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The Priesthood Restoration Site
Project Information
- Project Location:
- Oakland, PA
- Status:
- Completed
- Structure Type:
- Church / Synagogue
References
- Owner:
- Big-D Pacific Builders
Scope Of Work
Construction work for sacred spaces presents both special opportunities and unique challenges. Big-D recently undertook such a project for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when we completed site work and building construction for the church’s Priesthood Restoration Site.
The Priesthood Restoration Site is a historic site located in Oakland Township, Pennsylvania. It comprises property once owned and lived on by Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The site represents an important sacred place for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In April 2011 the Church announced it would rebuild some historic buildings, which were once part of the Hale Farm, and construct a new monument on the site.
The project included several very different elements on the 90-acre site: new construction of a combined visitor center and meeting house as well as a new monument; reconstruction of the historic Hale Farm and Smith House; and numerous site improvements to facilitate visitors moving through the site.
The combined visitor center and meetinghouse includes an independent storage building, pump and well building, and a restroom building. The historic home recreation includes two historic homes built using customary construction methods with specialty historic finishes.
Site improvement included the realignment and reconstruction of State Route 171, installing an underpass and a new pedestrian walkway beneath the highway to make it safer for pedestrians to access the commemorative monument, homes, cemetery, and river from the visitor center. Big-D also performed stream restoration and redevelopment, and mass grading with new landscaping and a natural path trail system.