Mormon Temple Plans to Open Doors to Public for First Time in Four Decades

Church will let visitors check out renovations scheduled for 2020 completion

By Bethany Rodgers

Via Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Most D.C.-area drivers recognize the Mormon temple, the eye-catching building that rises above the treetops along the Beltway.

But because only members of the faith are allowed inside temples, few members of the public have actually stepped inside.

Now, a two-year renovation project could end up giving non-Mormons their first peek inside the building in more than four decades, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The D.C. temple in Kensington is scheduled to close in March 2018 for the planned upgrades to the mechanical systems and its finishes and furnishings, a church news release stated. The temple is expected to show off the improvements with a public open house and rededication in 2020.

The church will provide more details closer to the project completion date, according to the release. The visitor center at the temple will stay open throughout the renovation process.

Construction on the 160,000-square-foot building started in 1968, and the dedication took place about six years later, the church reported.

The last open house ended on Nov. 2, 1974.

The MoCoShow blog called attention to the project in a Tweet last week.