Temple Square, Religious complex in Salt Lake City, United States
Temple Square is a 10-acre walled complex in downtown Salt Lake City containing the Salt Lake Temple, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, the Seagull Monument and two visitors' centers. The temple, the largest and best-known of the church's operating temples, is the sixth built by the LDS Church and the fourth operating temple after the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.
The Salt Lake Temple construction began in 1853 and took 40 years to complete, with walls built from quartz monzonite stone blocks. The Tabernacle was finished decades earlier in the 1870s and served as the main gathering place while temple construction continued.
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, housed in the 1867 Salt Lake Tabernacle, has broadcast its weekly radio programme since 1929. Sister missionaries from around the world staff the visitors' centres and wear name tags bearing the flags of their home countries, a practice begun at the 2002 Winter Olympics. During the Christmas season about 100,000 lights are switched on each evening until 10 pm.
Visitors can explore the buildings and gardens free of charge, with guided tours available in more than 40 languages. Comfortable shoes are helpful since you will be walking across the entire site to see all areas.
Temple Square is the zero point of Salt Lake City's street grid: every address in the city is measured from its southeast corner. The square's 15-foot perimeter wall went up shortly after Brigham Young chose the block in 1847.
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