Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Open House and Dedication

A public open house for the newly constructed Tallahassee Florida Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be held from Monday, November 4, through Saturday, November 23, excluding Sundays. A media day will precede the public tours on Monday, October 28, followed by two days of invited guest tours. Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple in one session at 9:00 a.m. local time on Sunday, December 8, 2024.¹

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder James B. Martino, North America Southeast Area President, presided on Saturday, June 5, 2021, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tallahassee Florida Temple, located in the northeast section of Florida's capital city. "This temple will bless the entire land around it and the entire community. It will be a beacon of holiness and a place of peace for all to both see and feel. Here we will seek to draw closer to God, to hear His voice, and seek to follow His teachings," said Elder Martino. The 29,000-square-foot temple will rise on a 4.97-acre site adjacent to the meetinghouse on Thomasville Road at 2440 Papillion Way. It will be third temple in Florida, joining the Orlando Florida Temple and Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple. Watch the groundbreaking video.²

Temple Design

The Tallahassee Florida Temple will be a single-story temple of approximately 29,000 square feet with a center spire. It will stand across from an existing meetinghouse. The project will also include the construction of a distribution center.

Temple Rendering

On January 13, 2021, an official exterior rendering of the Tallahassee Florida Temple was released.

Temple Site

On January 13, 2021, the location of the Tallahassee Florida Temple was announced as a 4.97-acre site at 2440 Papillon Way across from the meetinghouse on Thomasville Road. The temple will stand on a major highway on the north side of Tallahassee, providing good access to members living throughout the region.³

Temple Announcement

In his closing remarks at the conclusion of the April 2020 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct a temple in Florida's capital city of Tallahassee. It is the largest city in the Florida Panhandle and centrally located between the east and west sides of North Florida. The Tallahassee Florida Temple will be third to be constructed in Florida. There are over 150,000 members of the Church in the state organized into 33 stakes. Latter-day Saints in Tallahassee currently travel 260 miles to participate in temple worship at the Orlando Florida Temple.⁴

Temple Facts

The Tallahassee Florida Temple will be the third temple in Florida, following the Orlando Florida Temple (1994) and Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple (2014).

Temple Design

Exterior

The temple is a steel-frame structure clad with precast concrete. The steel was fabricated by Allstate Steel of Jacksonville, Florida, and installed in collaboration with Cutting Edge Welding and Fabricating of St. Augustine, Florida. The exterior precast concrete was manufactured by GATE Precast of Monroeville, Alabama, and installed by Precision Stone Setting of Hiram, Georgia. The metal cupola was manufactured by Munns Manufacturing Inc. of Tremonton, Utah.

The grounds feature native or otherwise historically significant plants. Key tree species include the iconic live oak; two varieties of magnolias, whose foliage is depicted in the temple architecture; and historic crape myrtles. Bald cypress was used in the stormwater facility for its adaptability to drought and flood conditions, joined by several varieties of pines and understory trees typical of the surrounding native landscapes.

Azalea, an iconic plant for the area, is the signature shrub found throughout the temple grounds in eight varieties. The azalea was paired with native grasses such as muhly and fakahatchee and non-natives such as fountain grass for variety and a soft texture. The landscape was designed by Halff Associates Inc. and installed by Conrad Design and Landscape Inc., both located in Tallahassee.

Interior

The carpet is a combination of broadloom, carved Axminster carpet, and carpet tile. Gold and cream are the prominent carpet colors. Bentley Mills of California manufactured the general broadloom and carpet tile. The flooring was installed by Re:Source Utah Commercial Flooring Systems of Salt Lake City. The Axminster carpets, used in the celestial, sealing and ordinance rooms, were designed in collaboration with Royal Thai and produced in Thailand. The design and carving details are based on historic carpet patterns. The Axminster carpet design includes leaf lattice, palm fronds, magnolia flowers and interlocking key patterns.

Hand-tufted rugs are used in the entry, bride’s room and non-patron waiting rooms and feature palm frond and magnolia rosette designs. Rugs International of Cartersville, Georgia, collaborated in designing the rugs.

Latte marble from Turkey is the dominant stone, used as the field tile and ordinance room base. Gray Cloud stone and Silver Screen vein-cut marble from China are used as base and accent tile and for borders. Stone tile patterns are based on historic geometric tile patterns from the mid-1800s. The Silver Screen and Latte marble were manufactured by Daltile of Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Gray Cloud stone was distributed by Arizona Tile. All were installed by Peritia Stone of Waterloo, Iowa.

Carving and decorative paint patterns include the guilloche, magnolia rosette, bell flower, bead and reel, egg and dart, and dentil as seen in mid-1800s local architecture. Paint colors are consistent with other decorative elements throughout the temple. The painting was done by John Petersen Painting Inc. of Orem, Utah. The decorative paint and gilding were finished by Finessed Finishes of Mapleton, Utah. The decorative plaster was installed by Signature Designs of Alpine, Utah.

Art glass was designed in collaboration with Holdman Studios of Lehi, Utah. The arched glass transom above the main celestial room doors features a radial pattern with a central magnolia flower. The design includes carved gold palmette scroll vine borders.

The lighting was designed in collaboration with Ciana Lighting of Heber, Utah, based on historic mid-1800s designs, including lanterns, bowls, sconces and crystal light fixtures. Light fixtures in the baptistry feature a carved magnolia rosette and acanthus leaves. Lantern fixtures in the ordinance rooms include floral swags, carved acanthus leaves, urns and magnolia rosettes. Bride’s room light fixtures include a cut crystal bowl and candlestick arms with carved acanthus leaves. Chandeliers and sconces in the celestial and sealing rooms include Egyptian cut crystals, carved acanthus leaves and candlestick arms. Most fixtures are made of bronze but finished to look like brass. All were installed by Nelson Electric of Rigby, Idaho.

The baptistry font railings are based on historic fence design from the 1860s. The top handrail is mahogany wood with a glass infill. The metal is made of bronze but finished to appear like antique brass, with a diamond panel emphasizing a carved magnolia rosette in the center. The railings were manufactured and installed by Smith Design and Manufacturing of Gunter, Texas.

Door hardware is based on historic hardware produced by Rocky Mountain Hardware of Hailey, Idaho. The design includes an arched backplate and a scroll lever with a bead border. The pull, also based on traditional hardware, includes fluting and carved flourishes. This hardware was made from bronze material but finished to appear like antique brass. The exterior doors were manufactured by Ellison Bronze of Falconer, New York, and installed by Miller Glass of Tallahassee, Florida. The interior doors were manufactured by Masonite of Tampa, Florida, and installed by

A.E.R. Woodworking of Cedar City, Utah.

The celestial room ceiling is constructed of glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum (GFRG) manufactured by Casting Designs Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas. The focal point is a large central oval dome bordered by a curved perimeter ceiling with panelized beams. The baptistry, instruction rooms and bride’s room include stepped gypsum ceilings with centered plaster ceiling medallions, featuring fan, palmette and acanthus leaf designs. The ceilings’ embellishments include carved palmette, bell flower, guilloche and magnolia rosettes. Most of these ceilings are constructed of gypsum board and metal studs with GFRG decorative elements. Daw Construction Group of Draper, Utah, installed the gypsum and acoustic ceilings.

The millwork design includes the classical detailing of Palladian-style columns and moldings. The design also features decorative carvings based on the designs of local architecture from the 1860s, such as magnolia rosettes, as well as the classical detailing of the egg and dart, bead and reel, dentil, carved acanthus leaf and palmette moldings. The millwork was manufactured by Fetzer Architectural Woodworking of West Valley City, Utah, and installed by A.E.R. Woodworking of Cedar City, Utah.

temple’s original artwork includes “That They May Be Called Trees of Righteousness, the Planting of the Lord, That He May Be Glorified (Isaiah 61:3)” by Josh Clare and “She Offered All, Even All Her Living” by Heather Edwards.