Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle

The Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle, situated on main street in Paris, Idaho, is a Romanesque red sandstone meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints designed by Joseph Don Carlos Young, the son of Brigham Young. The tabernacle was built between 1884 and 1889 by Mormon pioneers of Bear Lake Valley who used horse and ox teams to haul rock quarried from Indian Creek Canyon nearly 18 miles away.[2] After the completion of the Logan Utah Temple in 1884, the workers began construction of the tabernacle. It cost $50,000 ($1.35 million in 2019 dollars[3]) to build and seats around 2000 people.

Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Stone Tabernacle (Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle), c. 1889
Location	109 S. Main St., Paris, Idaho
Coordinates	42°13′33″N 111°24′01″W
Built	1884-1889
Architect	Joseph Don Carlos Young
NRHP reference No.	72000436[1]
Added to NRHP	December 8, 1972[1]

The tabernacle was dedicated September 15, 1889 by LDS Church president Wilford Woodruff. It was planned to be dedicated in 1888, but a fire partially destroyed the interior, and it had to be restored. In 1972 the tabernacle was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The tabernacle was refurbished in 2004-2005 and continues to operate as a meeting place for the Bear Lake Stake congregations and community.

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  Vestry on the Paris Idaho Tabernacle. Vestries are rare in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because special clothes are not worn by Bishops or Stake Presidents. The architect had studied churches in Europe and kept the vestry for architectural completeness, rather than for functionality.
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  Door where the wood grain had been painted. This is a unique feature of the Tabernacle. All of the pews, pillars and wooden molding throughout the house of worship has hand painted wood grain.
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  Interior of door where the wood grain has NOT been painted. This part of a closet is not in view of the public and shows what the wood looked like before grain was painted on.
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  Interior of the Tabernacle.
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  Stand area in the Paris Idaho Tabernacle. All woodwork was hand done. This area burnt in 1887, and had to be re-done, delaying the dedication.
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  Original Spire from Paris Idaho Tabernacle, located in the Paris Historical Museum.

See also

• LDS Stake Office Building, also in Paris, Idaho and also NRHP-listed

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Hart, Arthur A. (February 24, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Bear Lake Stake Tabernacle" (PDF). National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
3. http://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1888?amount=50000