 2010

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PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE

It’s an object, not a life, but it means much Brad Westwood

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hen a precious family object was broken or lost, my motherin-law Sybil Vincent would say, “It’s not important, it’s not life.” By tragic circumstances Sybil lost three of her seven children, so she knew whereof she spoke.

Life was paramount; object where classed far below.

Even so, a couple of Brad Westwood times when I heard her say this, I saw her gulp back tears or sobs, because a handful of her possessions were truly beautiful and plush with memories and associations.

These objects were transcendent, emblematic and imbued with joy, pride and significance. I knew her life was better for “having and holding” such objects.

This is how I feel about the apparent loss of the Provo Tabernacle. I have been gulping back sobs all day.

I know it’s not life, but for me this inanimate object, this grand late 19th-century building, was an object of enduring value — not just for me but the whole of Utah Valley.

Make no mistake: the collective body of the community — not only of Provo and the LDS Church but everyone who has been touched in some way by our Utah heritage — lost a magnificent sacred object that night. The Provo Tabernacle was made sacred by inspiring architecture, pioneer craftsmanship and the innumerable inspired talks, prayers, hymns and blessings offered within its walls.

Add eight plus generations of community gatherings — cultural, political and educational — and the bucolic landscape that surrounds it (including the grandest and most elaborate smoke stack in all of Utah) — and one sees it’s meaning. Provo may well have lost its finest architectural and cultural landmark.

The building served as the unofficial symbol of Provo for more than 120 years.

When built, it was the Grand Central of tabernacles for

the whole of Utah Valley, so far as the LDS population was concerned. There are only a handful of 19th century Gothic Revival buildings that compare to this one in Mormondom, including the razed Coalville Tabernacle and the Salt Lake Assembly Hall (all designed in the 1880s).

This religious and cultural icon also borders Provo’s government and commercial centers. Truly the physical heart of Provo has been deeply injured by this fire.

This was one of the LDS Church’s most significant historical buildings (certainly in my Top 10 list). It was designed by pioneer architect William Harrison Folsom, son-in-law to Brigham Young, a man who also contributed to the design of the Salt Lake Temple.

The Provo Tabernacle was Folsom’s most significant extant building other than his most well-known work, the Manti Temple.

For me this building, with its stained glass windows, sandstone gothic arches and hexagon towers and arcadia-like landscape is a close as Utah gets to a jeweled reliquary, or saintly shrine, not because it holds the remains of those revered for their nearness to God but even better. This edifice represented the finest and most precious aspirations of a whole community.

It was owned and preserved by the LDS Church but all of Provo owned it, loved it and cared for it.

Whether LDS or otherwise, everybody took this building to heart.

In years past, and during this very week, my wife and our two sons would travel to Provo to hear and sing along with Handel’s crowning oratorio, “Messiah,” which was performed annually in the tabernacle. Carols would be sung by all in attendance, rich or poor, old or young.

My small hope, held beneath my sobs, is that I will stand once more around a grand balcony and sing once more to my God. ∫ Brad Westwood, of Springville, is the former chair of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Library at BYU. He is currently manager of acquisitions for the LDS Church History Department.

Photo courtesy Eric Torrie

A print depicting Jesus Christ was salvaged by the fire department on Friday.

HISTORICAL NOTES

Not the first fire at the tabernacle D. Robert Carter

LDS Church leaders in Salt Lake City, two general conferences were held in the unfinished tabernacle, bringing honor and arly Friday the Provo Tabernacle, distinction to the town. the stately gothic queen of UniverIn preparation for the first conference, sity Avenue, met her demise. The fire was heartbreaking, though the cause gravel was hauled from the base of the mountain near the territorial Insane Asyhas not yet been determined. Her spirit lum at the east end of Center Street to the and heart have remained strong through tabernacle block. It was spread onto the many trials. In fact, many think of this sidewalks to make them suitable for large structure as the very numbers of pedestrians. heart of Provo.

Inside the incomplete structure, building In the end, it may superintendent James Clark Snyder suhave been a defect in pervised the installation of heating stoves her inner structure that in case of cold weather. Volunteers decobetrayed her and caused rated the walls with evergreens and other her robust timbers to objects in order to counteract the dreary, collapse into a burning monotonous and cheerless appearance of heap. bare brick walls. A similar conference was The tabernacle’s long held the following year. Both gatherings life began in December lived up to expectations.

1882 when, with William D. Robert Carter Then the slow, laborious task of finishH. Folsom acting as aring the interior began, and many inhabitchitect, workmen from ants of Provo lent a hand. In 1886, foundry Provo and surrounding workers needed metal to cast the pillars communities started construction. They excavated a large hole for a basement and that would hold up the interior balconies.

Men with teams and wagons visited the hauled in rock for the foundation. Local various LDS wards of the city and colbrick makers soon set to work and furlected scrap cast iron. Superintendent nished material for the structure’s walls.

Leo Whitehead of the Provo Foundry & Masons under the supervision of Samuel Machine Company had the iron melted Liddiard had the outside walls completed down and cast into pillars. He took the by early in 1884, and the Provo Lumber small amount of money that had been conand Building Company had the main roof tributed for casting — not enough for full on by December of that year. Roofers finpayment — and then finished the remainished their work on the towers during the der of the job, hoping to boost his business spring of 1885. reputation.

The first meeting held in the tabernacle Ironically, the tabernacle was almost occurred on Aug. 8, 1885, when Provo lost to fire before it was finished. In 1891, held a memorial service for the former electricians supervised by T.E. Daniels, actPresident of the United states Ulysses S. ing electrician for the Provo Woolen Mills, Grant, who had died July 23. In order to installed wires for lights. Daniels and Walprepare the setting, laborers hauled temporary seats into the building which at the ter Taylor used a gasoline blowpipe to melt time had no windows, doors or permanent solder and connect the wires.

They were working at the east end of floors. About 2,000 people attended the the building between the ceiling and the service. roof when a blowpipe loaded with a halfLater during 1886 and 1887 when the anti-polygamy campaign heated up against gallon of gasoline began to leak and a

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Smoke continues to rise from inside the Provo Tabernacle where wood from the collapsed roof continues to burn into the evening Friday in Provo.

flame shot up to the roof. The whole apparatus then caught fire.

The two men stripped off their jumpers and tried to smother the flames but failed.

Knowing that the blowpipe would soon explode, Daniels seized it and rushed down the circular staircase to the north window and threw the blowpipe out. Three or four seconds after it hit the ground, the blowpipe exploded.

The frantic men were able to put out the remaining flames and save the building.

Daniels singed his moustache and suffered from burns on his face and hands.

The tabernacle dodged destruction by fire yet again in 1912 when an overzealous health official set the outhouse behind the building on fire. His plan was to eliminate a public health hazard created by numerous Sunday deep thinkers. The flames blazed out of control, placing the tabernacle in jeopardy. Provo’s fire department arrived, and in three minutes the firemen had five streams of water splashing around the burning shack. It spread no further, although the outhouse was allowed to burn to the ground.

Left without toilet facilities for meetinggoers, church authorities soon had inside bathrooms installed and connected the tabernacle to the city sewer system.

After the tabernacle was completed and paid off in 1898 — 15 years after it was begun — the building was dedicated. Persistent church leaders had financed the building largely through monetary donations, volunteer work, tithing labor and tithing “in kind” (goods in lieu of cash).

The tabernacle served the valley well for 125 years as a place for religious and civic gatherings, concerts, dramas, pageants and various other endeavors. The grand old lady will be sorely missed. ∫ D. Robert Carter is a historian from Springville. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Provo history, Utah Lake and Utah Valley.

ANDREW VAN WAGENEN/Daily Herald