Idaho Falls LDS Temple to close in mid-March for renovation

Ground was broken on the Idaho Falls LDS Temple this week in 1939, and the edifice was dedicated in September 1945.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced today that its Idaho Falls Temple will close for renovations in mid-March 2015 and remain closed through October 2016.  Dates of when the temple will reopen have not been announced. Following the renovation, the temple will be rededicated.

In a prepared statement from the church’s First Presidency, the Rexburg Temple is preparing to accommodate the influx of members of the church who would normally attend the Idaho Falls Temple.

Friday, incidentally, is the 75th anniversary of the day ground was broken in the construction of the temple. The bids were opened Dec. 15, 1939, and the $300,000 job — that would be $5.1 million in 2014 dollars — was awarded to Nick Burggraf of Idaho Falls. David Smith and Leonard G. Ball, presidents of the North Idaho Falls and Idaho Falls stakes, were present for the contract signing, as was civil engineer E. Milton Christensen.

World War II slowed down the construction, and the Idaho Falls Temple was finally dedicated Sept. 23, 1945.