History
The Los Angeles Temple was announced on March 23, 1937 by church president Heber J. Grant, when the church purchased 24.23 acres (98,000 m2) from the Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company. Construction was to begin soon thereafter, but financial difficulties relating to the Great Depression and World War II delayed the groundbreaking until 1951.
When it was dedicated in 1956, it was the largest of the church's temples, though it has since been surpassed by the Salt Lake Temple due to later expansions. The grounds include a visitors' center, which was renovated in 2010, the Los Angeles Regional Family History Center, both of which are open to the public, and the headquarters of the church's California Los Angeles Mission.