{{Short description|LDS General Conference Meetingplace}} {{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox venue | name = The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center | image = [[File:LDS Conference Center interior panoramic.jpg|300px]] | caption = Conference Center interior looking towards the rostrum and [[Schoenstein Organ at the Conference Center|organ]]. | nickname = Conference Center | location = 60 W. North Temple <br/>[[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]] | coordinates = | type = [[Theater]] | built = | opened = April 1, 2000<ref name="Event Facilities">{{cite web |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/events/temple-square/event-facilities/conference-center?lang=eng |title= Conference Center |work= churchofjesuschrist.org |publisher= LDS Church |access-date= 23 March 2021}}</ref><br/>October 8, 2000 (building dedication) | expanded = | closed = | demolished = | architect = [[ZGF Architects LLP]]<ref>Dietsch, Deborah. [https://issuu.com/zgfarchitectsllp/docs/lds_conferencecenter?e=5145747/2720771 "Building The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center"], ''Edizioni Press'', 2002. Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref> | broke_ground = 24 July 1997<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2000/10/the-conference-center-this-new-and-wonderful-hall?lang=eng|title=The Conference Center: "This New and Wonderful Hall"|last=Searle|first=Don L.|date=October 2000|access-date=26 August 2014}}</ref> | owner = [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] | construction_cost = | former_names = | seating_type = Reserved by Section | seating_capacity = 21,000<ref name="Event Facilities" /> | website = [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/locations/temple-square-conference-center Conference Center] | public_transit = [[Temple Square (UTA station)|Temple Square Trax Station]] }}
[[File:LDS Conference Center-up.jpg|thumb|right|300px|View of Conference Center [[spire]] taken from the south, from North Temple St., [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]].]]
The '''Conference Center''', in [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], is the premier meeting hall for [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church). Completed in 2000, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby [[Salt Lake Tabernacle]], built in 1868, for the church's twice-yearly [[General Conference (LDS Church)|general conference]] and other major gatherings, [[fireside (LDS Church)|devotionals]], and events.<ref name=NYTimes>Niebuhr, Gustav. [https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/06/us/new-structure-symbolizes-mormon-growth.html "New Structure Symbolizes Mormon Growth"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 6 February 2000. Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2005/08/news-of-the-church/tabernacle-choir-getting-to-know-unique-conference-center |title= Tabernacle Choir Getting to Know Unique Conference Center |access-date= 2009-02-11 |work =News from the Church}}</ref>
== Features ==
The {{Convert|1,400,000|sqft|m2|abbr=|adj=on}} Conference Center seats 21,200 people in its main [[auditorium]]. This includes the [[Podium|rostrum]] behind the [[pulpit]] facing the audience, which provides seating at general conference for [[General authority|general authorities]] and [[Auxiliary organization (LDS Church)|general officers]] of the church and the 360-voice [[Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square]]. The auditorium is large enough to hold a [[Boeing 747]] in the space between the seats and the rear of the stage.<ref name=NYTimes /> All seats in the audience have an unobstructed view of the pulpit because the roof is held up by radial [[truss]]es.<ref name=AISC>{{Cite web|url=http://msc.aisc.org/globalassets/modern-steel/archives/2000/10/2000v10_building_to_last.pdf|title=Building to Last|last=Charlton|first=Nathan|date=October 2000|website=Modern Steel Construction|page=3/5|access-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> The balcony is supported by a series of 34 cantilevers.<ref name=AISC /> This construction method allows the balcony to sink {{convert|5/8|in|mm}} under full capacity. Behind the podium is a 7,708-pipe and 130-rank Schoenstein [[Schoenstein Organ at the Conference Center|pipe organ]]. Underground is a parking garage that can hold 1,400 cars. A modernist, three-story chandelier hangs in a skylight in the interior of the building. A waterfall descends from the spire. [[City Creek (Utah)|City Creek]] flows in a rough-hewn riverbed, complementing the Conference Center.
On the third floor of the Conference Center there are busts of current and past [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|church presidents]] and photographs of church leaders; photographs of female church leaders were added in 2014.<ref>{{citation |first= Peggy Fletcher |last= Stack |author-link= Peggy Fletcher Stack |date= March 20, 2014 |title= A first: Photos of Mormon women leaders in Conference Center |url= http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/57702450-180/leaders-women-church-center.html.csp |newspaper= [[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |access-date= April 30, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140424173119/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/57702450-180/leaders-women-church-center.html.csp |archive-date= April 24, 2014 |url-status= dead }}</ref>
Because the building sits near the base of Salt Lake City's [[Capitol Hill (Salt Lake City)|Capitol Hill]], the roof is landscaped for attractiveness, an extension of [[the Gardens at Temple Square]]. About {{Convert|3|acre|m2|lk=on}} of grass and hundreds of trees have been planted on the roof. Twenty-one native grasses were employed to conserve water and showcase local foliage. The rooftop garden includes a central garden of rectangular planters of aspen and conifers with long runnels and basins of water.<ref>Roth, Dave. [https://www.greenroofs.com/projects/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-lds-conference-center/ "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Conference Center"], ''GreenRoofs.com'', 11 September 2018. Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref> The landscaping is meant to echo the mountains and meadows of Utah.
=== Conference Center Theater === [[Image:Conference Center Theater, entrance (looking north) - Salt Lake City, Utah - 23 May 2025 (cropped).jpg|thumb|250px|The Conference Center Theater]] Attached to the main building on the northwest corner is the 900-seat Conference Center Theater that can be used as a dedicated theater or as an overflow room.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/events/temple-square/event-facilities/conference-center-theater?lang=eng "Conference Center Theater"], ''churchofjesuschrist.org'', 2021. Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref>
== Planning and construction == Plans "for construction at some indefinite date of a 30,000-seat auditorium of the block north of Temple Square" were first announced at the October 1951 General Conference by church president [[David O. McKay]] as part of his worldwide building effort.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3UBXLIkLEQwC&q=David+O.+McKay+and+the+Rise+of+Modern+Mormonism|title=David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism|last1=Prince|first1=Gregory A.|last2=Wright|first2=William Robert|date=2005|publisher=University of Utah Press|isbn=9780874808223|p=202}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Record crowds expected to attend LDS meeting |work=Salt Lake Tribune |date=1 October 1951}}</ref> The designs were solicited by church architect Leland A. Gray in the early 1990s, in conjunction with [[Gordon B. Hinckley]] who then became church president in 1995.<ref>[https://religionnews.com/2000/01/01/news-feature-new-mormon-conference-center-large-but-intimate/ "New Mormon Conference Center: Large But Intimate"], ''[[Religion News Service]]'', 1 January 2000. Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref> The LDS Church originally sought a 26,000-seat building no more than {{Convert|75|ft|m}} high in accord with [[zoning]] regulations for the church-owned {{Convert|10|acre|m2}} block immediately north of [[Temple Square]].
Hinckley publicly announced the project in the April 1996 general conference. The final plans, completed in late 1996, featured 21,200 seats in the main hall, with 905 in the side theater. The design of the Conference Center was accomplished by Portland, Oregon-based [[Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership]].<ref>[https://www.zgf.com/project/the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-conference-center/ "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Conference Center"], ''ZGF.com'', Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref> Auerbach & Associates of San Francisco was responsible for theater design and architectural lighting.<ref>{{citation |url= http://www.architectureweek.com/2001/0207/design_1-1.html |journal= ArchitectureWeek |title= LDS Conference Center Welcomes the Faithful |first= Clair |last= Enlow |date= February 7, 2001 |issue= 37 }}</ref>
Contracting for the building was done by Jacobsen, Layton, and Oakland—three Salt Lake City construction firms.<ref>[https://www.okland.com/markets/sports-events/lds-conference-center/ "LDS Conference Center"], ''Okland Construction'', Retrieved on 23 March 2021.</ref> The three companies submitted a joint bid in order to compete with national firms. The companies jointly operated under the name "Legacy Constructors" after winning the contract in late 1996.
Demolition of existing LDS Church properties on the site began May 1997. Deseret Gym—a [[YMCA]]-like [[gym]]nasium—and the Mormon Handicraft store had to be razed for the project.
Ground was broken July 24, 1997. This date coincided with the 150th anniversary of [[Mormon pioneer]]s entering the [[Salt Lake Valley]], an event celebrated in Utah as [[Pioneer Day (Utah)|Pioneer Day]].
=== Little Cottonwood Canyon controversy === [[Image:Lds conference center panoramic view slc utah.jpg|thumb|400px|Conference Center from its southwest corner]] Although the Conference Center is a modern [[steel]] [[truss]] and [[rebar]]-based design without need for [[masonry]] support, the LDS Church sought slabs of [[quartz monzonite]], a form of granite, to clad all exterior walls. Specifically, the church wanted granite to match rock quarried more than a hundred years earlier to build the adjacent [[Salt Lake Temple]]. Therefore, the church requested a permit to quarry granite from [[Little Cottonwood Canyon]] southeast of Salt Lake City. The [[Salt Lake County, Utah|Salt Lake County]] Commission granted a two-year permit on condition that extraction not interfere with the [[skiing|ski]] season. Critics of the extraction argued that the quarry harmed the environment and burdened residents while endangering drivers through Little Cottonwood Canyon below.
Quarrying began May 28, 1998. The quarry location was further up the canyon from where stone was extracted for the Salt Lake Temple.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hunt |first=Kathie |date=July 14, 1999 |title=LDS Church given approval to extend quarry |url=https://universe.byu.edu/1999/07/14/lds-church-given-approval-to-extend-quarry/ |work=[[The Universe (student newspaper)|The Universe]] |location=Provo, Utah |access-date=September 3, 2018}}</ref> Although court filings challenged the legality of extracting the granite (specifically attacking Salt Lake County's authority to issue permit), the project was interrupted only by winter weather. The church finished quarrying by November 1999. Over {{Convert|300,000|sqft|m2}} of granite was extracted. The granite was quarried by Idaho Travertine (now Yellowstone Rock) and subsequently cut into slabs at their Idaho Falls Facility for use as the facade of the building. There was not enough granite extracted from the [[Little Cottonwood Canyon]] quarry for the entire project, so extra granite was brought in from the mid-west and used for the flooring. [[File:ConferenceCenterRoof.jpg|thumb|The [[green roof]] of the Conference Center]]
=== Completion === The [[Salt Lake City Tornado]] hindered construction on August 11, 1999. Construction cranes toppled at the work site, and four injuries to crew were reported.
Construction was complete enough for the building to be used for the 170th annual general conference on April 1 and 2, 2000. The [[pipe organ]] was not yet operational, so the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]] was accompanied by an [[electric organ]] amplified through the center's speaker system. Hinckley remarked in his opening address that over 370,000 people had inquired about tickets for the center's inaugural general conference. He also related that a [[black walnut]] tree that he had planted decades earlier in his backyard provided wood for the pulpit of the new center.
The Conference Center was completed later in the year and formally dedicated on October 8, during the 170th semiannual general conference. As part of the event, the dedicatory prayer was followed by a "[[hosanna shout]]"—a show of gratitude that dates to the early days of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]]. The shout involves participants waving white [[handkerchief]]s while repeating "Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna, to God and the Lamb" three times. Though it had been used in public before, such as during the capstone ceremony for the Salt Lake Temple and at the church centennial celebration in 1930, before this public broadcast of the hosanna shout, some assumed it was exclusively related to [[Temple (LDS Church)|temple]] dedications, which are not accessible to non-Latter-day Saints. The Conference Center dedication demonstrated that the hosanna shout, although considered sacred by the Latter-day Saints, is not necessarily used exclusively in temple-related settings.
=== Schoenstein Organ at the Conference Center === {{main|Schoenstein Organ at the Conference Center}}
This organ is internationally significant, both because of its role in accompanying choirs in conferences, and also in that it is one of only a few organs in the world that has registers of pipes extending down into the 64' series, the 64' Contra Trombone and 64' Contra Gamba, which both extend 4 pipes down to GGGGG#, 13 semitones below the lowest note on a standard piano. The tallest pipe used to produce this note is approximately 40 feet (5 stories) tall. This organ also has many other unique features, including full-compass manual 32' reed and flute registers, double expression, and many heroic voices on high pressure. High pressures are used throughout the organ due to the monumental amount of sound needed to project out into an auditorium of this size.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}
==See also== {{Portal|Latter Day Saint movement}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{citation |first= Carly M. |last= Springer |date= September 8, 2014 |title= 30 Things You Didn't Know about the Conference Center |url= http://www.ldsliving.com/story/76671-30-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-conference-center |journal= [[LDS Living]] }} * {{cite book |last= Halverson |first= W. Dee |title= The LDS Conference Center |year= 2000 |publisher= DMT Publishing |location= Salt Lake City |isbn= 978-0-9705023-0-8 |oclc= 45206328}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Conference Center (Salt Lake City)}} {{Spoken Wikipedia|en-ldsconferencecenter.ogg|date=2007-01-16}} *{{Commons-inline|Conference Center}} * {{Official website|1=https://www.templesquare.org/eng/buildings/conference-center}} * [https://www.utah.com/things-to-do/attractions/mormon/lds-conference-center/ LDS Conference Center - Mormon Sites - Utah.com] * ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20101009094541/http://www.byutv.org/watch/839-100 Set in Stone: Architectural Beauties of the Conference Center]'', a documentary on the Conference Center from [[BYU TV]] * [https://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=53405 American Society Landscape Architects] 2003 Awards: Conference Center's Green Roof
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lds Conference Center}} [[Category:20th-century Latter Day Saint church buildings]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Salt Lake City]] [[Category:Event venues established in 2000]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures in Salt Lake City]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah]] [[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 2000]]