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and could go up larger. So I put this idea up to the architect and
engineers: Instead of adding a 121-foot-wide stem of a "T" on the
rear, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE STRUCTURALLY TO ADD ANOTHER WHOLE
TABERNACLE, SO TO SPEAK, OF 176 FEET OF WIDTH AND 121 FEET OF
DEPTH, BUT WITHOUT ANY WALL BETWEEN THEM--AND WITHOUT ANY PILLARS
OR POSTS OR STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS? I asked them if the roof across
the 176-foot center could be supported by a long curved truss over-
head. This would be quite an engineering feat. They figured on
it.
"YES!" they said. "IT COULD BE DONE!" The giant arched
truss overhead, curving up from the ground at each end, could be
like the span of a great bridge--perhaps three-fourths as long as
the span on the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. But we would
dispense with two side walls 167 feet long, and would go a long
ways toward paying for the big "bridge span." This would give us
an auditorium 167 feet wide and 242 feet deep. This main floor
alone, without a pillar or post, would seat about 15,000 people;
With balconies, it could seat from 20,000 to 25,000. It would
probably be the largest auditorium ever built on earth, in actual
seating capacity. At the rear and far corners people would be 230
to 250 feet from the speaker.
Then the question came up: if we could add on one entire
additional Tabernacle area, we could add on two--or three--or ANY
NUMBER.
There would be NO LIMIT--except the ground to build it on,
and the fact that after THREE of these huge units, the people would
be too far away from the platform to see the speaker.
SO--as far as building construction is concerned, we have
chosen a type of construction that WE SHALL NEVER OUTGROW! No
matter how big we grow, we can all meet at the same Tabernacle
grounds, and all assemble in the SAME TABERNACLE TOGETHER! Isn't
that a huge blessing from God?
Well, Brethren, I thought this would be INTERESTING to
you, as it certainly is to me. Of course we are going to have to
build a new dining hall in another couple years--and to enlarge the
present one with balconies THIS YEAR, before next fall.
Also, we have found a new type of heavy galvanized iron
booth, with a single room and roofed porch, which will house from
two to six people of one family--and a larger one that would house
six, eight or ten. I think we can make a deal to construct them,
in quantities of 100, with cot or bed-springs (members to bring
their own bedding), so they can be paid for by charging members a
rental of $40 or so for the entire eight or ten days they would be
there, and let these booths pay for themselves in ten years. WOULD
YOU LIKE TO RENT ONE FOR NEXT FALL? They are attractive, with
three windows in each, and should be much better than a tent. IF
ENOUGH OF OUR MEMBERS WANT THEM, WE MAY CONSTRUCT 100 OF THEM
BEFORE NEXT FALL. They would not cost the Church any money,
actually, for I think we can get them on a 10% down, and 10% a year
basis. Those who rent them will automatically pay for them, about
as cheap as pitching a tent, and a lot less cost than a motel. The