Key Number:	HS 15030
Site Name:	Mormon Temple
Other Names:	Cardston Alberta Temple Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Site Type:	1604 - Religious: Synagogue, Mosque or Temple

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			3	25	4

Address:	348 - 3 Street W
Number:	48
Street:	3 W
Avenue:	3 W
Other:
Town:	Cardston
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:
Storeys:
Foundation:
Superstructure:
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:
Exterior:	Exterior Finish: White granite quarried from a site near Kootenai Lakes in Nelson, British Columbia. Every stone was hand-hewn. Additions have been made of precast granite. Temple Design: Octagonal design with no spire—similar to Maltese cross—has Grecian massiveness and a Peruvian touch of Aztec influence with pyramid silhouette.
Interior:	Finished with exotic hardwoods. The temple has four ordinance rooms, five sealing rooms, and a floor area of 88,562 square feet.
Environment:	N/A
Condition:	Good
Alterations:	1956, 1965 - renovations. 1972 - addition. 1990 - renovations.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Constructed.	1925/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Temple
Owner:	Owner Date:
N/A

Architect:	Pope & Burton
Builder:	N/A
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	John W. Taylor first dedicated site in 1888. Site chosen by Joseph F. Smith 1912. Construction started Nov 1913. Finished 1921, dedicated 26 AUG 1913. * * * The Cardston Alberta Temple (formerly the Alberta Temple) is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of nine temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of three without spires, similar to Solomon's Temple. The other two are the Laie Hawaii Temple and the Mesa Arizona Temple. The temple was announced on June 27, 1913, and was built on an eight-acre plot given to the church by Charles Ora Card. The site expanded to more than 10 acres in the mid-1950s. The granite used in building the temple was hand-hewn from quarries in Nelson, British Columbia. Originally dedicated on August 26, 1923, by church president Heber J. Grant, an addition was rededicated on July 2, 1962 by Hugh B. Brown. The temple was renovated in the 1990s, and Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated it on June 22, 1991. The temple has four ordinance rooms, five sealing rooms, and a floor area of 88,562 square feet. The first president of the temple was Edward J. Wood, who served from 1923 to 1948. In 1992 the temple was declared a National Historic Site, and a plaque was dedicated in 1995.[1] * * * Plaque status: Plaqued in 1995 Monumental modern temple in historic Mormon centre, 1913-1923 * * * Location: 348 3rd Street West, Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Phone Number: 403-653-3552. Site: Over 10 acres. Exterior Finish: White granite quarried from a site near Kootenai Lakes in Nelson, British Columbia. Every stone was hand-hewn. Additions have been made of precast granite. Temple Design: Octagonal design with no spire—similar to Maltese cross—has Grecian massiveness and a Peruvian touch of Aztec influence with pyramid silhouette. Number of Rooms: Four progressive-style ordinance rooms and five sealing. Total Floor Area: 88,562 square feet. Announcement: 27 June 1913 Site Dedication: 27 July 1913 by Joseph F. Smith Groundbreaking: 9 November 1913 by Daniel Kent Greene Public Open House: Tours offered during the final years of construction (1920–1923) Dedication: 26–29 August 1923 by Heber J. Grant Rededication: 2 July 1962 by Hugh B. Brown (addition only) Public Open House: 6–15 June 1991 Rededication: 22–24 June 1991 by Gordon B. Hinckley Temple Locale The Cardston Alberta Temple is a historic Alberta landmark that stands on elevated ground in the center of Cardston. Founded by Mormon settlers in 1887, the small community lies just 15 miles north of the U.S.-Canada border on southern Alberta's fertile plains. Outside the gates of the temple, a public visitors center (operated in the summer) offers several displays including construction photographs dating to the early 1900s. Temple Facts The Cardston Alberta Temple was the first temple built in Canada. The Cardston Alberta Temple was the first temple built outside of the United States. The Cardston Alberta Temple was the first temple whose design was put out to bid to prominent architects. Until that time, all temples had been designed under the direct supervision of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young. The Cardston Alberta Temple was was the first temple designed without a priesthood assembly room, demonstrating a transition away from the multi-purpose use of temples. The Cardston Alberta Temple was originally named the Alberta Temple. The design of the Cardston Alberta Temple served as the basic pattern for the Laie Hawaii Temple, which was completed four years before the Cardston temple was dedicated. The Cardston Alberta Temple is one of three temples built with no towers or spires. (The others are the Laie Hawaii Temple and the Mesa Arizona Temple.) Delayed in part by World War I, construction of the Cardston Alberta Temple lasted for 10 years. The last two years of construction were needed just to furnish the temple and prepare it for use; public tours were offered to visitors during this time. The Cardston Alberta Temple features murals and rare hardwoods in its progressive-style ordinance rooms: Creation Room, Garden Room, World Room, Terrestrial Room, and Celestial Room (no murals). In 1962, an addition to the Cardston Alberta Temple was dedicated by President Hugh B. Brown, who resided in Alberta for many years after his family moved there when he was sixteen years old. In May 1988, the Cardston Alberta Temple was closed for three years of renovation work, which included modernization of its electrical and mechanical systems, addition of an entryway to the front of the building, and complete refurbishment of its interior—done with painstaking attention to detail to keep the temple true to its original decorating and design. On September 16, 1995, the government named the Cardston Alberta Temple a Canadian Historic Site. The commemorative plaque recognizes the temple as "the first consciously modern building in the province of Alberta."

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Federally Designated	1992/01/01

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: