Comments on: An Appreciation

By: Jonathan Langford

Jonathan Langford — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:54:18 +0000

Seeing pictures of the Cardston temple in my youth, I thought it looked… ugly. Then when I was 13 my mother and I were driving through that area of country, and I got to see it in its setting. Suddenly the architecture worked for me. I remember that as one of my own first experiences in how context can really make a difference esthetically. (I haven’t visited since, so I don’t know what I’d think of it now…)

By: S.P. Bailey

S.P. Bailey — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:07:14 +0000

Hi Kim:
I’m glad you came across this some four years later! For what it is worth, I didn’t miss the mountain thing. I wrote: “Also, the temple’s form echoes Chief Mountain, which seems to rise from the same plains some twenty miles to the southwest.” Of course, the temple-mountain tie is ages old and not unique to Cardston. All temples of this era caused patrons to climb the mountain of the Lord as they progressed through the endowment.

Also, I’m counting territories (Hawaii circa 1909, Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.) as part of the U.S.! They send representatives to Congress, are subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. Federal courts, and I don’t need a passport to travel there. Good enough for me!

By: Kim Siever

Kim Siever — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:55:21 +0000

Two things.

First, the Cardston temple was the second to be built outside of the USA. Laie was the first. I know, Hawaii was a territory at the time, but I doubt if a temple was built in Puerto Rico, people would consider it an American temple.

Second, you missed out on one of the greatest symbols of the Cardston temple: it is built like a mountain. Not only does it resemble a mountain in tis shape, one was ascend to its summit to complete the endowment.

By: SLC Architects

SLC Architects — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:38:31 +0000

You know I totally agree with you the Cardston Temple is really cool looking and really it’s in the middle of no where which is really cool. I also like the one in San Diego very cool to come around that turn and boom it’s in your face.

By: S.P. Bailey

S.P. Bailey — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:14:59 +0000

Prairie style. Mission style. Arts and crafts. Craftsman style. They seem to get used interchangeably. I don’t know if there is an accepted taxonomy that dinguishes one from another.

By: JKC

JKC — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:51:24 +0000

That’s prairie style? I always thought that was called Mission style. It’s gorgeous.

By: S.P. Bailey

S.P. Bailey — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 22:34:28 +0000

The temple was closed from 1988 to 1991 for remodeling. I would not be surprised if furniture was replaced then. (What a great garage sale that would have been! Please comment if you scored some arts and crafts style furniture hand made by Canadian Saints!) However, the furniture that I remember (I am thinking particularly of the waiting area) was definitely appropriate to the architecture. Stuff like this.

By: JKC

JKC — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:55:09 +0000

I heard a few years ago from Penny in the BYU Writing Center that they sold all the original cool furniture from the Cardston Temple and replaced it with the boring stock stuff you find in Stake Centers. Is this true?

By: Johnna

Johnna — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 05:53:36 +0000

I’ve never been to Cardston, but I’ve always wanted to because of the pictures of the Cardston Temple. It has always looked most characteristically like a temple to me.

One of the reasons I was unhappy about the angel being added to the New York City temple, was I’d like to see the temples be more like the Cardston temple.

My native temple is the Los Angeles. I was sealed to my family there at age 4, and married there in my 20s. Because of that, I love what’s great and what’s ordinary and what’s specific about the Los Angeles Temple. No other temple could mean so much to me.

By: Steve Evans

Steve Evans — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:55:10 +0000

Absolutely. It’s a completely magnificent temple in every way.