Cranes At Work

The black crane was majestic today, working hard in the morning light.

He is a major facilitator for work in the west lot.  If you look closely, you can see him helping the workmen set up a column of rebar.  Forms are being assembled for the mechanical tunnel.  Turbines for heating and cooling will be in this area, far enough away that the temple will remain quiet inside.  If you are a construction cam addict, you have seen lights on in the west lot at night.  However, this lighting is for the Nu Skin crews who are working late.

Because the west lot will be underground parking, the last layer of rebar has been treated with a green coat of epoxy.  Salt water is hard on rebar, and this coat will protect it from slush which sneaks in under cars and then melts.

The white crane brought beams in and out this morning.  The white beams fit into pockets in the walls, and sometimes they need a little tweaking.

The pockets are easily visible in this picture.  This will ultimately be the main level of the temple.

I am as curious as you are about work in the interior.  From the gap under the northeast tower, I spied this welder at the west edge of the baptistry.  I learned that at least part of the area where he is working will be an interstitial space in the temple.  You can see this level on page 10 of last month's Herald article.  This area will be between lower level 1 and the ground level, and will be where ducting brings in hot or cool air to be directed throughout the temple.

This interstitial area has been described as a catwalk, so it might not fill this entire space.  You can see the baptistery is on the east side, to the right in this picture taken through the southeast tower gap.

This picture is also taken through the southeast tower gap.  The area in the back is for the elevator.

You can see two levels of decking here.  Below the lowest visible level is lower level 2 of the basement.  Above the highest level seen here will be the catwalk.

The southwest tower cap is almost finished.  It sits in the upper north lot with the other 3 tower caps.  The plywood buildings you see there are temporary.  Behind the 3 tower caps is the intersection of Center Street and University Avenue.  The concrete circle in the lower left will be a roundabout at the intersection of First South and  First West, where both streets will end.  The blue lift in the lower right is working at the underground entrance to the Nu Skin garage.  This entrance will also be one of two access points to underground temple parking.  You might also want to notice Rock Canyon in the upper left.  This is a gorgeous time of year in Provo.

The completed temple will have five sealing rooms.  Three will be at the south, west and north gables on the top floor.  The other two sealing rooms, which will be a little smaller, will be west of the south and north sealing rooms.  These rooms will have double vaulted ceilings and will receive exterior light through art glass windows.  Notice the men in the lift at the base of the northeast tower, on the right.

They are drilling a hole through the wall of the tower for a horizontal support beam which will attach to a vertical beam extending from the top of the tower to the base.  Stairs will connect to these beams.  This pattern will be followed in each tower.

Sometimes the work is a little stressful for the tabernacle.

This will be the entryway from the underground garage.  I know our chapels have cinder block walls, but I've been told this vestibule will be dolled up real nice.

This area of the annex is being prepared for a concrete pour.  Once this slab is completed, forms will be set up for the east annex wall and the foundation for this northeast tower will be built.  Look closely and you will see the rebar in place for the tower foundation.

I saw these spiders in the sea of rebar when the interior slab was poured.  Here and here are two links.  At that time, I didn't know what I was seeing, but now I do.  These clumps of metal secure the micropiles in the slab. 

All of this work would take a lot longer without the cranes.

But then, who's in a hurry?

Another New Floor

Mr. Crane was bringing in beams on another rainy and wonderfully cool day.

These beams are for the ground level.

It won't be long before the pigeons will be crowded out.

So no one is confused, ground level is through the tower doorway.  Lower Level 1 includes the annex area, shown here in this area to the north.  The annex will house dressing rooms and a beautiful room for brides.

These beams are new since my last visit on Friday.

This decking is at Lower Level 1.  Notice the area underneath.  I am pretty sure gravel and another slab are going down below, but don't worry -- it's not a crawlspace.

This is a view of the same lower level from the southeast.  The gap in the back is for the elevator base we've been watching.

I tried to take some pictures of the lowest level, but it wasn't easy.  This is the opening in the south from the lowest level to a stairwell to the underground garage.

To refresh your memory, I retrieved this picture from June 11th, before the lowest level of the foundation was poured and covered with fill.  The lowest level is big.

This is what it looks like today.  Five openings can be seen on this south face.  A sixth opening can't been seen.  It's on the left and is the entrance to the lowest level mentioned above.

These three openings show the decking and baptistry area.

The large opening in this photo will be the south entrance from the underground garage.  The decking on the west side appears to be a little higher.  Patrons will enter here into a beautiful vestibule, and it appears the cinder blocks are the beginnings of this entrance.

A concrete pump has been busy in the west lot.  The entrance from the west is in the center.

The west lot isn't visible from the construction cam.

This west side will also be underground parking for the new temple.  The cam is visible at the top center of this picture.  The interior of the building it's on is being remodeled, and when the power goes out, all cam watchers are frustrated.

Forms are being placed so walls can be poured.  The upper quarter of this photo shows crews working to complete the Nu Skin campus.  Nu Skin modified their plans for this area after the temple was announced. When the temple is finished, this area will be beautiful shared grounds.

Two cranes work on the temple site.  This black crane keeps the workmen in the west lot supplied.  Notice the tall forms being placed around the stands of rebar in this lot.

Ultimately they will support the ceiling of the garage.

A concrete circle is being built above the west entrance, which is at the lower right of this photo.  Nu Skin employees and temple patrons both will use this entrance.

This is what the entrance looked like today.

The southwest tower cap is being repaired with original timbers and new wood.

Not all sides look the same -- notice the reflection in the Nu Skin building.  All of the Jacobsen workmen appear to be very patriotic.  It is wonderful to see flags everywhere!

New at the site today are historical photos placed by the Provo South Stake on the green construction barrier along University Avenue.  This picture needs identifying, although it appears to me that we have an early 20th century Thanksgiving celebration because I am seeing a lot of cute little pilgrims.

At the Pioneer Day Fireside, Andy Kirby said that the first ceiling in the tabernacle was stunning.
You can see it in this picture.  It will be reproduced in one of the endowment rooms.

The ceiling was lost when the center tower was removed in 1919.  The new temple will have a center tower.

There was no identifying information on this photo, but I happen to know it was taken during BYU's homecoming weekend in 1925.

The Provo pioneers built the tabernacle at great expense.  If you double-click, you can read the caption.  The pole just right of center carried electrical wiring.  In the early days of Utah, these poles were placed in the center of the streets.

The tabernacle was a gathering place for special events over more than a century.  Before the decision was made to turn this building into a temple, restoring it to a tabernacle was considered.  I happen to like the final decision, not that anyone asked for my opinion.

I have not cropped these photos so you can get an idea of where they hang. 

It's now very easy for the many visitors at the site to learn about the tabernacle's history.

I'm not the only one grateful that this building is being restored.

A New Floor

Believe it or not, there is a new floor in the tabernacle.

It was raining this morning, so already the floor was wet.

This view from the southeast shows where the baptistry will be.

It was amazing to see a floor inside the tabernacle.

These two men were doing an impressive balancing act on the beams.

The new columns look like sentries.  The crane worked in the southeast corner.

These beams were daisy-chained in.

It didn't take the men long at all to unhook them.

Constant motion this morning, even in the rain.

This beam came in alone.  It was impressive to watch Mr. Crane turn and navigate the beam around the columns.

The black crane was working today, too.

There was quite an audience.

The southwest tower cap is still receiving attention.  Notice more beams being attached.

The rain added some color to the bricks today.  Plus, it cooled things down quite a bit, too.

The west lot changes minute by minute.  Notice the new structure behind Nu Skin.  I thought the new campus was going to be finished this month.  They're going to have to hurry.

Look carefully at this picture, because I was holding the camera level.  Concrete forms from the annex area, plus the huge square forms, are are now working on this side, which will be underground parking.

Machines in the south lot were very busy today.

Ed, the operator of Daddy Track Hoe, thought he had the south lot completely excavated, but it looks like someone vandalized the lot with loads of dirt so he's scooping it up again.

I watched the bulldozer for awhile and decided he was making a special parking spot for President Monson.

Someone has been busy tidying up the annex area.

I took some of these pictures today from my yellow ladder.  For the first time I noticed the waterproof membrane behind the east annex wall.

It was nice to be a little higher.