Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center

Nearly ten years ago the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center was razed to make room for the new Joseph F. Smith Building. The Smith Family Living Center was finished in 1957 and was the largest academic building on campus at the time. It was designed to enable Brigham Young University to become a leader in the field of family relations and featured an indoor-outdoor nursery school, kitchens, sewing rooms, and child observation facilities. It housed all six departments of the College of Family Living, the School of Nursing, and the departments of Sociology and Psychology.

Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center, ca. 1957.

There are several collections in the University Archives that help illuminate the important role that the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center played on campus. They include:

• UA 419 Physical Plant Papers, 1955. Collection includes building specifications for the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center.
• UA 107 Program of the dedication of the John C. Swensen Lecture Hall in the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center, 1961.
• UA 108 John C. Swensen papers. Includes information on the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center
• BX 8647 .B76 1955-56 no.1-32 Welcome address and groundbreaking ceremony [for the] Joseph F. Smith family living center, by Ernest L. Wilkinson and Willard R. Smith, Tuesday, September 29, 1955

If you would like to learn more about the sources available for studying the Joseph F. Smith Family Living Center, contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.