Picture the Second Renaissance Revival hotel that opened here in 1911, named for Joseph Smith at the corner of Main and South Temple. Named for Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, this social center began life as a hotel: work on the Second Renaissance Revival building designed by Los Angeles firm Parkinson and Bergstrom began in June 1909, and on June 9, 1911 the Hotel Utah opened. Before the hotel rose here, the general tithing office, a bishop's storehouse, and the Deseret News printing plant occupied this important corner.
In recognition of its history it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 3, 1978, listed under its original name, Hotel Utah. More recently the building has housed restaurants, served as a venue for events, and accommodated several levels of administrative offices for departments of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including FamilySearch. The building closed in 2023 for extensive renovations expected to be completed in 2025.
Layers of civic, religious, and social life have gathered at this corner for over a century, from tithing office to hotel to church offices you see today.