PROVO — As leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints turned over the dirt, it was a moment of history in Provo.

The Provo City Center temple will be built from what is left from the Provo Tabernacle, which was destroyed by fire and become the second LDS temple in the city.

More than 5,000 people filled the area, some looking for a view, anywhere they could get it — even from the air in a hot air balloon — to see their beloved Tabernacle get a second chance in the form of a new LDS temple.

"It was hard to see it burn, but exciting to hear the news they were going to keep it and turn it into a temple," said Provo resident Jason Wilcox.

The building's history

The Tabernacle was built in the late 1800's and when it caught fire in the middle of the night on December 17th, 2010, many feared the iconic building and its pioneer craftsmanship was lost forever. No other public space in Provo has ever had such valued and varied use and no other structure in this county has been such an integral part of the religious and civic life here," said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the groundbreaking ceremony.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland led the groundbreaking service.

"To have this many people, a multitude of people gathered on these grounds, probably for the last time in this kind of configuration, is a very emotional moment for me," Holland said.

Reconstruction and restoration

Church leaders acknowledge constructing a temple from an existing structure will be challenging, but promise to restore the building, with as much of its historic properties as possible. "It will be a brand new beautiful temple, but it will look like an old temple in terms of design and décor and furnishings," said Elder William R. Walker of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

While portions of the new temple will be built underground, the finished temple will stand as it does now, with the addition of a center steeple.

"It will be just like the old tabernacle, but it will have Moroni (an ancient prophet of the LDS belief) on the top of it, with the center spire, it will be fabulous," Walker said.

The temple will be surrounded with landscaping, both north and south of the temple, through the church's purchase of part of 100 South from Provo City.

Work on the temple will begin immediately and construction is expected to be finished by the end of 2014.

"It's just going to be a landmark, it's going to be special forever, I'm as thrilled as anybody in this audience here today," Holland said.

And for those who say they cried when the Tabernacle caught fire, they say they will shed tears again when a new temple stands in its place.

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Small businesses to support Utah Valley Convention Center

Two major events will take place here Saturday morning in what city leaders believe is just the beginning of a new feeling in the downtown area.

Convention center opens its doorsAlso Saturday, after months of anticipation, the Utah Valley Convention Center at 220 W. Center Street opened its doors. Entertainment and local talent helped welcome the public and included the American Heritage Audition Choir, New Age Inklings UVU Playwrights, The Pointe Academy, and Timpview Ballroom. A business expo, art show and exhibits and a kids craft fair were also a part of the opening celebration.

The convention center's 85,578 square feet of meeting and garden space, 19,620 square feet of exhibit space and its 16,894-square- foot Grand Ballroom position the facility as larger than existing conference space in the Provo Marriott across the street and much, much smaller than the half- million square feet at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City.

The $42 million facility is a big part of the plan to revitalize downtown Provo and attract businesses and tourists to the area.

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