Salt Lake Temple renovation: 8 photos that show progress in July

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As of this month, the Salt Lake Temple renovation project has been underway for a year and a half.

The latest monthly update includes eight photos and short descriptions depicting various views of the Temple Square renovation and Church Office Building plaza projects in July, according to a news release Friday.

The iconic temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been closed for renovations since December 2019.

Views of the Salt Lake Temple excavation

“The lagging shown in the next photo, used to prevent cave-ins, helps contain all the soil pressure from the surrounding areas as the crews begin deeper excavation in preparation to construct three lower levels of the temple. These floors will include temple maintenance facilities, two baptistries, dressing rooms, sealing rooms, administrative offices and more. As the depth of the retaining wall increases, additional walers (horizontal steel beams) are added to strengthen the structure.”

“The secant walls and buttresses shown below are reminiscent of fortresses. They contain the soil and hold the foundation of the temple in place in preparation for jack and bore drilling under the existing footings of the temple. This process will begin in August to prepare for the new foundation that will encase the existing foundation of the temple and the base isolators designed to resist seismic events.”

A view of the secant walls and buttresses, which contain soil and hold the foundation of the temple in place, during excavation. — The secant walls and buttresses contain the soil and hold the foundation of the temple in place in preparation for drilling under the existing footings of the temple, Salt Lake City, July 2021.

Work at the top of the Salt Lake Temple

“Workers continue to remove stones from the top of the temple walls and towers in preparation for vertical seismic reinforcement. So far, approximately 1,000 stones have been removed, with 4,000 more to go.”

Workers remove stones from the top of the Salt Lake Temple during a major renovation. — Workers continue to remove stones from the top of the temple walls and towers in preparation for seismic reinforcement, Salt Lake City, July 2021.

What’s happening on the Church Office Building plaza?

“On the Church Office Building plaza, crews remove damaged concrete on the surface of the existing slab to a depth of about 1.5 inches (4 centimeters). The machine in the photo below removes the damaged concrete in preparation for the placement of high-strength grout to repair the concrete surface.”

Machines remove damaged concrete in preparation for grout to repair the concrete surface of the Church Office Building plaza. — Machines remove damaged concrete in preparation for grout to repair the concrete surface of the Church Office Building plaza, Salt Lake City, July 2021.

Damaged concrete is removed to prepare for grout to repair the concrete surface of the Church Office Building plaza. — Damaged concrete is removed to prepare for grout to repair the concrete surface of the Church Office Building plaza, Salt Lake City, July 2021.

A view of the Salt Lake City Utah Temple from the Church Office Building plaza. — A view of the Salt Lake City Utah Temple from the Church Office Building plaza as work continues on the Temple Square renovation project, Salt Lake City, July 2021.

From the roof of the Conference Center

“With the Conference Center having been reopened to the public in June, the building’s roof gardens provide a view from across North Temple Street of the excavation and renovation efforts on and around the Salt Lake Temple.”

The North Visitors’ Center demolition

As reported in June, Temple Square’s North Visitors’ Center has been decommissioned, with all art and other important items removed, and scheduled for demolition later this year.

“The ‘Christus’ statue was carefully boxed and removed by a crane on Monday, July 12, 2021. It will be placed in storage for preservation and will return to Temple Square at the end of the renovation process.”