Hotel Utah-Joseph Smith Memorial Building: 100 Years

This past week marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of Hotel Utah which was rennovated in 1987 to become the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. There has been much preparation and excitement for the occasion. We serve on the third floor in the East Wing on the north end. This picture was taken from the fountain in from the the Church Office Building.

To prepare for the events they took out almost all of the furniture that is usually there. They also built several display areas around the lobby.

The displays have lots of historical pictures and displays. The Hotel Utah was the best place to stay in the state and most of the US presidents and many famous people stayed there.

For the ribbon cutting ceremony of Thursday night they had the lobby set up with chairs. The Tabernacle choir sang standing around the balcony.

It was amazing to watch all the preparation.

The JSMB guides were all dressed elegantly from another era and served as elevator operators. For Friday night they set up tables to serve 600 VIP guests. This is an example of the centerpieces on each table which were created with fresh flowers.

On some rooms the accent color was silver. In other rooms it was gold.

All of the chairs were dressed as well.

Both the men and sisters who serve as guides were dressed in elegant period costumes. They will be wearing the clothes throughout the summer. It certainly adds a lot of fun.

This is a view of the lobby before they added the crystal, live flower, and feather arrangements.

The doors on the front of the JSMB were removed to bring in this 1912 Cadillac into the lobby.

This is a red 1910 Model T Ford.

Detail of the place setting for the 100th Anniversary Dinner.

View of the lobby during the set up for the dinner.

Place setting in another area.

The dressing for the chairs were individually steamed and pressed after they were put on the chairs. The excitement has been palpable and the upbeat music from various eras has just added to the ambience. We love serving in this building and being part of the celebration.

When you come to Temple Square this summer, it is certainly worth your time to visit the Joseph Smith Building for a tour!

I have many tender memories of this building. In the mid-1960's I was part of the Strawberry Days Royalty and we had the privilege of visiting with President David O. McKay in his apartment in the Hotel Utah. Afterward we had a beautiful luncheon in the Sky Room.

The wedding breakfasts for Kristilyn and Julie were also held in this building. Because five of our children were married in the Salt Lake Temple, I still get nostalgic when I see the brides on Temple Square.

We love this building because it has become our home for our service in the Family and Church History Mission. Our full time service ends July 29th after two and a half years but we are planning to continue our service as church service missionaries in the Training Zone so we will have greater time flexibility to be with our children and grandchildren without the travel limitations.