There’s TWO new museums coming to our capitol city. I believe I have mentioned before that I’m very excited for the grand opening of the Museum of Utah that will be housed in a new building that’s almost finished, located behind the actual state capitol building at 450 N State Street.

The grand opening will be June 27^th and it’s Utah’s first state history museum and will celebrate our unique history, culture and art through world class exhibits, programming and community spaces. The building is six floors, and the top four are dedicated to the museum displays and the first two floors are legislative offices. It’s an extension of the Utah Historical Society and although the place isn’t open yet, the museum store is Monday-Thursday 9AM to 8 PM and Friday-Sunday 9AM to 6 PM full of books, stuffies, flags, shirts, cards, etc.  They just acquired the iconic Mormon Meteor III land speed racer (think Salt Flats) that was commissioned by legendary driver Ab Jenkins and it will be on display in time for the grand opening.

The second museum is the Salt Lake Art Museum, which is being touted as the city’s first new fine art gallery in three decades. It is going into the historic B’nai Israel Temple, the oldest synagogue in the state as the first permanent Jewish house of worship in Utah…built before the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Although the building hasn’t been used for religious services since the 1970’s it has seen other tenants like a café, offices and even a school. The structure was designed by a German architect who modeled the Salt Lake building after a synagogue in Berlin, Philip Meyer. Sadly, Meyer died in a Nazi death camp in 1943. He was related to Frederick Auerbach, the co-founder of the historic but now defunct Auerbach’s department store that competed with ZCMI department store in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The SLAM (249 S. 400 E.) will open in July, this summer. The first event will celebrate the architect Richard Kletting, famous for designing the Utah Capitol Building, the Oquirrh School, the first Saltair Resort Pavillion, Utah’s first fire-proof building (The Mcintyre Building), the Fisher Mansion and Carriage House, the first Salt Palace, various religious buildings in the state, four of the University of Utah Circle buildings, and the Territorial Insane Asylum to name a few!  He was also born in Germany and was one of 16 children, moved to Paris where he learned design there. He migrated to the U.S. in 1883 and his first project in Utah was at the University of Deseret (the U of U).

The new owner of the Synagogue is Michah Christensen who notes that he’s half-Jewish and half-Mormon pioneer by descent and that his great grandfather was a member of the congregation. He purchased the building for $3 mil and plans to build a seven-story, 113-unit apartment complex behind and next to the building.