The town of Gilbert Arizona is looking for a few good, but old photos of their historic Mormon Church, which is about to be demolished. The above photo, from the Gilbert Historical Society, shows what the building looked like just after it was remodeled in 1946.
The Church building is 90 years old, and is scheduled to be demolished within the next six weeks to make way for future development. Sadly there isn’t even anything planned for the site. They just want to make it more attractive for future developers to take an interest and develop, well, something. Of course, I don’t live in Gilbert, and can’t contribute any money to the cause; but, it seems like a shame to see the old Church demolished. Anyway, if you have any old photos of the old Gilbert Arizona Mormon Church, call (480) 503-6766. The Arizona Republic story follows:
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 21, 2007 10:00 AMGilbert is looking for old photos of the Mormon Church, the 90-year-old building at the southern gateway to the downtown Heritage District.
The former church and Boys & Girls Club building, on the northwest corner of Gilbert and Elliot roads, will be demolished within the next six weeks or so to make way for future development.
Gilbert has some photos of the original church, but is seeking more to help recreate the history of one of the municipality’s oldest buildings, town spokesman Greg Svelund said.
“Because when it’s gone, it’s gone,” Svelund said.
People who have any photos of the old church are asked to call (480) 503-6766. Original photos will be returned to owners, Svelund said.
Gilbert officials also are looking into potentially preserving a small piece of the building’s architecture, but not much else, Svelund said. Asbestos and lead paint have been found at the site, and the building itself essentially is bare.
“The only thing that we think that might have value is the entryway,” Svelund said. “As far as anything else, it simply doesn’t exist.”
Before demolition, Gilbert must conduct a Historic American Buildings Survey.
The site is now up for grabs after a developer terminated its development agreement with Gilbert recently. Gilbert officials said demolishing the building will make the site more attractive to developers.
Reach the reporter at mike.walbert@arizonarepublic.com.
Good Luck Gilbert!
Messenger and Advocate 
July 22, 2007 at 1:46 am
Thanks for this notice. I spent 7 months of my mission in the area that included this building. I’ll have to pull out the mission albums to see if I have any photos. Thanks again.
May 9, 2024 at 12:47 pm
Were you able to find any pics?
February 17, 2019 at 2:35 am
It’s too bad it’s gone. From the ages of 7-17 that was my ward building. It was an amazing place with lots of secret rooms that I wasn’t supposed to get into. I was sad when they sold it. Now it’s even sadder that it’s gone. I have a lot of childhood memories of it. I regret not taking any pictures of it.