December 20th Update

As I mentioned in my previous post, I had heard someone say that they thought that the contractors would be somehow raising the building so that they could rebuild the foundation to current earthquake code and sure up the building. The last couple of weeks they have been working around the base of the building drilling deep holes and building concrete posts. I observed that they were doing the same on the inside of the building and now can see that they have built a steel I-beam support system all around the base of the building so that the building will be resting on this framework. I am guessing that once in place they will start to remove the old foundation and essentially suspending the building in air while they build a new substructure underneath it. I also heard it said that they would be going down several stories; I will be interested to see if that is the case because of the high water table. See pictures below - the steel I-beam supports are near the bottom of the building sticking about 4 feet out, sorry the pictures are not so clear, the angle of the sun and glare off my window hinder the view but you should be able to see them and get an idea of what it looks like. Also you can see that it looks like we will be having a "White Christmas" lows in the teens and chance of more snow on the weekend.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

November Update

I know it has been a little while since my last post but the work on the Provo City Center Temple has been progressing.  It was noted in the local media that in the process of additional excavation that they found one of the earliest know Baptismal fonts in Utah county The font area sat just to the east of my parking stall and I noticed that they were very carefully digging around something that they had found.  Here is a link to KSL reporting - http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1016&sid=22966683

The Article from the Daily Herald - http://www.heraldextra.com/historic-provo-baptistry/image_d3011c5e-2e94-11e2-bc91-001a4bcf887a.html

I have observed that they along with creating an interrior concrete support have removed all of the exterrior scaffling and have started to do work around the foundation.  They are also been doing drilling on the interior and a few times I have noticed water running on the inside and it has been pumped out into a make shift pond north of the building.  I do not know if they have run into water issues due to the high water table or it is run off from the concrete work.  I know that in the work of building a new parking structure for Nu Skin they have had to pump out water and it appears that they are having to build a drainage system to remove ground water.  I do not know if this will be an issue for the Temple.  I have been told and only know it as rumor that they will in some manner hoist the building off of the original foundation so that a new one can be make to withstand earthquakes.  They continue work and pouring concrete for the underground entrance to the parking structure that will replace the current Nu Skin Parking.

I have attached the following picture to show the current progress.

Spetember 20th Update

The progress of this week has been a significant effort to put in place the rebar reinforcement for the exterior walls.  If you look close in the picture towards the east and south walls or the walls to the left of the picture where the "Manlift" is you can see the rebar attached to the walls.  They are putting a significant effort into strengthening the walls so that they will hold the new roof and last for a significant time.  They have started to excavate to the east of the Nu Skin building to start to contruct the driveway to the underground parking.  Those of you that attended the Utah County multi Stake conference heard Elder Walker say that the projected Dedication date is in 2015.  To restore the building will be a long and drawn out process.

Progress Sept. 11, 2012

Here is a picture of the progress on the Temple.  They are spending a considerable amout of time adding support and structural strength to the existing exterior walls.  I have watched them lift a significant amount of rebar and put it in place as support.  They have started to excavate just to the east of the Nu Skin highrise to start to prepare for the enterance to the future underground parking structure.  Nu Skin has sped up the progress of building a new parking structure on the corner of 1st South and 2nd West so that the current parking structure to the south of our building and west of the Temple can be demoalished to allow for the underground parking. Currently the annex between the parking and our building has been removed.  I will keep you posted as I see any major developments.

Removing the Final Tower Roof

Today I noticed that the crane was moving near the final tower and so I was not going to miss them removing the last of the 4 tower roofs.  It took about 30 minutes for them to hook everything up and start to lift the roof but I did not miss this one.  See the Video below

The video had to be down sized to be able to upload it so it does not capture the whole removal and setting it on the ground to the east with the other three tower roofs. 

Here is a picture of the building now with all towers removed and they are starting to build structural supports inside.

Removing the Tower Caps

I mentioned in my last post that they had brought in a large crane and were doing work on the upper exterior walls.  I noticed the other day that workers were up inside the towers and that they were cutting holes in the roof and I could see that they were placing I-beam struts in a cross position in the roofs of the towers and eventually would hook the crane to the beams and lift the roofs off of the towers and place them on the ground.  I wish that I had been paying closer attention and actually watched them lift them off but missed that, (I guess I do have to work while sitting in my office.)  Today they are hauling out the old brick that was removed from the interior as you can see the trucks in the lower corner of the picture.

The 2 east towers have had the roofs removed.

You can see the two tower roofs sitting on the ground in the middle of the picture, one is behind the tree.  Sorry the large white item in the lower left is a reflection off the window of papers in my office.

Bringing in the heavy artillery!

The last couple of days the construction company assembled a large crane across the street to the south of the Temple and today drove it across the street and around the building into position north of the Temple project to start moving heavy material in and out of the building. 

The crane stands a good 10 stories tall as it is as tall as our building.  The work of dismantling an interior wall continues and the brick is being moved outside the building and the good bricks are being stacked on pallets for future use.  It appears to me that they are removing any damaged portion of the exterior walls and will start to reinforce the walls and move forward with the interior excavation, but what I do know I am an accountant!  Hopefully the crane stays on their side of the fence or my office could be easily rearranged.

Work on the brick walls has started

As I stated in my last post that they were starting to haul scaffling into the empty Tabernacle shell and I have noticed lately that it appears that they are starting to remove damaged bricks from the walls and are hauling them out into the yard.  It also looks like they have been working at cleaning out more of the debry in the interrior of the building.  I believe that this is going to be a long slow process of restoration.

You can see the workers on the near corner working on the top of the exposed walls.

The pile of bricks and other material removed from the interrior.

June Update

I have been out of the country and also there has not been a lot of activity at the new Temple lot.  I thought that I would give a little update so that you did not think I had gone away.  Over the last couple of weeks they came in and put up a new fence around the property, removed all of the trees that lined University Avenue and 1st South.  They also removed a couple of the older trees that were to the north.  I noticed that they have started to move in and out of the interrior more often and today with a Bobcat were hauling gravel inside.  There has been a load of scaffling that is now stacked to the north of the building (may be hidden in the shadow in the picture below) also today 1st south was closed to public access.  Maybe we will start to see more activity.

Ground Breaking Ceremony

I have been out of the office for over a week and missed the Ground Breaking for the Provo City Center Temple.

I have added a link to KSL reporting on the day in Provo - http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=20377032&title=provo-temple-to-celebrate-history-convention-center-opens-doors

We should start to see things happening around here now!

Not Much Activity - Other than across the street

I have noticed very little activity on or around the Tabernacle block the last few days, it should be picking up as it gets closer to the May 12th Temple Ground Breaking Ceremony.

However, across the street at the Nu Skin Complex, today was the "Topping Off Ceremony" at the Nu Skin Innovation Center which is being build just west of the Nu Skin office and will occupy the remainder of the 1st West and Center street block sharing the back property with the Temple Grounds.  The ceremony consists of raising the last beam to the highest location on the building.  Since we are an international company, it is an European tradition that an evergreen tree "a symbol of growth and new life" be placed at the top of the beam.  The beam bares the signatures of any employee and company dignitary who wanted sign it, (mine is currently the 24th in longevity - 23 years as of last Tuesday!

I have attached pictures of the ceremony

The Old Boiler House and Smoke Stack are Gone!

As I mentioned previously there were 2 gentlemen in manlifts manually breaking down the smoke stack to the old boiler and furnace for the Tabernacle.  I arrived this morning to a large trackhoe tearing down the boiler building and the remaining 20 feet or so of the smoke stack.  I watched for a minute standing next to my truck parked in the parking terrace but soon realized that I would be dusted out so I moved up to a conference room above for a view. I suspect that Lisa's washing of my truck last week is now worthless!

See pictures below of the morning activities.  I have noticed also that they have moved more contruction trailers over on to the south lot, you can also see them in the pictures.  I beleive that things will really start to move soon.

Grounds clean up and prep

The current activity is the cleaning up of the grounds to the north and south of the Tabernacle also the dismantling of the smoke stack of the old boiler.  They have cleared and smoothed the area of the buried foundation and have moved over to the south side of 1st west to smooth the area that will be part of the parking area.  I noticed Friday that they have started to dismantle the old and smoke stack, I have included some pictures 2 of which are not really the view from my window but thought they would give you better perspective of the progress.

Temple Ground Breaking date set and old foundation is buried.

It is a snowy Spring day in Provo, welcome to Utah!  the church has announced the official ground breaking for the new Temple. (See Article below) Also the old Tabernacle foundation is officially covered.  They removed half of it to keep the stones and the other half they covered the floor in plastic then buired it.  See Below

LDS Church announces temple groundbreaking

• 

An artist's rendering of the Provo Tabernacle reconstructed as a temple. The tabernacle, gutted by fire in 2010, will be the second temple in Provo when completed. Ph: Intellectual Reserve

Related Links

• Related: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Related: History of the location of the Provo Tabernacle

PROVO -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday that the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Provo City Center Temple will be at 9 a.m. on May 12.
Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will be the presiding authority.
Church spokesman Scott Trotter said people will need tickets to attend the actual ceremony, but it will be broadcast into stake centers in and around Provo. Tickets can be acquired through local church leaders within the new temple district. The new district boundaries have yet to be released.
Provo will be busy that day as the new Utah Valley Convention Center will hold its grand opening and open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. just two blocks from the temple groundbreaking.
Trotter did not specify how long construction will take or what the temple complex will look like; however he did indicate it would be typical to other temple construction timelines, which would put the Provo City Center Temple completed by or before 2015.
Mayor John Curtis said he has anticipated this day since the LDS Church announced the burned-out tabernacle would become a temple.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the enthusiasm at the groundbreaking exceeds the sense of loss at the time of the fire. The same neighbors that came together to mourn will now gather to celebrate," Curtis said.
Curtis added, "I would never call the fire a blessing, but we are very fortunate that the LDS Church has chosen to make the most out of the situation. The new temple will be a wonderful addition to the downtown area and a beautiful gateway into the city. This is indeed a gift to the community. Like the tabernacle before it, the new temple will touch the lives of thousands who will then carry special memories of Provo wherever they go throughout the world."
The Provo Tabernacle was gutted by fire on Dec. 17, 2010, after improperly stored sound and video equipment sparked an accidental blaze. Church officials deliberated the future of the burned-out landmark for several months before making a surprise announcement at general conference in October.
The temple campus will include property the church has acquired between 100 and 200 South and the closure of a portion of 100 South between University Avenue and 100 West.
Interest in the temple, its history and it relationship to the community has been heightened by the fire and subsequent temple announcement. A number of special projects have been held prior to the construction announcement.
For instance, the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences and The Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University are conducting oral history interviews and collecting stories about downtown Provo and the Provo Tabernacle. The project will document changes on Provo's Center Street and in the Provo Tabernacle over the years.
The BYU Office of Public Archeology and the LDS Church History Department have just concluded a five-month excavation, which unearthed the original foundation of the first tabernacle circa 1860. Senior art classes at BYU have selected the burned-out tabernacle as the subject for their senior projects and downtown art exhibit.
Once the temple is completed and dedicated, only members of the LDS Church with current temple recommends will be allowed inside.

Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/lds-church-announces-temple-groundbreaking/article_6f458076-9ef3-536b-848d-72aa3bb26f86.html#ixzz1rH5SGgyX

Demolition on the foundation begins

I heard the sounds of heavy equipment from my office this afternoon and noticed that they have started demoliton of the Old Taberbacle Foundation. I do not know what was ever decided on saving the stones to give to Provo City.  I also noticed this morning that there were men who looked like engineers with charts and cameras getting ready to enter the burned out Tabernacle.  There have also been a couple of heavy duty Manlifts brought in the grounds. I can see a few gentlemen in white shirts walking the area so it looks like there is starting to be more action in regards to the future Temple.  There has been talk of a possible ground breaking for the Temple construction later in the month.

Update of the Tabernacle Progress

The word is that they are nearing the end of the research around the old Tabernacle foundation and will be burying it and getting ready for the Temple Ground Breaking.  I have included an article from the Provo Daily Herald about people wanting to preserve the foundation and a picture of articles found that they displayed on a table.  I do not want to cause a stir but will give a little personal commentary - I appreciate the old and the efforts of the research related to the old Tabernacle and to learn more of it's history, but most of us never knew anything about it and to leave it there in the middle of new Temple grounds will take away from what can be done to beautify the area. Sometimes history preservation gets in the way of progress!  Now I am off my soapbox :)

Article -

PROVO -- As a young girl, Raquel Smith Callis found solace reading under a big sycamore tree at the Provo Tabernacle park grounds. She called it her Promising Tree. As a college student she often found her way to the tree to collect bark, leaves and other clean litter to create art. In October a backhoe ripped out the sycamore so archaeologists could unearth the foundation of the city's first tabernacle. Now Smith Callis and others are working to save that foundation from the same backhoe, including circulating a petition inviting residents to request that the foundation be left intact.

On Tuesday The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that it is unearthing the foundation in preparation for the temple groundbreaking. The foundation will be donated to the city to be used elsewhere to remind residents and visitors about the area's pioneer heritage. The church plans to offer the foundation rocks to the city for its use. The city now has to figure out what it's going to do and how much it is going to cost.

"The date of the temple groundbreaking is pending," church spokesman Scott Trotter said. "Artifacts from the excavation will be displayed at BYU once they are processed and documented."

As of yet the LDS Church has not made application to the city for a building permit that would detail the plans for the Provo City Center Temple. Smith Callis and others are hoping the petition and a community picnic doubling as a peaceful demonstration Thursday will get the attention of the LDS Church leadership and city leaders to their desire to leave the foundation site intact and in place.

According to the State Historical Society, the definition of preservation is keeping what it is where it's at. To move the stones or dismantle walls and steps would take away the historical value.

"We're hoping a compromise could be made," Smith Callis said. "I value local history, and to see it unearthed is amazing."

Smith Callis added that her emotional attachment increased after taking a tour with more than 100 others on Tuesday evening. The tour guide indicated the roots of Smith Callis's tree grew so as not to disturb the foundation. Smith Callis sees it as sign of the importance of the site.

"All that time I was sitting on top of this," she said. "If this was in Salt Lake it would be preserved."

Susan Krueger-Barber was on that same tour. She immediately started plans for a petition to keep the foundation at the site.

"I want to see if they would even preserve just one wall," Krueger-Barber said. "I want to see if people care. It's valuable to keep for the history of our town."

Some ways of using the foundation include making a step-down garden to memorialize the people who used their hands to build it, according to Krueger-Barber.

Smith Callis added she wants her children to be able to put their hands on the stones of history. "We must somehow preserve a way for our children to connect to their heritage."

According to Rich Talbot, director of the Office of Public Archaeology at Brigham Young University, preserving it as way for children to connect to their heritage was one reason LDS President Brigham Young had them build it in the manner it was in the first place.

"Brigham Young wanted the youth to see the heritage of their parents," Talbot said.

However, Talbot also said, "There is nothing that would add to the spirit of a temple more than showing what the pioneers built. As a temple experience people are able to step down and touch the walls and understand how important the meeting house was."

Provo Councilman Sterling Beck said he has been to the site a couple of times.

"I took my Scouts there a couple of weeks ago." He said the big question is if the Provo Historical Preservation Committee had the ability to keep the foundation on the church's property.

Area residents interested in joining the picnic at the tabernacle are invited to bring their blankets and food and meet between 5:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday

Read more: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/provo-residents-petition-to-save-old-tabernacle-site/article_ff83b13a-0e92-59c9-b788-72acdacc2061.html#ixzz1qdJjDPdx

Church releases the name of the new Temple in Provo

Here is an article that was in the Provo Daily Herald newspaper -

It's not the templenacle: New Provo temple named

PROVO -- After months of speculation and guessing games The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has confirmed the official name of the new Provo temple.

"The name of the temple is the Provo City Center Temple," church spokesman Scott Trotter said.

While official construction and completion dates have yet to be announced, Jacobsen Construction has been named as the contractor for the building. Excavation of the 1800s meeting house just north of the tabernacle is nearly completed.

Last week the city approved surplusing 100 South adjacent to the land owned by the church to the north and south. The church anticipates acquiring that property and the Nu Skin parking garage west of the tabernacle. Nu Skin officials also have announced a new parking facility farther west on 100 South for their employees.

The Provo City Center Temple will be the second temple in Provo. The Provo Temple sits northeast of Brigham Young University and directly east of the Missionary Training Center.

 

March 23rd Update

It has been a little while since I have posted any updates or pictures of the view from my window.  They continue to work on the old Tabernacle and have cleared the area very well and continue to sift through the soil.  It now appears that they have started to look in areas outside of the original area as shown in one of the pictures today.  The other day they set up a table at noon and displayed items that were found. I was away from the office and missed the display.  Still not a lot of activity on the Temple.  Provo City did announce this past week that they will allow the closing of 1st South so that the Temple grounds can be expanded south.

This Week's Update March 5th

The work on excavation of the original Tabernacle continues.  As you can see from the picture below they have cleared out most of the dirt and you can see the total interrior of the foundation and area that the building occupied.  They spent most of last week under small shelters as it was stormy working on the north end which is the left side of the picture.  They were in the area that looks like a enterance.  They continue to sift through the dirt looking to see what can be found.  Still no major activity on the main Tabernacle builing, I do see people walking in and out on occasion.  As I said in a previous post, Nu Skin has made an arrangement with the Church so that the Nu Skin Parking terrace to the west of the site will be demolished and new under ground parking will be build for Nu Skin to the west across what is now 1st west, also a parking terrace will be build on the corner of 1st south and 1st west which will connect to the Nu Skin underground parking.  The word now is that the Church will build underground parking on the property south of the site and 1st south will be closed off.  Nu Skin will have a large green space and park between the current highrise and the new parking and most of the block to the west. So when you will enter the area to both Nu Skin and the Temple it will be all walking area similar to SLC downtown between the Church Office and the SLC Temple.  (No official plans have been released)

Removing a Tree Stump

This morning I could hear the noise of heavy equipment working and would feel the building shake a few times.  I looked out my window to see that they were trying to remove the stump of a large Sycamore tree that had grown up right in the middle of the orginal Tabernacle.  They succeeded and will continue to excavate and explore for any artifacts that they can find.

Link to Aritcle in the Deseret News

For all you who do not take the Deseret News or access the newspaper on the web, today's paper carried an article about the work going on at the site of the orginal Tabernacle in Provo.  See link below:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865550303/BYU-students-help-uncover-buried-treasures-from-Provos-first-tabernacle-torn-down-in-1919.html?pg=1

Update of the Excavation activities

I noticed today that there was an increase in the number of workers that were working on the excavation of the original Tabernacle.  They have cleared about a third of the area to what looks like it is the sub foundations to the walls.  The area to the southwest or righthand corner of the excavation, you can see is the most cleared area.  I noticed them sticking markers near various locations and taking pictures, not quite sure what they are looking at, but they must know :)

Information on the original Tabernacle

This post is not really from the view from my window but may be interesting, I have walked passed a monument on the northend of Tabernacle park for years and never really stopped to look at it.  Come to find out it is in honor of the original Tabernacle and gives the following information:

The ground breaking ceremony was in 1856
The Tabernacle was started 3 years later and finished in 1867
It was dedicated by then President John Taylor
The new Tabernacle was build in 1883
The original building was used for a fews years later
It was demonished in 1919

Very few people knew of this building until the news releases of the current historical excavation.

Workers carefully excavating the floor of original Tabernacle

Today I noticed the workers very carefully digging around what appears to be parts of the old floor of the original Tabernacle.  They will dig up dirt and then run it through a strainer to see if there are any fracments or items of interest remaining in the dirt. It appears to me that they are finding the bases of the original interrior walls.

A Picture of the original Provo Tabernacle that they are unearthing it's foundation

Here is a picture of the original Provo Tabernacle that is currently having the foundation unearthed.  It sits just Northwest of current location of the burned out Tabernacle and faces North to South.

My first Post from the view from my Window

Many of you know that my office window overlooks the Provo Tabernacle Park.  I just happened to be in SLC the day the Tabernacle burned down, but have waited with anticipation for what would become of the historic building.  We now know that the Church is in the process of rebuilting the Tabernacle to be another Temple in Provo.  I mentioned to Lisa last night that there has been a drastic change to area around the building in the last 2 weeks that I have been away, she said that I maybe should monitor the progress from my office window and let people who are not near by see the progress of the transformation.  So here goes my attempt to let you all see "The View from my Window"

In the last two weeks they have a project to un earth the foundation of the very first Tabernacle built in Provo which sits just north and west of the current building.