Foundation Walls Exposed

The original foundation walls of the old tabernacle have been exposed.

The north lot, which in the past has been bustling with activity, has been cleared.  The piles of mud were dug from around the foundation.

The lowest part of the foundation is comprised of boulders.  The next layer of the foundation was built of brick, but covered with plaster and styled to look like granite blocks.

The brick on boulders can clearly be seen here.  New are vertical utility conduits.

There are groups of these conduits surrounding the foundation.

Also new are I-beams on piers.  I had to take a lot of pictures to figure this out.
I'm still not sure what I'm seeing.  I definitely have more questions than answers, so I'll keep a close eye on what's going on.

In this view from the southeast, the drill digging holes for the piers can easily be seen on the left.

The drill digs down to bedrock before the cement pier is poured.  The circular pipes in the lower right -- casings -- are used to extend the depth of the holes.

Water is used in the drilling process.  This goes pretty fast.
The hole for the pier is strategically placed.
Notice the hole through the foundation at the lower right, just to the left of the workman.

The workmen are cutting through the foundation to place the I-beams, which rest on piers.

These piers and I-beams through the original foundation are on the east side of the building.

Once I realized what I was seeing, I walked around so my camera could get a better look.  I actually can't see this from the street.  However, standing on my tippy-toes and reaching up as high as I can with my camera, I can "peek" over the construction fence.

This is a view of the east entrance from the southeast.  The original stairs have been removed.  Conduit to the right and left of the beams are easily visible.

The angle isn't right for my camera to see through the hole for the I-beams into the building.

This is the south face.  The arrow points to another hole in the foundation.

Here is a close-up of that hole.  I suspect that soon a hole for a pier will be drilled and an I-beam will be placed through this hole.

Work is going on inside, too.

Although it was bright and sunny this morning, the temperature was only 40 degrees.

Notice this workman had on a sweatshirt to stay warm.

The white line visible through the left window is from the crane, actively working again today. 

This contraption was in place two weeks ago.
It looks like it could be a device for separating rocks and sand.
I actually have no idea, and my engineer friends were guessing.

If you know people who like action, this is the place to be.
A veritable construction-vehicle party is constantly ongoing!

From this view at the southeast corner, there is a safe place where it's easy to watch through the fence.

The Shackles Fall

The exterior supports are being removed from the old tabernacle.

A few still remain on the north and south faces,

But the crane operator was working as fast as lightening to remove the braces.

The morning sun made it easy to see that the interior has a good coat of cement to strengthen the walls.

The entire site is actually an enormous construction zone and is very noisy.

The progress is exciting to see.

While the old building is beautiful, restoring it is an enormous undertaking.

This is a view of the interior western wall.

I can only guess at what I'm seeing in this closeup.  These appear to be windows which were framed and protected from the gunite.  

This is a view through the east windows of the northern interior.

This is the interior face of the northwestern tower.

Beautiful Day at the Temple Site

Mount Timpanogos to the north is a beautiful backdrop for the temple site.

The crane is as busy as ever today.

My camera could peek into the temple from the east on University Avenue.

I zoomed in to get a better look.  The interior west wall is being prepared for gunite. 

This is the interior of the southwestern tower.

The sun was as busy as the crane, coming in and out from behind the clouds.
The interior north wall, prepped with gunite, can be seen from the south.

Walking east, I took this picture of the south entrance.

There has been so much progress, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

This is the north entrance from the east.

I was happy to get a picture of the crane cables as they worked.

The entire block is an active construction site.

The tower caps were moved to the north east corner.

Just north of the sidewalk from the tower caps, Center Street is getting a face-lift.
Well, maybe more than cosmetic work is happening here.

The Morning Breaks

The sun broke through the morning clouds as I arrived at the temple site this morning.
This is the south face.

This is a view of the southeast tower with the crane in motion above the building.

The northeast tower from University Avenue.

The north face.

The windows are covered with plastic while the gunite is being sprayed.
Otherwise the cement would shoot out the windows -- which might be fun to see!
The windows look like they have been decorated for Halloween.

Even while undergoing this renovation, the building is majestic.

These pigeons on the top of the west wall (from the east) have a view I wish I could get. 

I love peeking inside the building.
This is a telephoto view inside the northeast tower door.

This is a great view, looking through the doorway on the east side, clear through the building.
I aim my camera and shoot, hoping for the best, but I did not know I had this shot until I got home. 

This is a view through the south windows.  The red ball in the top right is from the crane.

I am guessing that access to utilities is being created with this trench near the sidewalk on University Avenue between the street and the temple site.
Please do not worry that I am ever in any danger when taking photos.  I can hang out this far. 

This vehicle and its operator were lifting, not digging.

This trackhoe parked on Center Street north of the site reminded me of an old joke:
Where does an elephant sit?  Anywhere he wants.