10 interesting facts about the Chicago, Illinois Temple

1. The Chicago, Illinois Temple is the first temple built in the Midwest, after the Saints had made it to Utah.
2. The Chicago Illinois Temple is the second temple to be built in Illinois, but the first was the Nauvoo Temple built in 1846 and it was not operational because of the Saints exodus from the area.
3. The Chicago, Illinois Temple was dedicated in August 1985 by Gordon B. Hinckley. This is nearly 140 years after the dedication of the Nauvoo, Illinois Temple
4. The land that the Chicago Temple is built on is known at ”The Grove” and is known for the wildlife, birds and grassland.
5. The land that the Chicago Illinois Temple is built on was selected after two years of searching for land and two more years of getting government approval.
6. The Chicago Illinois Temple exterior is made from gray buff marble and a gray slate roof.
7. At the time of the building of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints would ask for donations for the temple fund. “Temple pennies” was a donation drive done by the primary children of the temple district, to help with the temple landscape.
8. Members in the Chicago Illinois Temple district donated their time, talents and money to provide the furnishings for the Chicago Temple.
9. A group of Young Women from Minnesota made dolls that would go in the nursery of the temple and each doll was named after a girl that made them.
10. The Chicago Illinois Temple was only opened for three years when the temple was closed in 1988 to renovate it and expand the Chicago Temple. They made the temple more than double the original size in the renovation.

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