Some of them would make great lofts. Most of them would need to be torn down. They are in suburban areas that couldn't support anything business like. Some of them are on really expensive land. I think the L.A., San Diego, and D.C. ones would need to be torn down completely. The Manila one is in the middle of a very upscale housing neighborhood, it would for sure need to be torn down.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2011 02:00PM by bingoe4.
Rent them out for weddings with a big restaurant inside and a theme of some sort.
On second thought I am in San Diego and I think that I was thinking that it would work there.....but most of the others would not ever create enough revenue.....FAIL on the wedding house.
Maybe a restaurant...they have a kitchen already. Hotel with a theme in each floor/room.
Nightclubs of course! Keep the windows, it would look pretty cool at night with all the flashing lights and lasers. Turn the celestial room into the DJ booth.
First of all, I doubt the LDS Church will go "bankrupt". If they do decide to sell off some of their property that is not being used, other organizations could make good use of some of it.
The church I used to attend, before I converted was later sold to the YMCA -- it has a basketball court, just like many LDS buildings.
So, LDS buildings would attract other organizations that like the layout. Or in some cases, could change the layout easily to accommodate other uses.
Some buildings could be used for a private school, for instance.
perfect for day care,since they are right in the middle of upscale neighborhoods. plenty of parking, park like setting, cafeteria, lots of rooms for nap time, easy to keep secure with guard gates already in place, movie theatre, and a swimming pool!
I like this idea a lot; however, if the economy nosedives enough for Mormons to have to cash in temples, what we actually NEED is a venue for people to sell what they have made.
Having a big area for vendor booths and plenty of room for child care on sight, parents could have their own little businesses selling the food and goods we will all be desperate for. Others could have jobs taking care of babies in exchange for produce, etc.
The temples could be the mercantile center for the failed American economy, a Survive and Thrive Local Center with lots of trading.
This would actually help the living instead of worrying about the dead.
I will buy one of the mini temples and convert it, Lobby would be lined with Greek nudes, surround sound theater room in the terrestial room, Den with wet bar in the telestial room, hot tub in the font, the Master bedroom will be the Celestial Room, with room enough for all our friends ;) I would leave the chandeliers and everything, just clear out the center and put a huge round bed. Wouldn't that just be heavenly?
I can't imagine the temple being used for anything but something carnal and bodacious--like a brothel, a strip club, or at the very least, a massage parlor. Yes, the chandeliers, all the mirrors, the privacy of no windows and locked gates, the wall murals, the giant scale, the Las Vegas Liberace decor, give the place a decadent atmosphere.
Seriously, considering the real estate code of "the highest and best use of the land" those eyesores should be demolished, and replaced with houses similar to the neighborhood, or offices in the commerce areas. Plus, some of the land should be a park or greenbelt.
considering the season, how about turning them into year round haunted houses (or castles) and charge like an amusement park for people to go through. Considering all the haunted houses and themes being advertised on SLC TV, I think going through a temple complete with rooms like an insane asylum, zombies, vampires, etc. would be a big draw.
You don't know San Diego; there are ten jillion independent Fundamentalist churches. I've seen them turn defunct bowling alleys, used car sales offices, and strip mall store fronts into churches; it would not tax my imagination to see the Mormon churches becoming Baptist ones overnight....the large Temple they built east of La Jolla could easily become a rental hall for weddings, funerals, and other gatherings.
Oh, and a laundromat on site as well. While you're vending your wares or buying that "must have" bird house and eating that awful food, you can get your laundry done and maybe take in a film afterwards. Sounds marvy to me. ;-)
I bet they don't go bankrupt either. I say the corporation part does business as usual and those temples just have fewer and fewer patrons because fewer and fewer will qualify until they change their strategy and allow partial tithe payers in. What would be done with those big buildings? Libraries, museums?
The Church is already showing the behaviours of a Corporation in the middle of a financial pinch. The board have seen the forecasted numbers and have developed a twin-strategy of:
1. Increase revenue Temples, Missionary Work, Reactivation effort, Multi Use tithing slips, Revenue generating projects - land acquisition and Mall/hotel building.
2. Reduce costs Janitors - gone, Mormon Times and half of Deseret News - gone, increase self funding of missionary work through recruitment of more fiscally well off missionaries (older).
Wish#1: A really cool club where people can party barefoot. I like the carpeting in there. The reception area is a bag room, the offices would be turned into, [cough!], "private" areas for a fee of course, throw in a jacuzzi in the baptismal font. Keep the cow heads and you have a truly unique club with lots of parking and tons of bathroom stalls. Someone mentioned the glass windows, yes, with laser lights please. Oh and the underground path the PBO (Manila temple) leads to a nice quiet restaurant, cozy cafes, and a theme park.
Wish#2: Throw the doors open to the public and let the poor and homeless in to get a nice warm meal and a bed in which to sleep for the night at zero cost. Keep the faux Christus statues and various paintings to give the temp residents a sense of art and culture and perhaps some comfort. Medical and dental personnel will intern there on shifts as they offer free aid.