What is the Tabernacle?
Just west of the temple in Salt Lake City stands the historic Mormon Tabernacle, completed in 1867 after 4 years of construction. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir got its name from the structure, which has been home to the Choir since its earliest years. It is said that Brigham Young suggested the Tabernacle’s unusual design after contemplating a hollowed-out eggshell cracked length- wise. Brigham Young wanted the Tabernacle roof to be self- supporting, without pillars or posts to obstruct audience views. (The balcony with its supporting pillars was added later.) Because of its extraordinary acoustics and historical significance, the Tabernacle has been designated both a national historic landmark and a national civil engineering landmark. The Tabernacle’s design also accounts for its extraordinary acoustics another reason the Grammy Award-winning Mormon Tabernacle Choir calls the Tabernacle home. The Tabernacle is so acoustically sensitive that a pin dropped at the pulpit can be clearly he
