The proposed demolition of the 29th Ward Chapel is outrageous and a tragedy in the making. An early meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and longtime community hub, the building is an important part of the west side’s unique character that would be forever lost if it were to be torn down in favor of yet another overpriced “luxury” apartment community that we seem to be such a fan of constructing these days.
Too often in Utah, there seems to be a disturbing trend of tearing old buildings down when they supposedly outlive their usefulness and replacing them with depressingly bland, cookie-cutter structures. Older buildings, like our senior citizen population, have so much to offer. Throwing these “jewels” out in favor of new and shiny construction is not only wrong-headed, but it ends up resulting in an immense loss of our cultural heritage.
I urge all citizens who care about the historical integrity of Utah to urge the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission to prevent this injustice from moving forward.
Ryan D. Curtis, Salt Lake City
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