Tabernacle Ceiling Repainted

For six weeks, visitors to Temple Square were unable to tour the Salt Lake Tabernacle. Beginning 28 December 1992, the ceiling of the historic building was repainted. The Tabernacle was scheduled for reopening on 7 February 1993.

During the painting project, there were no activities held in the Tabernacle. Activities in the building suspended during the project included tours of the building and weekly Sunday morning radio-television broadcasts of the Tabernacle Choir.

The January 3 Tabernacle Choir program, “Music and the Spoken Word,” was videotaped during the choir’s recent tour to Israel. Broadcasts for the following four Sundays featured videotaped highlights from previous programs. Visitors to Temple Square watched the program on a large screen in the Assembly Hall.

During the painting project, visitors continued to enjoy daily organ recitals, normally given on the Tabernacle organ and held instead in the Assembly Hall, also on Temple Square.

Tabernacle manager Roy Ostler said the paint being used for the project is considered the best available for retaining the unique acoustical properties of the building.

The Tabernacle was completed in 1867, just twenty years after the pioneers settled the Great Salt Lake Valley. The most recent painting of the ceiling was in 1965.