Logan City proposes tearing down Temple Barn
Logan’s historic “Temple Barn” was the topic of discussion at the Logan City Council meeting Wednesday night. Council members proposed tearing down the barn to make room for a new neighborhood center. Members of the community who would be affected by the decision came to share their concerns about the project.
The Temple Barn, located 369 E. 200 N, was built in 1877 for housing equipment that was used during the construction of the Logan Temple.
“When something’s been in a neighborhood for that long, it almost becomes the neighborhood, and I’m not sure you can just destroy our neighborhood,” one woman in attendance said.
According to Logan City’s community development document, a Neighborhood Center is “(a) building designed for occupancy by retail, service, and/or office uses on the ground floor with upper floors also configured for those uses or for dwelling units.”
Members of the council used the Island Market, located at 400 East and Center Street, and Fredrico’s Pizza, located at 1349 E. 700 North, as examples of the kind of commerce centers they would like to see throughout the city.
Council member Laraine Swenson said the centers are intended to reduce the amount of traffic in the city, reduce emissions, and create a sense of community in the neighborhoods.
Another woman in attendance said the idea of creating commerce centers throughout the town was old fashioned and overly romantic. She said the council was wrong to think that Logan still operates as it did in the 1950s, and that while neighborhood centers may have had a function then, they do not today.
Many citizens in attendance said they were not opposed to creating neighborhood centers elsewhere, but did not like the idea of tearing down the temple barn. City council member Jay Monson asked citizens, “What would you like to see done with it? It can’t just stay the way it is and fall apart on itself. Who will maintain it?”
John Avila said, “I will if you give it to me,” but the council did not respond to his offer. Avila said he would like to see the barn restored and maintained. Others said they would like to see it turned into a historical museum. Amanda Davis said she would love to see a park built there, rather than a commerce center.
The item was tabled so the council could work out some of the plan’s language, and the discussion on neighborhood centers was scheduled to continue in June’s council meeting.
– robmjepson@gmail.com