740 South 300 West
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Fifth Ward Meetinghouse

Statement of Significant:

In the settlement and development of the Great Basin area, the peculiar efficiency of the Mormon Church organization (likened by Samuel Clanens to the Prussian Aimy) was responsible for the creation of stable communities both in outlying settlement areas and in Salt Lake City itself. The basic ecclesiastical unit that made directed economic activity and effective social institutions possible was the "Ward."

With an appointed Bishop at its head, the Ward functioned as an extended family offering encouragement and assistance to its members as they struggled to establish families, businesses and farms, in the arid wilderness. The significance of the Fifth Ward is that i t symbolizes this vita l institution.

The Fifth Ward in Salt Lake City is one of the oldest of these ecclesiastical units in the Mormon Church. Formed in 1853 on the south-west section of the growing metropolis, the community centered on faming. The Ward met first in a succession, of an all-adobe meeting house, but as the city grew, the area became more residential and the people engaged in a greater variety of occupations. At the height of the Ward's strength, in 1910, it was decided to construct a new chapel. The red brick Tudor Gothic structure chosen was considered a handsome addition to the neighborhood. But even as the ward continued to grow during the World War I and. between-wars period, the demography of the area was undergoing change toward light industrial development. The addition made in 1937 was intended to improve the quality of the church program by expanding the physical facilities, but the changing character of the neighborhood resulted in a steady decline in family membership.

The Fifth Ward in Salt Lake City is one of the oldest of these ecclesiastical units in the Mormon Church. Formed in 1853 on the south-west section of the growing metropolis, the community centered on faming. The Ward met first in a succession, of an all-adobe meeting house, but as the city grew, the area became more residential and the people engaged in a greater variety of occupations. At the height of the Ward's strength, in 1910, it was decided to construct a new chapel. The red brick Tudor Gothic structure chosen was considered a handsome addition to the neighborhood. But even as the ward continued to grow during the World War I and. between-wars period, the demography of the area was undergoing change toward light industrial development. The addition made in 1937 was intended to improve the quality of the church program by expanding the physical facilities, but the changing character of the neighborhood resulted in a steady decline in family membership.

Today, in the hands of private developers, the dignity of the Tudor Gothic styling is a decided asset to the ambiance of that would otherwise be an area blighted with an all-business houses and industrial yards.