24 spires crown the Victorian Gothic design of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall. Finished in 1882, this is the second oldest LDS Church building in Temple Square. The exterior bricks were shaped from pieces of granite rejected during the construction of the Salt Lake Temple. The pillar silhouette is the Seagull Monument. It commemorates the Miracle of the Gulls. The event occurred in 1848 when the Mormon pioneers watched in horror as their first full crop was attacked by swarms of katydids (since called Mormon crickets). In answer to their prayers, seagulls miraculously arrived and gorged on the insects for two weeks, thus saving their crops. This is why the California gull is the state bird of Utah.
