Kirtland Temple, Temple in Kirtland, US
Kirtland Temple is a house of worship with grey-blue exterior walls, red roofs and olive-green doors in Kirtland, Ohio. The building rises two main stories and follows the symmetrical lines of neoclassicism, with tall windows and wooden elements throughout the interior.
The building was finished in 1836 under the direction of Joseph Smith and became the first structure of its kind for the Latter Day Saint movement. Over the following decades, ownership changed hands several times and the building served different faith groups as a meeting place.
The temple takes its name from the settlement where church members gathered during the early 19th century. Today, visitors come to see the painted wooden pews and carved pulpits that show how an early American religious community arranged its meeting spaces.
Visitors can access both floors, with larger assembly spaces located on the lower level. Smaller rooms on the upper floor were originally intended for instruction and study purposes.
Community members broke dishes and glass pieces during construction and pressed them into the wet exterior plaster, so the surface glimmers when the sun hits it. Inside, Hebrew letters and Christian motifs appear on the walls, a combination that was uncommon in American houses of worship at that time.
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