Joseph Smith Memorial Building

In July 2025, we visited the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in downtown Salt Lake City. This building has undergone significant upgrades during its existence, and another upgrade has just finished. The architecture, furniture, and other decorations are amazing. Skilled artisans have done significant effort to do the wood and stone carvings, as well as the painting, tile work, and other decorations. The Joseph Smith Memorial Building is a treasured asset of Salt Lake City and well worth the free admission visit.

Located at Temple Square, next to the Assembly Hall. Free to tour and lots of friendly helpful people to answer questions. You can pay to park in front of Assembly Hall or you can park across the street at the museum.

Being a huge fan of The Lion House for decades, I've been waiting patiently for word on a reopening. Finally, we were back in the area a few weeks ago, and my husband said it reopened under a new name in the Joseph Smith Building. So, we went for lunch. The building itself has so much history and is beautiful inside and out. It's warm and welcoming, decorated tastefully and comfortably. The restaurant operates out of the building. It was busy and most tables were taken, but there are places to sit outside of the restaurant, in the lobby. If you happen to go, pay attention to the details and photos. It's such a beautiful space.

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah. Reopened June 2025 Validation parking with purchase at the Garden restaurant or else it’s $25 Tip: park at City Creek Center mall for 2hrs free or park at the Conference Center with Validation. Building still under construction so only the Garden restaurant is open from 11am-3pm

It's a beautiful building and has been recently remodeled. The Garden Restaurant has really good food for reasonable prices

Quiet place for hosting events with the renovations of temple square. I am sure less people are using this as their reception and dining right now until the Salt Lake Temple reopens. Good food and good service. They were very accommodating for my gluten and dairy free dietary restrictions! Thank you!

Went out here with my son between General Conference sessions. First off, "The Roof" has a fantastic view of Temple square. You can see all the LDS patrons as they exit out the conference center. It was a perfect day for every event taking place. The staff consistently stopped by to ensure we were comfortable and needed anything. The food selection was fantastic. Our waitress knew their selections well and have great recommendations what to get next when I asked. I'm so glad they are open between conference sessions to make it a wonderful experience. Foods and desserts are well worth it.

It’s a beautiful building and is offered to the public for events such as wedding luncheons and receptions. I had my wedding reception here and so did my cousin. There are various rooms to choose from, and mine was in the Empire Room on the main floor. I didn’t have to work with the staff, but the reception was good and people seemed to like the place.