History, Use, and Design Features
The building was designed by George Cannon Young at a cost of $31 million to build. Construction took place from 1962 to 1972. Upon its completion, the Latter-day Saint leadership centralized the offices of the church in this location, which has facilitated the direction of their constantly expanding religious organization. Work performed within the building includes the production of church-related magazines, translation of church materials into numerous languages, regulation of missionary efforts, production of church films, and matters relating to the construction of temples, and more.
The lobby of the building is dominated by a massive mural depicting the Great Commission. The lobby also features a statue honoring pioneer sacrifices, which depicts a husband and wife burying an infant child. The inscription reads "That the struggles, sacrifices and the sufferings of the faithful pioneers and the cause they represented shall never be forgotten."
The first four floors of the building expand outward, to the west and east, to form wings. The north side of each of these wings are without windows, each having stone facades, with large ovals containing relief maps of the two hemispheres of the earth. On the tower itself, the southern, western, and eastern facades all feature a closely spaced vertical pinstripe pattern of cast quartzite columns flanking the narrow windows, visually reminiscent of the former World Trade Center in New York City, a contemporary structure. The building's northern facade is marked by a narrow blank wall in the center, indicating the building's elevator and service core, with the regular pinstripe pattern on either side. This central part of the tower rises two floors above the observation deck at the 26th floor, and protrudes outward slightly on the southern side.
The observation deck is open to the public for free, and provides a good view of Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, the Wasatch Mountains to the north and east, the skyline of the city to the south, the Oquirrh Mountains to the west, and Temple Square to the immediate west.
Visitors can also take a free tour of the gardens surrounding the building. The gardens are completely redesigned every six months, and feature an array of exotic plants and flowers.
Read more about this topic: Church Office Building
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