Drive through any predominant LDS neighborhood in Utah and you'll see ward house after ward house that are almost exactly alike. The exterior finishes may vary, but the over all architecture and floor plan are all the same.
Not so with the chapel that I attended for most of my growing up years.
The Arlington Ward building on Inglewood Street was a beautiful building. I believe it was built in the late 1940s. The all red brick building on a slight hill at the corner Inglewood and 16th street. The entrance to the building was up several broad steps. At the top of the steps there was a covered area that was supported by large white columns. When you entered the building, there was a lobby with a set of stairs going up to the foyer into the chapel and another set of steps that went down to the classrooms.
The chapel itself was a traditional style. In it's early days, it was the walls were painted white. But in the 1960's, redecorating was done and the walls were painted yellow with a brown accent wall behind the choir seats. I remember that there was some grumbling by some ward members about the color choice. Since J. Willard Marriott, Sr. was our stake president at the time, some said the chapel looked like a Hot Shoppe (a restaurant owned by the Marriott.)
Off the chapel foyer, there was a hall that went past a coat room and into the Relief Society room. Off that hall was also a stairway that went up to a mezzanine that overlooked the gym. There were several classrooms on the mezzanine. The opening on the mezzanine that overlooked the gym was covered with heavy metal wire that resembled chicken coop wire. When decorating for ward dances, the wire often had napkins or squares of tissue paper stuffed in the openings.
The Junior Sunday School room (would currently be the Primary room), was on the lower floor under the chapel. The room was accessed from a downstairs hall. But there was also a small staircase at the front of the room that went up to chapel podium area. I think that the stair was there so make it easier for the Sacrament to be served to the children since the Sacrament prep area was upstairs by the podium. Children weren't suppose to run up and down the stairs....but we did....many times.
The Arlington Ward chapel was a beautiful building. It's still standing and in use today. A few years ago on a trip back east, my sister and I took time to go see the building. Lucky for us, an activity was just wrapping up and the building was open. Much of the building was as I remembered. But the chicken wire was gone and the mezzanine had been enclosed. A double door entry had been added to exterior gym entrance. There had been a few other structural changes as well. But it is still a beautiful building.
That building is beautiful, built almost entirely by the hands-on physical labor of the ward members rather than by professional contractors as is the norm today. Reading about it brings back many good memories. Next door to the building is a red brick colonial-style house with a large curved driveway and pillars across the front similar to those on the chapel. Many people assumed the house was the parsonage for our "minister."
ReplyDeleteThe Arlington chapel was not air conditioned when it was first built. During summer meetings, the windows would be opened, and everyone was given a cardboard fan with a religious picture on one side(gift of a local mortuary) to stir the air.
This reminds me of the BY Academy /Academy Square that's located on University Ave in Provo.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a student at BYU, many of my classes (I was a psych/special ed major)were held in this building. It was pretty run down then, but it was a beautiful building and I was sad to hear it was earmarked for razing a few years after I left. GUess it took about 20 years, but eventually it was rehabilitated. It took my breath away to see it in a remodeled state.
Around the time I arrived at BYU, developers wanted to demolish the LDS Tabernacle and put in a mall! (I mean, what was a mile further down the road? Farmland? Isn't that where they eventually put a mall?) Is the building to be rebuilt following the fire last year?
Now that I live in a city that was farmland up until 1945, I really appreciate these lovely old buildings and love to see them preserved, when posible.
Vicki, no decision has been made yet about the Provo tabernacle. At this point there are scaffolds supporting what remains of the brick exterior, and the waste from the fire has been removed. The Provo Town Center mall IS about a mile south, so it's hard to say what might become of the tabernacle property if the Church doesn't decide to rebuild.
ReplyDeleteIn talking with our oldest brother last night, we narrowed down the construction date of the Arlington chapel to somewhere between 1950 and 1952.
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