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Orem • Nearly 2,000 people filed into the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University on Sunday night to mourn the loss of a historic building.
The memorial, and tribute, was held in honor of the Provo Tabernacle, which was ravaged by fire Friday. The cause of the blaze was still under investigation Sunday.
"This was more than a building; this building had a soul," said Provo Mayor John Curtis in an hourlong service dedicated to the building. "It was a part of who we are."
A performance of "Gloria" by the Millennium Choral Society was held after the service. The singing group had been scheduled to perform in the tabernacle. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert attended the service along with Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
Ed and Maria Collazo attended the service because they served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Provo Tabernacle six years ago. The couple, who originally are from Puerto Rico, have since moved to Utah County and visited the building often to go to conferences.
"It's really sad for us," Ed Collazo said. "It was like a roller coaster, something unbelievable for us.
"For us, this is an icon," he added. "We need that building there."
The fire was first reported about 2:45 a.m. Friday and spread quickly through the 112-year-old structure. It took firefighters two days to extinguish the blaze. Provo Fire Marshal Lynn Schofield said investigators may not have an official cause of the fire until "well after" Christmas. Then the LDS Church will determine if the building can be restored.
Jan Chase, of Orem, who attended the service, was at work in her office building on the opposite corner of the tabernacle when the fire and column of smoke shot out of the building.
"There's not a day at work that goes by where I wouldn't look out at that building," she said as she began to tear up. "I haven't stopped crying for three days. It's the jewel in the crown architecturally and spiritually."
Prior to speaking at the service, Herbert told The Salt Lake Tribune that he has a lot of memories about what the building represents. The governor originally is from Orem and is a former Utah County commissioner.
"It's just part of the ambience there. It's part of the landscape," he said. "It represents a lot of our heritage. When I was a county commissioner, I spent a lot of time there."
The crowd had gathered to mourn the loss of a building, but as the governor said, it was more than just a building. "It represents people," he said.