Endowment House
Coordinates: 40°46′16″N 111°53′37″W / 40.77111°N 111.89361°W
The Endowment House was an early building used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to administer temple ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. From the construction of the Council House in 1852, Salt Lake City's first public building, until the construction of the Endowment House, the Mormons used the top floor of the Council House for administering temple rituals. When this arrangement proved impractical, Brigham Young directed Truman O. Angell, architect of the Salt Lake Temple, to design a temporary temple. Completed in 1855, the building was dedicated by Heber C. Kimball and came to be called the Endowment House after the endowment ceremonies that were conducted inside it.
The Endowment House stood on the northwest corner of Temple Square. Initially, it was a two-story adobe building, 44 by 34 feet (13 by 10 m), with a single-story 20-foot (6.1 m) extension on its north side. In 1856, another extension was added on its south side and a baptistry on its west side.
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