LDS Church announces site of Brigham City temple

It will be temple and tabernacle, face-to-face across Main Street in Brigham City.

The recently announced Brigham City temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be built on the property at 250 S. Main St., directly west of and across the street from the church's Brigham City Tabernacle at 251 S. Main.

The temple was one of five announced earlier this month at the LDS Church's General Conference by President Thomas S. Monson. The others were will be in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Concepcion, Chile; Fortaleza, Brazil; and Sapporo, Japan.

When completed, it will be the 14th LDS temple in Utah. Currently, the church has 130 temples in operation worldwide, with another 21 either announced or under construction.

The city block — known to locals as Central Square — once was home to Brigham City's Central Elementary School. After the school was razed, a professional plaza-type development was projected for the property. A recent sign on Central Square announced the property had been sold.

The block is bordered in both directions along Main Street by retail businesses and to the west by private residences.

The Box Elder Tabernacle, completed in 1890, was gutted by fire in February 1896 and rebuilt and rededicated a year later. It was closed in 1986 for major restoration and reopened and rededicated in April 1987.

With its steeple being one of the community's most visible landmarks for miles, the tabernacle is still used for LDS conferences, concerts and other community meetings. It was included on the National Register of Historical Places in 1971 — one of the state's first such designated sites.

e-mail: taylor@desnews.com