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Temple Square is undoubtedly one of, if not the most visited site in Utah. In 2009, Forbes ranked Temple Square the 16th most visited site in the United States, with 5 million annual visitors.
So while you are there, what else can you do/see? Well, Deseret News has a list of 18 must-see attractions.
18. Christus statue
The 11-foot statue of Jesus Christ is located at the top of the rotunda in the North Visitors' Center.
17. View from the Church Office Building
Visitors can take in a view of the Salt Lake Valley and the Wasatch Mountains from the 26th floor of the LDS Church Office Building.
16. The roof of the Conference Center is home to a garden, which was featured in the October 2006 issue of Landscape Architecture magazine.
Native flowers, grasses and trees can be found throughout the grounds.
Tours of the roof are free.
15. Family Discovery Center
The newly opened Family Discovery Center, located on the main floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, offers visitors an immersive experience into their own family history.
14. Salt Lake Temple
The granite structure took more than 40 years to build. The cornerstones were laid on April 6, 1853, and President Wilford Woodruff dedicated the building on April 6, 1893.
13. Joseph Smith Memorial Building observation deck
To view the Salt Lake Temple from another angle, visit the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
12. President Brigham Young's burial site
The burial site of Brigham Young, a former LDS prophet, and Eliza R. Snow, a former Relief Society president, is located just one block from Temple Square at 140 E. First Ave.
Catch a performance by the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The choir can be seen Sunday mornings during the live broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word" at 9:30 a.m. in the Tabernacle or during the choir's weekly Thursday night rehearsals at 7:30 p.m., which are open to the public.
10. Tabernacle tour and daily organ performances
The Tabernacle, built in 1875, is home to an 11,623-pipe organ and features an auditorium that is "so acoustically sensitive that a pin dropped at the pulpit can be clearly heard at the back of the hall, 170 feet away."
9. Model of Salt Lake Temple
An 88-inch, near-identical replica of the Salt Lake Temple can be seen in the South Visitors' Center on Temple Square.
8. Base and Meridian
On the southeast corner of Temple Square is a small statuette called the Base and Meridian, which was installed in 1855 and is the point from which all Salt Lake City streets were named and numbered.
The grid system for the Salt Lake Valley originates from this location, where the coordinates are 0 East, 0 West, 0 North, and 0 South.
7. President Brigham Young's 1850s home
Brigham Young's former home, built in 1854, is now known as the Beehive House. It is located just south of the Church Office Building on 67 E. South Temple.
At the Church History Library, visitors can view the "Foundations of Faith" exhibit, which includes a first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon, a page from the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith's journal, a letter from Liberty Jail and many other documents.
The Conference Center not only houses a 21,000-seat auditorium, a 7,667-pipe organ and a 900-seat theater, but it is also home to 12 of Arnold Friberg's large-scale Book of Mormon paintings.
The Relief Society Building opened in 1956 and is the headquarters for the General Relief Society Presidency, General Young Women Presidency and the General Primary Presidency.
The building houses six original paintings by Minerva Teichert, including "Christ in a Red Robe," "Pioneer Arriving," "Look to Your Children," "Betty and the Seagulls," "Return of Captive Israel" and "Handcart Pioneers."
3. Christ's life through paintings
The North Visitors' Center houses 12 paintings that depict Jesus Christ's life.
The paintings include pieces by Carl Heinrich Bloch, reproductions of Harry Anderson's work by Grant Romney Clawson and an original piece by Clawson.
2. Legacy Theater showing "Meet the Mormons"
The Legacy Theater, located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, seats 500 and is showing "Meet the Mormons," the LDS Church's feature-length documentary.
1. The Lion House Pantry
The Lion House Pantry is known for its homemade rolls. It is best to visit the pantry before 1 p.m., as the rolls sell out quickly.
Via The Deseret News
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