2nd Ward Chapel in Springville

Today's post is about the 2nd ward chapel in Springville.  In 1892, Springville was divided into 4 wards and a chapel was built for each ward.  The 2nd ward built their chapel at 451 S Main Street.  A historic book in the Springville Family History Library states, "The second ward LDS church is a beautiful brick building, built in 1904, costing over $10,000.  Bishop Adnerson was the driving force back of the construction of this building.  He resigned at the end of the year 1901 and J.F. Binghurst was appointed to replace him.  There were over 800 people in the ward at this time." 

Here is the building from around 1900:

Photo courtesy of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University

     The building was scheduled to be demolished in the 90s, but was people decided to save the building due to its unique architecture.  It was remodeled in 1998 at the cost of 1.5 million dollars and was rededicated by LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.  However, in July of 2006, a fire broke out in the building.  The Daily Herald reported that "Vandals broke locks, sprayed fire extinguishers, broke pictures and caused other damage inside the building before setting fire" in the cultural hall after entering through a window on the second floor.  They estimated that around $200,000 dollars worth of damage had been done.  Here is a picture of fire fighters in front of the building from the Deseret News:

Photo courtesy of the Deseret News

It was decided that the building would cost too much to be repaired and that it should be demolished.  Before the building was destroyed, some of the glass windows were removed and put in another church in Springville.  Here is the location as it is found today:

When researching this site, I found that there has been recent push to develop the property.  Some individuals approached the Springville City Council asking to turn the site into residential subdivision.  I think the plan is to turn it into a residential and commercial area called Charity Condominiums.  There may have been plans to turn it into a elderly rest home, but I think that the Charity Condominiums idea is catching steam and it may even have gotten approval from the Springville City Council.

There is another really interesting development in the destruction of this chapel.  The Deseret News reported this last December that a man named Jake Devin Dowhaniuk has been charged with the arson of the building.  Dowhaniuk is currently in the state prison in Gunnison for burglary and disorderly conduct.  There were traces of blood found at the burnt chapel in 2006 and a recent DNA test matched it with Dowhaniuk's blood.  The Deseret News reported that there may have been more individuals involved in the crime due to the extensive amount of damage.