Lehi Tabernacle
The Lehi Tabernacle was more than just a large meeting hall; it was a symbol of aspiration, community pride, and even controversy in Lehi’s history. For years, the people of Lehi felt their existing meetinghouses no longer matched their hopes, and they longed for a grand building to host not just church services but social and civic life. After much debate about location and resources, the town settled on a central site at the northeast corner of Center Street and Second North and commissioned the prominent architect Richard K. A. Kletting—the same mind behind Utah’s State Capitol—to design their tabernacle.
Excavation started in 1900, but progress was slow. Lehi was not a wealthy place, and many materials and labor had to be gathered painstakingly bit by bit from local contributions. In 1901 the cornerstone was laid, complete with a hidden time capsule containing photos, books, newspapers, and a silver trowel made by a local artisan. That capsule now lives in the Hutchings Museum.
By 1910 the building was formally dedicated by President Joseph F. Smith. The finished structure was impressive for a small Utah town: built of white pressed brick, its auditorium stretched 80 by 80 feet, flanked by walls measuring 121 by 76 feet, and topped by a southwest tower rising 112 feet tall with observation decks facing the four cardinal directions. At the dedication, nearly 1,300 people attended, a number that spoke to how deeply the community felt invested in it.
Yet sustaining such a structure proved costly. By around 1920, Lehi’s four bishops concluded that the financial burden was too great for the local church to maintain. They agreed to sell it to the Alpine School District for $28,000. Under school ownership, the building became a high school auditorium and home to community events. The basement even served as a National Guard armory for a time.
Tragedy and neglect struck in December 1929 when a guardsman’s careless cigarette almost burned the building down, causing more than $3,000 in damage. The school district declared they no longer needed the tabernacle by 1929 and attempted to divest of it. A few years later, in 1934, the church repurchased the building—this time at a bargain price of $500—and invested roughly $42,000 to restore it. By 1940 the tabernacle was again alive with stake conferences, recitals, plays, banquets, graduations, and all manner of public gatherings.
Despite its cultural importance and emotional resonance in the community, the tabernacle’s days were numbered. In the mid-20th century the Church declared it “unsuitable” as a stake meetinghouse, and though citizens and historians opposed its destruction, it was demolished in 1962 to make way for a modern stake center. All those soaring spires and noble bricks were torn down, leaving behind only the cornerstone— that same stone with its hidden artifacts—which has since been preserved and displayed at the Lehi Historical Society.
Today, Lehi residents often speak with nostalgia about how the tabernacle once dominated the town’s skyline, making itself visible from miles away and offering a kind of spiritual and cultural beacon. Its absence remains controversial in some circles, and when new civic buildings are designed, many architects nod to the tabernacle’s style and legacy.
Lehi Tabernacle Organ
Nestled within the history of Lehi’s once-grand tabernacle was an organ that locals often spoke of with pride and admiration. Before the final decisions to demolish the building, the Lehi Tabernacle hosted a pipe organ so commanding that residents compared it favorably to the famed Salt Lake Tabernacle instrument.
The path to acquiring a suitable organ was not immediate. Officials from Lehi first journeyed to Salt Lake City, exploring trial instruments that ultimately proved unsatisfactory. Finally, on October 19, 1906, a substantial organ built by the W. W. Kimball Organ Company was shipped to Lehi. This nine-ton marvel stood nineteen feet tall, spanned twenty feet wide, and contained over a thousand pipes. When played in that setting, townspeople remarked that it rivaled even the Salt Lake Tabernacle’s organ in power and tone.
The organ was more than a musical centerpiece; it was a symbol of Lehi’s willingness to invest in sophisticated artistry and culture. Its presence elevated not only worship services but also musical and civic gatherings. Yet, the story of the organ is intertwined with the broader arc of the tabernacle itself—built with great ambition, later sold to the school district, and ultimately demolished in 1962.
Though only photographs and descriptions survive today, the memory of that organ still stirs the imagination. One can picture its pipes reaching upward across walls, its tones echoing across the hall, and listeners leaning forward in silent wonder. In its time, the Lehi Tabernacle organ was not simply an instrument—it was a voice for a community’s faith and daring spirit.
Lehi Tabernacle demolition in 1962
