Brush up on your knowledge of this amazing building where we gather to listen to modern-day prophets.
1. The Conference Center is the largest theater-style auditorium ever built.
2. It was originally designed to hold 26,000 people. Instead it can seat 21,000 in the main auditorium and an additional 900 in a smaller auditorium.
3. The center sits on a ten-acre plot, just like Jerusalem’s temple did.
4. It’s built to withstand an earthquake up to an 8.4 on the Richter scale.
5. An additional 18 million pounds could still be put on the roof without it collapsing.
6. The building is intended to last at least 150 years.
7. The conference center's main auditorium is large enough to hold a Boeing 747.
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8. From the top back of the balcony to the podium is the length of a football field, and the stage area could fit the entire Salt Lake Tabernacle.
9. The main auditorium's carpet is patterned with tares, and the upholstery on the chairs is embroidered with wheat. The wheat represents the bread of life.
10. The carpet and upholstery is meant to reduce reverberation, which is perfect for speakers at the pulpit but is more of a challenge for the choir and orchestra to make themselves heard. They use amplification, and the choir seats have speakers among them so that the choir can hear each other.
11. The main auditorium has 1,200 lights illuminating the stage.
12. An estimated 620 tons of fabricated steel imported from Belgium holds up the roof without columns.
13. There are 50,000 miles of electrical wire in the building--enough to circle the earth twice.
14. There are 60 interpreting booths downstairs that translate conference talks into 92 different languages. This is second only to the United Nations. There are 800 people, mostly volunteers, involved in translation.
15. There are 7,667 pipes in the organ, in 130 ranks. Only about 170 pipes can be seen by the audience.
16. The wind pressure for the pipes is provided by six blowers, totalling 38 horsepower (around 28,000 watts)!
17. Installing the pipes took three years, and wasn't fully completed until 2003. Before then, the choir was accompanied by an electronic organ.
18. The pipes range from 3/4 inch tall to 40 feet tall.
19. The wood panels are similar to the ones in the Salt Lake temple—made of cherry wood from Northwest Pennsylvania and pear trees from Switzerland.
20. The balcony can sink 5/8 inches under full capacity to prevent too much strain on the supports.
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21. Every piece of the stage of movable, allowing it to be converted for stage productions and concerts.
22. The chandelier in the hall is three stories tall.
23. There are 71 original oil paintings in the Conference Center.
24. All of the paintings are originals, as are many of the statues.
25. There are more toilets for the women than the men.
26. Its underground parking garage can hold 1,300 cars.
27. The spire on the roof is 92 feet tall.
28. The water in the nearby channel along the southern side of the building comes from City Creek, which once flowed down the street of North Temple.
29. The rooftop gardens, fountains, and meadows fulfill part of a prophetic statement by Brigham Young, who said in 1853 that he envisioned a downtown building with groves and ponds on the top.
30. The dedication of the building included a "hosanna shout."
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Images from ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
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