Brigham City Utah Temple Art Glass

I went to the Brigham City Utah Temple yesterday.  I took some time to photograph the temple and particularly its art glass windows.  If you haven't been, the windows are very beautiful.  They are geometric with the exception of the peach blossom windows.  As I looked at the windows I noticed one detail that appears to be symbolic in ordinary looking windows.

On the first level the windows are all rectangular.  The photo of this door is an example.  Around the edge of the first level windows there is a border that has single small squares every so often.

One level up, on the second floor, there are circular peach blossom windows that go into the dressing rooms.  On the towers there are also some arched windows.  This already shows progressed from rectangular windows to arched and circular windows.  Otherwise the windows are very similar in style to the lower level, with one interesting variation - the decorative border glass now has 2 small squares together instead of one.  This is also true on the peach blossom windows.

Now go up to the top level of the temple and again you have arched windows with the same geometric art glass.  This time the decorative border glass has (as you've probably already guessed) 3 small squares together.

The pattern for the art glass appears to be that one square is used on the first level borders, 2 squares are used on the second level borders, and 3 squares are used on the third level borders.  There are several exceptions to this rule.  First, the front doors of the temple have 2 squares, probably because the doors are architecturally prominent.  Second, the large art glass window on the east side that goes into the Celestial Room has 2 squares on the bottom 1/3 of the window and 3 squares on the top 2/3 of the window.

So what do these squares mean.  Well, this is all speculation on my part, but I'll tell you what I see in it.  First, one, two and three squares probably signify the three heavens or degrees of glory.  Second, having more squares higher up on the temple implies progression.  Third, having 2 squares on the lower part of the main celestial room window and three squares higher up signifies progression in the celestial kingdom with various divisions in it (a similar thing was done in the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple using stars).

The one, two, and three theme is not exclusive to the art glass windows in the Brigham City Temple.  If you look carefully at the molding, tile, picture frames, etc. you will see dots used in the same way.  I had noticed this before when I was in a sealing room and thought the temple just used three dots.  Later I was using the restroom on the second level and noticed two dots in the tiles.  I assumed that they couldn't get three dot tile and had just used two dot tile to give the same dot pattern - until I looked closely at the exterior glass and realized that the two dots in the bathroom tile on the second level was probably intentional.

There are some of my thoughts and insights on the Brigham City Temple art glass and on the dot theme used in the temple.  If you would like to add anything, please comment.

The Brigham City Utah Temple

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Brigham City Utah Temple open house.  It was a wonderful experience and I'd like to share some of my impressions about this temple which was built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

First, if you haven't already, you can go to the following link and download photos of the interior:
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-brigham-city-utah-temple-opens-for-public-tours
That link will not stay up forever, so get the photos now if you want them.

I loved the detail in the Brigham City Temple.  The style is meant to tie back to the pioneer temples (Salt Lake, Logan, Manti and St George temples in Utah).  It does this through a number of features.  On the exterior, the two main towers with spires and four corner towers echo the pioneer temples.  On the interior, the neoclassical style feels similar to the ornate grandeur of the pioneer temples, particularly Salt Lake and Manti.

One detail I particularly liked was the use of a cast bronze font instead of the white fiberglass fonts that have been used in recent years.  I like that it makes it look more like the fonts used from pioneer times through about the 1950s.  I also like it because as much as I like white oxen, you need to occasionally do something different.  It feels fresh and I like that.

Brigham City Temple Baptistry

While you are admiring the photo of the font, make sure that you notice the original paintings in this room.  There are a lot  of new paintings in this temple.  I particularly want to point out the painting of baptisms being performed in a river in the Brigham City area seen in the photo, and a painting of a Native American being confirmed in pioneer times which is also in the baptistry.  I also noticed several paintings of people harvesting fruit.  One was a lady placing apples in a basket.  These tied into the history of Brigham City which is known for its orchards, and they tie into the temple and gospel themes of gathering, fruit, harvest, etc.  In the Matron's office, which leads into the Bride's Room, there are some paintings of birds that were painted by President Boyd K. Packer, current president of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles who was raised in Brigham City and who used to go to school on the site the temple was built on.  I'm not sure if President Packer's love of birds influenced the endowment room murals, but they are full of numerous birds.  Brigham City is also home to a bird sanctuary and many varieties of birds are in the area due to the very close proximity of the Great Salt Lake and its tributaries.  I enjoyed the endowment room murals.

Brigham City Utah Temple Endowment Room A

This temple has a lot of ornate decorations.  This is very apparent in the second endowment room, essentially the Terrestrial Room, which is ornate enough to pass for a Celestial Room in most temples.  I really enjoyed the room.  If you look at the photos, notice the unique wood carving above the curtain.  It is also in the Celestial Room and Sealing Rooms.  The wood carving is extremely impressive in this temple.  The wood was rough carved by machine and then all finished my hand.  The detail is spectacular, and you really do have to see it in person to realize just how incredible it is.

The Celestial Room has stunning detail.  You can look at the photos.  If I remember correctly there are gold peach branches on the ceiling of the room.  I also noticed that the cream on white "wallpaper" appeared to be hand painted stenciling and not wallpaper.  The sculpted peach blossoms in the carpet were also beautifully done.

Brigham City Temple Sealing Room

The sealing rooms were probably my favorite part of this temple.  The photos the church has provided unfortunately skip the best part.  The ceilings of the room have a circular section painted blue with peach branches in bloom running over the top.  So looking up from the altar it looks like you are laying under a peach tree looking through the white and pink blossoms towards a clear blue sky.  I used to have a peach tree and loved it in spring, so I really liked this detail.  Also, if I remember correctly, the peach branches on the ceiling were also in the Celestial Room, but only in the sealing room were they fully in bloom with colorful blossoms.  So I liked that symbolism.  The sealing rooms may be my favorite of any temple, although I'm not certain about that.  The detail is stunning.

There are many other aspects of this temple that I loved.  I liked the unifying peach blossom motif.  The intricate stone inlays were beautifully crafted.  Many colors were incorporated into the temple making it more interesting than the white and off white color schemes found in most temples, while still being light and inspiring.  The stained glass is really beautiful.  Also, the railings and woodwork are very nicely done and detailed.

I could go on, and perhaps I will later add some to this post.  For now, I'd like to hear what your thoughts are on this spectacularly done temple.  So please comment.

One final note, the detail in this temple makes me optimistic that someday they will restore the Logan Temple with this level of detail.  Clearly we can still build temples as ornate as the pioneers.

The New Two-Spire Temple Style

I love seeing the new renderings for temples planned to be built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  This week the press leaked the rendering of the Payson Utah Temple (the church confirmed that this is indeed the temple rendering, but that it wasn't supposed to be released until next month).  The church also broke ground on the Trujillo Peru Temple and Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple this week.  Pictures can be seen here, or later in this post for Philadelphia.

The Payson Temple looks like it may be a modified version of the Draper Utah and Gilbert Arizona Temples, but it could be unique.  The Trujillo Peru Temple is clearly the same style as the Cordoba Argentina and Phoenix Arizona Temples.  Then there is the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple which is one of the new two-spire style temples along with the Kansas City Missouri Temple, Brigham City Utah Temple, Rome Italy Temple and at least one other temple that hasn't had its design publicly revealed.  As a refresher, here are renderings of these 4 temples:

Kansas City Missouri Temple Rendering

Brigham City Utah Temple Rendering

Rome Italy Temple Rendering

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple Rendering

The main element that ties all of these temples together is the use of two spires to represent the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.  Many Latter-day Saint temples have used either two spires, or two sets of three spires to represent the Priesthoods.  It is nice to see this symbolism returning to temples.

I think this new style of temple is distinctly Latter-day Saint and iconic.  These temples are taller with 3-4 stories in addition to a basement.  Their shape accentuates their height, as do the twin spires.  I like the vertical soaring nature of these temples.  The first two make good use of detailed architectural precast concrete while Rome and Philadelphia appear to use stone.  Either way, the detailing is done well.

I like how the Kansas City Missouri Temple and Rome Italy Temple are both modern.  Rome seems more modern with its numerous curves, sleek design, and cutaway spire.  I think this was a good choice as Rome is so overwhelmed with classical and other architecture that it would have been difficult for the temple to stand out (in a good way) and not look contrived with classical or neoclassical architecture.  The Kansas City Temple, on the other hand, has a modern and somewhat simple exterior, but uses traditional pyramidal spires in addition to arches to visually link it to the Salt Lake and other pioneer temples.  This is fitting as it is being built where a lot of early church history occurred.

The Brigham City Utah Temple is obviously meant to look like a pioneer style temple.  The church has stated that it is a mix between the Salt Lake Temple, St. George Temple, Logan Temple, and Manti Temple.  This helps it fit in with the Box Elder Tabernacle across the street and with the history of the area.  At the same time, if you look at the temple closely you'll notice that it is a modern interpretation of the pioneer style.  Precast concrete is used.  Also, the way the spires taper, concrete details are recessed, and other elements of the building are shaped, are very modern.  Crenelations have been replaced by recessed triangles in the concrete panels.  The buttressing, although present, is somewhat subdued.  So I see the Brigham City Temple as a successful blend of the historic pioneer style temples and present day architecture.

The Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple is now the most classical (really neo-classical) of these temples (or any for that matter).  It looks like it could easily be 200 years old, and not like a modern take on a 200 year old building.  This appears to be intentional.  It helps the temple fit in a very historical city.  In the rendering you can see that the temple borrows elements from the building across the street (I think a court building).  It will also fit in with a nearby Catholic cathedral and other architecture in the area.  The spires should seem familiar.  They definitely fit in with spires in the city.  I can see that the architects have obviously borrowed elements from the spire of Independence Hall, also in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were written and signed and where the Liberty Bell once hung.

I love the fine details of the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple, and look forward to seeing them in more detail.  I love the fluted columns with Corinthian capitals (I hope they are unique capitals).  I like the mixture or rectangular and cylindrical columns and the clustering of columns at the front.  The window variety is also interesting.  I particularly like the elliptical windows along the fourth level.  There are other details such as the short parapet railing running along the roof line and repeated at two heights on each tower.    I also like the floral bunches (would you call this a wreath or a garland or something else?) on the towers and look forward to seeing what types of flowers are put into them.  I also look forward to seeing the fine details on the cornice.

I also like the large details of the temple.  The corners of the building have a weightier look that makes the building appear strong while at the same time making the center windows seem even more open and beautiful.  The first level is also made of massive blocks which gives it a weighty look.  This is a good architectural trick to give balance to an exterior and makes the temple look enduring.  The soaring spires, combined with the 4 stories and somewhat slender proportions, make the temple appear tall and grand in a great way.

I love the symbolism of this temple with its two spires based on Independence Hall.  This is fitting as Pennsylvania is where the U.S. government was set up with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution which we believe to be inspired by God.  The spires represent the priesthoods and remind us that Pennsylvania is also where the government of God, the priesthood, was restored to the earth in 1829.  The Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood were restored to the earth by John the Baptist and Peter, James and John respectively near Harmony Pennsylvania.

The whole interior of this temple should be interesting.  The Manhattan New York Temple's interior would fit the exterior architecture perfectly.  It borrowed the neoclassical elements from the Salt Lake Temple.  I would be happy if the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple also borrowed interior elements from the Salt Lake Temple.  The murals could also show the area around Harmony, Pennsylvania where the priesthoods were restored and where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were baptized.  Depictions of the priesthood restorations and baptisms would be great in murals.  Much of the translation of The Book of Mormon also happened in this state and should at least show up in a painting.  Also, the Founding Fathers who met at Independence Hall appeared in the St. George Utah Temple to have their temple work done.  I would add a picture of that event somewhere in the temple.

I really like the new two-spire temple style and hope that the church uses it for a while.  I think it is the best style in a long time.  Please comment and let us know what you think about this style of temple, the individual temples, or anything else in this post.

Brigham City Temple Site Announcement

The Brigham City Temple site has been announced. It will be built across the street from the Brigham City Tabernacle on the West side of Main Street.
I think this is a great site for the temple. The Brigham City Tabernacle is one of my favorite buildings and the Temple will pair well with it. I hope that the temple design echos the design of the Tabernacle with buttressing and numerous spires. It would also be nice if interior architectural details matched styles used in the Tabernacle. It doesn't have to, but since the Brigham City Tabernacle is such an attractive building I don't know why you wouldn't want to. Also, the church usually tries to make Temples nicer than the buildings around them. Basing the temple on the Tabernacle architecture would help make the temple not be overdone by the Tabernacle.
Whatever is done, I think this site is a wonderful place for the Brigham City Temple.