The Conference Center was officially dedicated on April 6, 2000, which makes this year the building's 25th anniversary.

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If the walls of the Conference Center could talk, they would have plenty to say! In the years since the building’s dedication, many important religious and cultural events have taken place inside it. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the building’s dedication, here are 25 facts you may not have known about the Conference Center.

Ground was broken for the Conference Center on July 24, 1997—the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the pioneers to Salt Lake Valley.¹

Foundation preparation for the Conference Center, September 1997.

@2010 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Photo found here.
To allow for an unobstructed view, the conference center roof is supported by the largest truss in the world, weighing in at over 600 tons.²
The auditorium can fit a Boeing 747 plane inside of it.³

Inside the Conference Center, March 1999.

@2010 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Photo found here.
When a tornado swept through downtown Salt Lake a little less than a year before the Conference Center’s dedication, the most notable damage to the site was the arm of a large yellow crane that was ripped off by the wind.⁴

A crane used in the building of the Conference Center collapsed when a rare and sudden tornado swept through downtown Salt Lake City, Wednesday August 11, 1999.

Gary McKellar, Deseret News
The original Conference Center pulpit can be lowered into a permanent storage area under the main stage and is made of black walnut wood from a tree planted by President Gordon B. Hinckley in his backyard in 1964. A piece of Velcro was later attached to it for President Hinckley’s cane to rest against when he spoke.⁵
Prior to the Conference Center’s construction, its land once housed the Deseret Gym (an important early community center) and the Primary Children’s Hospital.⁶
The building was dedicated six months after it started being used.⁷
It takes three weeks to set up the Conference Center stage for general conference.⁸
The Conference Center organ has over 7,000 pipes.⁹
One of the unique features of the Conference Center organ is that its console is movable, meaning it can be transported to any location or off the stage completely. It also has a modern playback feature that allows the organists to play a piece and have the organ play it back so they can listen from any seat in the auditorium.¹⁰
The choir was accompanied by an electronic organ until the traditional organ was finished being installed.¹¹
By President Hinckley’s request, the Conference Center organ has two-thirds the number of pipes as the Tabernacle organ so as not to overshadow that historic and iconic instrument.¹²
A 200-year-old American cherry tree became the veneer for the organ’s casework and rostrum.¹³
The Conference Center has its own welding and woodworking shops that are used to design and construct the unique stages.¹⁴
Many important events have been announced in the Conference Center, including the creation of “Preach My Gospel,” the missionary age change, and the change from a 3-hour to 2-hour church block.¹⁵
Many well-known people have performed at the Conference Center, including Kristin Chenoweth, Gladys Knight, Angela Lansbury, Jane Seymour, Tim Brokaw, John Rhys-Davies, and the Muppets® from Sesame Street® among others. Read more about these performances in Guest artists of Christmases past: Who has performed with the Tabernacle Choir?
A Barbershop Quartet Convention has taken place in the Conference Center on more than one occasion. It was also the venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics theatrical spectacular production.¹⁶

Thursday, January 31, 2002. Cast members of "Light of the World, A Celebration of Life" go through dress rehearsal at the Conference Center. The show ran through the Olympics for a total audience of more than 290,000 people. Read more about the show here.

Kevin Lee, Deseret News
Special permission was given to quarry the same granite deposit that the Salt Lake Temple was built from to build the Conference Center.¹⁷
The water in the Conference Center fountains, including the massive cascading waterfall down the front, is all recycled.¹⁸

Waterfall down the Conference Center.

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The remains of City Creek, which once flowed down North Temple, still flow down a channel bordering the south side of the Conference Center.¹⁹
The viewings of President Gordon B. Hinckley and President Thomas S. Monson were both held in the Conference Center.²⁰
A room called “The Hall of the Prophets” on the third floor has a bust of every prophet in this dispensation.²¹
There is a small theater inside the Conference Center that can be used as an overflow area or for smaller presentations and performances.²²
There is a garden on the roof of the building full of native Utah plants,with a beautiful view of Salt Lake City and the surrounding valley.²³
There are dozens of original oil paintings scattered throughout the building. In 2022, 18 new images of Christ in different styles from different artists were added.²⁴

During the renovations to Temple Square, the Conference Center is also functioning as a visitor’s center. Find a list of the unique displays and tours available here.

Here is a quick by-the-numbers look at the Conference Center:

21,000: Seats in the main auditorium²⁵
116,000: Cubic yards of concrete used to build the Conference Center²⁶
1,000: Workers often at the construction site in a day²⁷
1,300: Parking stalls in the underground parking structure²⁸
50,000: Miles of electrical wiring in the Conference Center²⁹
12: Escalators inside the building³⁰
1,600: Theatrical lights on the ceiling of the auditorium³¹
60: Interpretation booths used to translate conference talks into 92 languages³²
43 inches and 3/4 inches: the size of the tallest and shortest “speaking” pipes of the organ³³
76 miles: The distance one man walked in just the auditorium while installing the auditorium’s sound system³⁴