The ministry of President Gordon B. Hinckley produced some unique structures and spaces. These include what have been referred to as small temples. The first of these was the Monticello Utah Temple. Another generation of temples introduced by President Hinckley was the conversion of existing church buildings into functioning temples. The first two of these were the Vernal Utah Temple and the Copenhagen Denmark Temple.
In the 1970s, then-Elder Hinckley proposed that a combination chapel/visitors center be constructed at Fayette, New York, to accompany the rebuilt Peter Whitmer home on its original site (see Sheri L. Dew, "Go Forward With Faith," page 368).
Closer to church headquarters, President Hinckley announced the conversion of the Hotel Utah to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It would no longer serve as a hotel, but a multiuse facility for both church and public purposes. A public plaza was placed between that structure and the Salt Lake Temple on what was once part of Main Street. Under his leadership, an enormous project reworking several blocks in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City known as the City Creek Center was begun.
President Hinckley proclaimed “the assurance that tithing funds have not and will not be used to acquire this property. Nor will they be used in developing it for commercial purposes." (See "Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley," 2:207).
In 1996, President Hinckley announced the upcoming construction of a new place to hold general conference and other appropriate purposes. Situated on the block immediately north of the Salt Lake Temple, the Conference Center was first used in April 2000. It was formally dedicated by President Hinckley in October 2000.