Orson Pratt Homesite

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In 1874 Orson Pratt was appointed historian and general Church recorder, 
a position he held until the time of his death.
Utah State Historical Society




A photo of the original Orson Pratt home which faced west on West Temple Street.
Daughters of Utah Pioneers

The original homesite of Elder Orson Pratt, a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve; over the years, other homes and businesses were built here. As the number of tourists visiting Salt Lake City increased in the early 1900s, additional lodging was needed. In 1930 the Inn at Temple Square was constructed across the street from the site it was named after. It was later renovated after Hotel Utah was closed. The inn offered a sense of 1930s grandeur, and its central location allowed easy access to Salt Lake City’s many sites. The structure was composed of ninety spacious rooms that offered comfort to the weary traveler. Guests were also offered access to the inn’s library and the Passages Restaurant. The inn closed in April 2006 to accommodate Church development of the property.

Until its demolition in 2007 the Inn at Temple Square sat on the site of Orson Pratt’s home. 
The inn faced north on South Temple Street.
David M. Whitchurch

Orson Pratt was one of the first converts to the restored gospel; he was also one of the most influential. He was baptized by his brother Parley on his nineteenth birthday, on September 19, 1830, almost six months after the organization of the Church. He was ordained an Apostle at the age of twenty-three and served in this capacity for over forty-five years.

A portrait of Orson Pratt during his younger years.
Utah State Historical Society

Following the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Orson came west with President Brigham Young and the Saints. As he journeyed, he took note of the latitude, longitude, and altitude of prominent points, as well as a description of the geological structure of the country in great detail. Years later, while assisting in the construction of the Salt Lake Temple, a small observatory was erected on Temple Square, where the South Visitors’ Center now stands. From this location Orson charted the heavens.

As the original pioneer company neared the Great Basin, Orson formed an advance party of twenty-three wagons and forty-two men. On July 21, 1847, Orson Pratt and Erastus Snow became the first Latter-day Saints to enter the Great Salt Lake Valley. Orson recorded, “We could not refrain from a shout of joy.” On July 23, he dedicated the camp and the land to the Lord. Perhaps B. H. Roberts said it best when he described Orson as “Pioneer of the Pioneers.” While laying the foundations for the new city in the West, President Brigham Young recognized Orson’s skills and requested his help to plat and survey the city of the Great Salt Lake. Elder Pratt filled at least eleven missions to the Eastern States and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Great Britain and the European continent sixteen times to preach the gospel. He was a tireless writer and defender of the faith. President Young paid this tribute to Orson Pratt: “If Brother Orson were chopped up in inch pieces, each piece would cry out Mormonism was true.”

Parley taught his younger brother, Orson, of the restored gospel.
Utah State Historical Society

In the late 1870s, he arranged the Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon into chapters and verses with footnotes and references and prepared the first American edition of the Pearl of Great Price. In 1874 he was appointed historian and general Church recorder, a position he held until the time of his death. Orson also dedicated his time to civil service, presiding over the territorial legislature and serving as the regent of the University of Deseret.

After suffering severely from diabetes, Orson Pratt passed away on October 3, 1881. His dying words, spoken to President Joseph F. Smith and forming his epitaph, were: “My body sleeps for a moment, but my testimony lives and shall endure forever.”

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Brigham Young University Religious Education presents

Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

Featuring BYU Religious Educators teaching about sites significant in

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with dozens of additional sites to explore,

please visit VirtualTours.BYU.edu

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Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

is a co-production of

BYU Religious Education and Starrs Universal

This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute

and is distributed by B.U.M.P. LTD.

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Social Hall Site and Museum

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The Social Hall was a gathering place for early pioneer entertainment.

Utah State Historical Society

When the footings and basement walls of the Social Hall were uncovered, 
a protective steel and-glass structure was built over them on the east side of State Street, 
just south of South Temple. By going down several steps, 
visitors can see the original basement stones and displays that explain the importance of Social Hall.

David M. Whitchurch

For seventy years, pioneers gathered here to shake off the hardships of frontier life with music, dancing, parties, theatricals (President Brigham Young had starred as the high priest in the production of Pizarro back in Nauvoo and was a patron of the arts), lectures, and good company. The Social Hall was dedicated New Year’s Day 1853, only five and a half years after the Mormon pioneers arrived in Salt Lake City. Special legislative sessions were sometimes held in it as well. It had the capacity to seat three hundred fifty people, though four hundred people often crowded into it.

Eventually, the surrounding area evolved into a thriving business center, and in 1922 the Social Hall was razed. In June 1933 the MIA and the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association erected a marker on the sidewalk explaining the important contributions the Social Hall made to early cultural life in Salt Lake City:

The Mutual Improvement Association and the Utah Pioneer Trails 
and Landmarks Association created a marker to celebrate the old Social Hall.
David M. Whitchurch

This monument marks the site of the social hall, the first recreation center in the intermountain west. Built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Brigham Young. Made of plastered adobe walls with native wood floors and roof. Auditorium 40 by 60 feet, seating 350 persons— stage 20 by 40 feet—dressing rooms and banquet hall in basement. Dedicated January 1, 1853.

Seating for 350 people was provided in the main hall.

Utah State Historical Society

Here the Deseret Dramatic Association conducted many home talent theatricals, musicales and other festivities. Sessions of the legislature, official meetings, receptions, banquets and other social functions were held here. The Mutual Improvement Associations used it as theatre, library and gymnasium. In 1922 the building was razed.

Emmeline B. Wells recalled Christmas at the Social Hall. 
She was a powerful proponent for women’s suffrage 
and became the fifth general Relief Society president in 1910 at age eighty-two.

Daughters of Utah Pioneers

Christmas Party

Emmeline B. Wells described the first Christmas party at Social Hall:

When the Social Hall was built [in 1852], Christmas was sometimes celebrated there with dancing parties. . . . [President Young] was foremost in making the affair a grand success. . . . Hon. John W. Young, then only a boy, handed the presents down from the tree, and I recollect Brother Brigham standing and pointing with his cane, and telling John just which to take down, and so on; the children werewild with delight and some of the mothers were quite as much elated, though not as demonstrative. After the Santa Claus tree was stripped of its gifts, the floor was cleared and the dancing commenced, and there was good music, too, and President Young led the dance, and cut a pigeon wing, to the great delight of the little folks. In fact, I think the evening was almost entirely given up to the children’s festivities, and the older ones, the fathers and mothers and more especially President Young, made them supremely happy for that one Christmas eve.

The Mutual Improvement Association and the Utah Pioneer Trails and Landmarks Association 
created a marker to celebrate the old Social Hall.

David M. Whitchurch

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Brigham Young University Religious Education presents

Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

Featuring BYU Religious Educators teaching about sites significant in

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with dozens of additional sites to explore,

please visit VirtualTours.BYU.edu

______________________________________________

Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

is a co-production of

BYU Religious Education and Starrs Universal

This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute

and is distributed by B.U.M.P. LTD.

All Rights Reserved

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Council House Site (Gateway Tower)

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Completed in 1850, the Council House was located on the southwest corner of Main Street and South Temple. 
Church councils and the territorial legislature met here. 
Shown as it looked in 1869, the building burned down June 21, 1883.
C. R. Savage courtesy of Richard K. Winters

The nineteen-story gateway tower west is situated on the southwest corner of Main Street and South Temple Street where Salt Lake City’s original Council House once stood. Built in 1849–50 of red sandstone and adobe, the Council House was used for Church and Territorial offices. Church councils and the Territorial Legislature met there, making it the first public building erected in Utah.

A crowd gathers around the burned out Council House. 
Note that C. R. Savage’s photography shop, which was located next to Council House, was also destroyed in the fire.
C. R. Savage courtesy of Richard K. Winters

Latter-day Saint endowment sessions were even held here beginning in 1851 until the Endowment House was completed in 1855. By 1870 it was also the home of the University of Deseret (later University of Utah) and a business called Commercial Bazaar. It was destroyed in the early hours of June 21, 1883, when Hiram B. Clawson’s Wagon Depot caught fire and several barrels of gunpowder blew up. An adjoining building containing the photography business of C. R. Savage also caught fire and destroyed his photography plates and equipment. This spectacular fire likely fueled the creation of Salt Lake City’s first full-time fire department in 1883.

This building stands where the Council House sat until it burned in 1883.
David M. Whitchurch

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Subscribe to our Free Newsletter 

___________________________________________________________________

Brigham Young University Religious Education presents

Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

Featuring BYU Religious Educators teaching about sites significant in

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

For more information, or to visit our interactive web site with dozens of additional sites to explore,

please visit VirtualTours.BYU.edu

______________________________________________

Hallowed Ground Sacred Journeys

is a co-production of

BYU Religious Education and Starrs Universal

This blog is a public service of The Watchmen Institute

and is distributed by B.U.M.P. LTD.

All Rights Reserved

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________