100-Year-Old Utah Church Lifted 40 Feet Above Ground Without Moving an Inch

A building weighing seven million pounds currently appears to be <a href="http://inhabitat.com/passive-cantilevered-sn-house-appears-to-be-floating-in-the-air/" target="_blank">floating in mid-air</a> in Provo City, Utah. The&nbsp;huge exterior walls of the century-old <a href="http://inhabitat.com/temple-of-a-million-bottles/" target="_blank">temple</a> rest on 40-foot-high stilts, which make the building appear to be as light as a paper mock-up. The building was damaged in a 2010 fire, and it's now being restored and converted into a Mormon temple by the LDS church.

Historical treasure and a city landmark, the Provo Tabernacle was originally constructed from 1883 to 1898 and has since been used as a gathering place for community meetings and cultural events.

The most famous event was the performance of Handel’s Messiah, sung each year at Christmastime.

After the 2010 fire the Church leaders decided to restore the building and convert it into a Mormon temple.

Large excavated area around and beneath the temple walls make it seem like the building has been elevated although it actually hasn’t moved at all.

To preserve the most important parts of the Provo Tabernacle, which was destroyed in a fire two years ago, engineers have gutted the interior of the building and dug down to create space for a two story basement.

A concrete wall was then inserted on the inside of the brick to give it more stability and strength. Stilts were ten installed and the crew excavated the soil 40 feet below the tabernacle, clearing room for the construction site currently in full operation.