Salt Lake Tabernacle

Completed in 1867, the Salt Lake Tabernacle is one of the most distinctive buildings of nineteenth-century America. The 250-foot-long elliptical roof, a vast wooden bowl visible from across the square, sits on 44 sandstone piers and contains a 7,000-seat auditorium remarkable for its acoustics — a pin dropped at the pulpit is audible at the back of the gallery.

The building is home to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (officially "The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square"), which has broadcast every Sunday since 1929 — the longest-running continuous network broadcast in US history. Free organ recitals, with the building's massive 1867 organ, are given daily at noon (12:30pm Sunday) and are well worth catching even if you have no interest in religion.

things to do sight architecture
A story
The Tabernacle's domed roof is supported by no internal columns. The structure relies on a lattice of timber arches pegged together with rawhide and wood pegs — nails were scarce in 1860s Utah. Architect Henry Grow had built bridges before designing churches; the roof is essentially a series of upside-down truss bridges.

Other places in Things to Do