The Episcopal Diocese of Utah
News Releases

Cathedral, Diocesan Center Building Project Begins
December 7, 2005

Demolition began today of Spalding Hall at St. Mark's Cathedral in Salt Lake City. It is the first step in a series that will eventually see a new Cathedral parish hall, offices and classrooms northeast of the historic Cathedral. Also planned for the property northwest of the Cathedral is a new Diocesan Center. That building will house offices for the Episcopal Diocese of Utah and its bishop, the Right Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish and her successors.

The planned Diocesan Center will also house a bookstore, coffee bar, resource center and community conference rooms as well as a hospitality center for overnight guests on retreat or participating in regional or national meetings at the Center. It will also include a public plaza on the corner of 100 South and 200 East.

Both projects were purposely designed to set back off 100 South to highlight the Cathedral Church of St. Mark, the first major Protestant church to be built in the Salt Lake Valley. Its cornerstone was laid in 1870 and it is the oldest building in Utah to have continuous religious services. It is also the third oldest Episcopal church in the United States to be built as a cathedral. A small, one-story building just east of the Cathedral on 100 South will be built to house Hildegarde's Pantry, an outreach ministry of St. Mark's to the poor in the downtown area.

Construction on both projects will take about a year. Culp Construction Co. will build both projects. The Diocesan Center is designed by Buese+Peters Architects. The architectural firm for the new Cathedral Center is Eldredge & Nicholson.

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