History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

696 SETTLEMENTS, SOCIETY, AND EDUCATION.
and Emigration canons, 12 cooling the air, cleansing
the thoroughfares, and giving life to verdure. The
adjacent lands were cultivated, and most of the
houses were surrounded with orchards, so that in
early summer Zion wore the appearance of Eden in
bloom. The flowers were full of beauty and fragrance,
surpassing, if possible, in this respect, the
ancient towns of Mexico, or the modern capital in the
days of Cortes.
Aside from the temple and the tabernacle, Salt
Lake City thus far had little to boast of in the way
of architecture, nor was that little interesting. The
temple, when finished, was to cost several millions, 13
and the walls of gray granite, more than six feet in
thickness, with a length of 200 and a width of 100
feet, were to reach a height of 100 feet. 14
It was
determined that this building should be of elegant
design, magnificent proportions, and unique pattern,
a marvel of beauty, strength, and solidity. 15 As a
structure in which a vast assemblage can see and
hear, the new tabernacle, west of the temple, completed
in 187C, is a remarkable edifice. It is elliptical
in shape, with a primitive diameter of 233 feet, a conjugate
of 133 feet, and a height of 70 feet, its huge
dome-shaped, or as some term it, dish-cover roof of
heav}^, bolted lattice-work resting on sandstone pil-
12 By act of Feb. 20, 18S0, in Utah Laws, 18S0, 55-6, amending the city
charter, the city council was authorized to borrow $250,000 for the construction
of a canal, tapping the Jordan at a point 25 miles south of the city, for
irrigation purposes, thus releasing nearer and better sources of supply for
domestic use. It was finished in 1881, at a cost of 8200,000. In 18bl there
were 13 miles of main pipes, which were tapped at regular intervals by hydrants,
so as to insure a sufficient supply in case of fire. The city had a very
efficient fire department. See Utah Direct, and Gaz., 1874, 177, 1879-S0, 56.
13 In 1886 it had already cost some §2,500,000.
14 In 1884 they were over 60 feet above the ground.
15 Under President Taylor's administration more work in the same time
was done on the temple than ever before. Utah Notes, MS. For condition of
the temple building in I860, see p. 5S2, this vol. ; at other dates, Deseret News,
Nov. 20, 1SG7, Aug. 20, 1873, May 27. 1874, Aug. 23, 1S76, July 3, Nov. 20,
1878; Millennial Star, xxxvi. 273-5; Harpa-'s Mag., Aug. 18S3. In quarrying
the granite at Little Cottonwood canon, the workmen dislodged huge
bowlders from the mountain side, and sent them crashing down to the railroad
track, a descent of 700 feet. One of these bowlders weighed 21,000 tons.