The Look of Mormon
Nearly five years in the making, Latter-day Saints unveil much-anticipated Logan Square temple
It was a much anticipated event for Mormons on the East Coast, especially those living in the tri-state area. But fearful of causing disruptions in their Logan Circle neighborhood, officials of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints kept the date quiet. They anticipated up to a thousand church members filling the streets around 17th and Vine Streets to get a look at a milestone event in the construction of their new temple.
So just as 2015 was coming to an an end, on Dec. 30 workers lifted a 10-foot gold-leafed statue of the Angel Moroni atop the highest steeple of the under-construction Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple.
The statue placement was covered by the newspaper in Salt Lake City, and Mormons around the region were abuzz on social media, sharing photos released by the church. But the milestone event was scarcely mentioned by Philadelphia media.
The Angel Moroni, Mormons believe, told church founder Joseph the location of the buried plates, which are the source from which he translated the Book of Mormon - the sacred text of the church.
Ground was broken for the temple on Sept. 17, 2011, and on Thursday the church announced that the temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, Sept. 18. The public will be invited to an open house, with free tours of the temple, starting Friday, Aug. 5 and going daily through Saturday, Sept. 3 (except on Sundays). In conjunction with the dedication of the temple, there will be a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on Saturday Sept. 17. (Ticket reservations are being taken at philadelphiamormontemple.org)
The temple will serve about 45,000 church members including South Jersey, areas east of Harrisburg, Delaware and a corner of Maryland. Currently the closest temples to the Philly area are Manhattan and Washington, D.C.
Construction is also underway across the street on a 32-story residential tower and meetinghouse.
The meetinghouse will open at the same time as the temple, but the tower, featuring 258 apartments, 13 townhouses, and street-level retail at 16th and Vine Streets will not be completed until next year. Tenants will not need to be Mormons and all the units in the for-profit residential tower will rent at market prices.
