For decades visitors to the Los Angeles Temple have learned about the Mormon faith through a series of displays and exhibits. The center has now been updated with a full renovation two years in the making. The renovation of the Los Angeles Temple Visitors’ Center brings together bright, vibrant colors appropriate for the Southern California location, with the latest technology in interactive multimedia.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The center was expanded by about 20 percent to 12,817 square feet. The renovation includes a 180-seat theater, complete with a multipurpose space for films, cultural performances and traveling exhibits.
“Several new exhibits highlight simple principles and doctrines in practical ways for us to follow Jesus Christ,” said Mark Lusvardi, director of Church exhibits. “The key component with all our visitors’ centers is the focus on the Savior.”
A new entrance to the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Visitors’ Center in Los Angeles has an all-glass front highlighting the centerpiece, an 11-foot Christus marble statue.
The center, which reopened to the public on 7 August, is located on Santa Monica Boulevard adjacent to the Los Angeles Temple.
“A spectacular new exhibit entitled Savior of the World takes visitors to an Old World setting as unique 3D-like images transport them to the Holy Land,” said Lusvardi. “Visitors will see where Jesus walked, what He taught and who He was.”
Adults can hear messages about the sacred nature of families while children draw digital pictures of their favorite family moments. This unique digital drawing area, designed exclusively for children, is a new visitors’ center feature. Children’s drawings can be emailed so they are available when they arrive home.
Outside, a new garden area features cleaned and restored statues depicting the family. The surrounding grounds are filled with palm trees and foliage native to Southern California. While much is new, much has been preserved, including the outdoor statue garden.
“The missionaries are really the number one exhibit,” said Lusvardi, “their smiles, their warmth and spirit.”
The visitors’ center includes a history of the Los Angeles Temple, including previously unseen video, interviews from President David O. McKay and a “testimonial from the first June bride,” as well as artifacts from the 1956 dedication.
There are 23 individual visitors’ centers nationwide, including many in close proximity to historic Church sites.