Summum Pyramid

The story

You wouldn't expect an Egyptian-style sanctuary on a quiet residential grid in Poplar Grove, but pull up to 707 Genesee Avenue and there it sits: a windowless, copper-clad pyramid flanked by sphinxes and tucked behind heavy foliage. Founded in 1975 by Claude Rex Nowell—who later took the name Corky Ra following what he described as an encounter with divine 'Beings of Light'—Summum operates as a modern New Religious Movement that weaves together ancient Egyptian funerary rites, Hermetic philosophy, and 1970s esoteric mysticism right in Salt Lake City's west side.

What sets Summum apart from every other mystical group is their commitment to 'Modern Mummification.' Unlike standard mortuary embalming, which is designed merely to delay decomposition for a viewing, Summum's process involves a weeks-long bath in chemical preservatives, painstaking gauze wrapping, and encapsulation inside an airtight bronze or amber-resin mummiform casket meant to preserve cellular structure for thousands of years. Corky Ra himself passed away in 2008 and rests mummified inside a bronze casket positioned inside the pyramid sanctuary. They also provide the service for beloved pets—cats, dogs, and birds—for dedicated followers and outside clients alike.

The group gained national attention in 2009 when their legal battle against a Utah municipality reached the U.S. Supreme Court over their right to erect a monument of their Seven Aphorisms in a public park alongside a Ten Commandments monument. Despite the legal spotlight, the day-to-day operation inside the pyramid remains quietly internal: fermented 'nectars' produced inside the sanctuary dark, silent meditation practices, and a strict policy of keeping the pyramid doors locked to the general public outside of select evening sessions.