Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
. The name of the city is often shortened to
Salt Lake or
SLC. Salt Lake City has a population of 181,698 as of July 1, 2008, making it the
125th largest city in the United States. The
Salt Lake City metropolitan areaThe Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in north central Utah, anchored by Salt Lake City. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 968,858. As of July 1, 2008 the U.S...
spans
Salt LakeSalt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of July 1, 2008, the population was estimated at 1,022,651, up from a 2000 Census figure of 898,387. It was named for the Great Salt Lake nearby. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City...
,
SummitSummit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. In 2000 its population was 29,736; in 2005, it was estimated to have reached 35,001. It is part of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Salt Lake...
and
Tooele countiesTooele County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000, the population was 40,735 and by 2005 was estimated at 51,311. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele....
, and has a total estimated population of 1,115,692 as of July 1, 2008. Salt Lake City is further situated in a larger
urban areaAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
known as the
Wasatch FrontThe Wasatch Front is an urban area in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Santaquin in the south to Brigham City in the north...
and is part of the Salt Lake City-
OgdenOgden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 81,605 according to 2005 Census Bureau estimates. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient...
-
ClearfieldClearfield is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 25,974 at the 2000 census. The city grew drastically during the 1940s, with the formation of Hill Air Force Base, and in the 1950s with the nation-wide increase in suburb and "bedroom" community populations and has been...
CSAThe United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
that has an estimated population of 1,717,261. The total estimated population of the Wasatch Front (Salt Lake CSA, Provo MSA, Logan MSA) is 2,196,755 as of July 1, 2008.
The city was founded in 1847 as Great Salt Lake City by a group of Mormon pioneers led by their prophet,
Brigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory,...
, who fled hostility and violence in the
Midwestern United StatesThe Midwestern United States is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America that are officially recognized by the United States Census Bureau....
. They extensively irrigated and cultivated the arid valley and faced persecution from the U.S. government for their practice of
polygamyThe term polygamy is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, sociology, as well as in popular speech. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person [has] more than one spouse."In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to more than one...
, which was abandoned in 1890. Today, Salt Lake City is still home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, also known as the Mormon Church). According to data from the LDS Church, the State of Utah, combined with IRS and Census Bureau estimates, Salt Lake County was 53% LDS in 2004, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Mining boomsMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
and the construction of the
first transcontinental railroadThe First Transcontinental Railroad is the popular name of the U.S. railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and Union Pacific Railroad from Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska to Alameda, California...
initially brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed the Crossroads of the West. Salt Lake City has since developed a strong
outdoor recreationOutdoor activities usually mean activities done in nature away from civilization, such as hill walking, hiking, Hunting, backpacking, canoeing, running, kayaking, rafting, climbing, caving, canyoning, and arguably broader groups such as water sports and snow sports...
tourist industry based primarily on
skiingSkiing is a group of sports using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
. Salt Lake City was host to the
2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
and is the
industrial bankingAn industrial loan company or industrial bank is a financial institution in the United States that lends money, and may be owned by non-financial institutions. Though such banks offer FDIC-insured deposits and are subject to FDIC and state regulator oversight, a debate exists to allow parent...
center of the United States.
History
Before Mormon settlement, the
ShoshoneThe Shoshone are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern. The Shoshone were sometimes called the Snake by early White trappers, travelers, and settlers....
,
UteThe Ute are an ethnically related group of American Indians now living primarily in Utah and Colorado. There are three Ute tribal reservations: Uintah-Ouray in northeastern Utah ; Southern Ute in Colorado ; and Ute Mountain which primarily lies in Colorado, but extends to Utah and New Mexico...
, and
PaiutePaiute refers to two related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Nevada and Oregon, and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah...
had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. At the time of the founding of Salt Lake City the valley was within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone; however, occupation was seasonal, near streams emptying from Canyons into the Salt Lake Valley. The land was treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone was ever recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States. The first US explorer in the Salt Lake area is believed to be
Jim BridgerJames or Jim Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1840...
in 1825, although others had been in Utah earlier, some as far north as the nearby Utah Valley (the Dominguez-Escalante expedition of 1776 were undoubtedly cognizant of the Salt Lake valley). U.S. Army officer
John C. FrémontJohn Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery...
surveyed the
Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
and the Salt Lake Valley in 1843 and 1845. The
Donner partyThe Donner Party was a group of California-bound American emigrants caught up in the "westering fever" of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847, some of them resorted to cannibalism.-Party formation:...
, a group of ill-fated pioneers, had traveled through the Great Salt Lake Valley in August 1846.
The first permanent settlements in the valley date to the arrival of the Latter-day Saints on July 24, 1847. They had traveled beyond the boundaries of the United States seeking an isolated area to practice their religion, away from the hostility they had faced in the
EastThe Eastern Half of The United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River...
. Upon arrival, President of the Church
Brigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory,...
is recorded as stating, "this is the place", after seeing the area in a
visionIn spirituality including religion, visions comprise inspirational renderings, generally of a future state and/or of a mythical being, and are believed to come from a deity, sometimes directly or indirectly via prophets, and serve to inspire or prod believers as part of a revelation or an epiphany...
. They found the broad valley empty of any human settlement.
Four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young designated the site for the
Salt Lake TempleThe Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church overall, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10...
, intended to be the third temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to replace the abandoned
Kirtland TempleThe Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
in Ohio and
Nauvoo TempleThe Nauvoo Temple was the second temple constructed by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons. The church's first temple was completed in Kirtland, Ohio, United States in 1836. When the main body of the church was forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the winter of...
in Illinois.
Constructed on
Temple SquareTemple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
, in the center of the city, the temple took 40 years to complete, being started in 1853 and dedicated on April 6, 1893. These delays meant that temples in St. George, Logan and Manti were completed before the Salt Lake Temple The temple has become iconic of the city and is its centerpiece. In fact, the southeast corner of Temple Square is the initial point of reference for the
Salt Lake MeridianThe Salt Lake Meridian, established in 1855, in longitude 111° 54' 00" west from Greenwich, has its initial point at southeast corner of Temple Square, in Salt Lake City, Utah, extends north and south through the state, and, with the base line, through the initial, and coincident with the parallel...
, and for all addresses in the Salt Lake Valley.
The
Mormon pioneerThe Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
s organized a new state called
DeseretThe State of Deseret was a provisional state of the United States, proposed in 1849 by Mormon settlers in Salt Lake City. The provisional state existed for slightly over two years and was never recognized by the United States government...
and petitioned for its recognition in 1849. The
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
rebuffed the settlers in 1850 and established the
Utah TerritoryThe Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, vastly reducing its size. Great Salt Lake City replaced
FillmoreFillmore is a city in Millard County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,253 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Millard County. It is named for the thirteenth US President Millard Fillmore....
as the territorial capital in 1858, and the name was subsequently abbreviated to Salt Lake City. The city's population swelled with an influx of religious converts, making it one of the most populous cities in the
American Old WestThe American Old West comprises the history, geography, peoples, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the period of the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
.
Disputes with the federal government ensued over the widespread Mormon practice of
polygamyThe term polygamy is used in related ways in social anthropology, sociobiology, sociology, as well as in popular speech. Polygamy can be defined as any "form of marriage in which a person [has] more than one spouse."In social anthropology, polygamy is the practice of marriage to more than one...
. A climax occurred in 1857 when President
James BuchananJames Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States from 1857–1861 and the last to be born in the 18th century...
declared the area in rebellion after
Brigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory,...
refused to step down as governor, beginning the
Utah WarThe Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed dispute between Latter-day Saint settlers in Utah Territory and the United States federal government. The confrontation lasted from May 1857 until July 1858...
. A division of the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
, commanded by
Albert Sidney JohnstonAlbert Sidney Johnston was a career United States Army officer, a Texas Army general, and a Confederate States general...
, later a general in the army of the Confederate States of America, marched through the city and found that it had been evacuated. This division set up
Camp FloydCamp Floyd was a short-lived U.S. Army post near Fairfield, Utah, United States. The site is now a Utah state park.-Army post:Established in July 1858 by a US Army detachment under the command of Bvt. Brig. Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, Camp Floyd was named for then Secretary of War John B. Floyd...
approximately 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the city. Another military installation, Fort Douglas, was established in 1862 to maintain
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty-three states which were not part of the secession attempt by the 11 states that tried to form the Confederacy...
allegiance during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Many area leaders were incarcerated at the territorial prison in Sugar House in the 1880s for violation of anti-polygamy laws. The LDS Church began their eventual abandonment of polygamy in 1890, releasing
"The Manifesto,"The "1890 Manifesto", sometimes simply called "The Manifesto", is a statement which officially ceased the practice of plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Signed by church president Wilford Woodruff in September 1890, the Manifesto was a dramatic turning point in the...
which officially suggested that members obey the law of the land (which was equivalent to forbidding new polygamous marriages inside the U.S. and its territories, but not in Mormon settlements in Canada and Mexico). This paved the way for statehood in 1896, when Salt Lake City became the state capital.
The
First Transcontinental RailroadThe First Transcontinental Railroad is the popular name of the U.S. railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and Union Pacific Railroad from Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska to Alameda, California...
was completed in 1869 at Promontory Summit on the north side of the
Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
. A railroad was connected to the city from the Transcontinental Railroad in 1870, making travel less burdensome. Mass migration of different groups followed. Ethnic Chinese (who laid most of the Central Pacific railway) established a flourishing Chinatown in Salt Lake City nicknamed "Plum Alley," which housed around 1,800 Chinese during the early 20th century. The Chinese businesses and residences were demolished in 1952 although a historical marker has been erected among the commercial buildings which have replaced Plum Alley. Immigrants also found economic opportunities in the booming
mining industriesMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
. Remnants of a once-thriving Japantown - namely a Buddhist temple and Japanese Christian chapel - still remain in downtown Salt Lake City. European ethnic groups constructed St. Mark's
EpiscopalThe Episcopal Church , also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America , is the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States, Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Cathedral in 1874, the
Greek OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
Holy Trinity CathedralThe Holy Trinity Cathedral, also known as Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, is a Greek Orthodox Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Built in 1923, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.-External links:* *...
in 1905 and the Roman Catholic
Cathedral of the MadeleineThe Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was completed in 1909, and currently serves as the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City....
in 1909. This time period also saw the creation of Salt Lake City's now defunct
red-light districtA red-light district is a neighborhood or a part of a neighborhood where businesses connected to the sex industry exist. In some red light districts prostitution may legally take place; other red light districts are known for their illegal prostitution scene...
that employed 300
courtesansProstitution is the act or practice of engaging in sex acts for hire. In most cultures, prostitution is viewed by many as a deviant profession, either illegal or socially discouraged...
at its height before being closed down in 1911.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an extensive streetcar system was constructed throughout the city with the first streetcar running in 1872 and electrification of the system in 1889. As in the rest of the country, the automobile usurped the streetcar and the last trolley ran in 1945. Rail transit was re-introduced when
TRAXTRAX is a two-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Murray, Midvale and Sandy. The system is operated by the Utah Transit Authority ....
, a
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system, opened in 1999.
The city's population began to stagnate during the 20th century as population growth shifted to
suburban areasSuburbs are defined in various different ways around the world. They can be the residential areas of a large city, or separate residential communities within commuting distance of a city. Some suburbs have a degree of political autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city...
north and south of the city. Few of these areas were annexed to the city, while nearby towns incorporated and expanded themselves. As a result, the population of the surrounding metropolitan area greatly outnumbers that of Salt Lake City. A major concern of recent government officials has been combating inner-city commercial decay. The city lost population from the 1960s through the 1980s, but experienced some recovery in the 1990s. Presently, the city is losing population again (though that of the metro area continues to grow), having lost an estimated 2 percent of its population since the year 2000.
The city has experienced significant demographic shifts in recent years.
HispanicHispanic is a term that historically denoted a relationship to the ancient Hispania . During the modern era, it took on a more limited meaning, relating to the contemporary nation of Spain....
s now account for approximately 22% of residents and the city has a large
gay communityThe gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. The term "gay community" may also refer to gay men only, or gay men and lesbians only. Generally these...
. There is also a large Pacific Islander population, mainly made up of
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i...
ns and
TongaTonga , officially the Kingdom of Tonga , an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprises 169 islands, 36 of which are inhabited, and stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line...
ns; they compose roughly 1% of the population of the
Salt Lake ValleySalt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 948,172 as of 2005....
area.
Salt Lake City was selected to host the
2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
in 1995. The games were plagued with controversy. A
bid scandalThe 2002 Olympic Winter Games bid scandal was a scandal involving allegations of bribery to obtain the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Before 1995, the city had attempted several times to secure the games, but failed each time...
surfaced in 1998 alleging that bribes had been offered to secure the city for the 2000 games location. During the games, other scandals erupted over contested judging scores and illegal drug use. Despite the controversies, the games were heralded as a financial success, being one of the few in recent history to profit. In preparation major construction projects were initiated. Local
freewayA freeway is a type of road designed for safer high-speed operation of motor vehicles through the elimination of at-grade intersections. This is accomplished by preventing access to and from adjacent properties and eliminating all cross traffic through the use of grade separations and...
s were expanded and repaired, and a
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system was constructed. Olympic venues are now used for local, national, and international sporting events and Olympic athlete training. Tourism has increased since the Olympic games, but business did not pick up immediately following them.
Salt Lake City hosted the 16th Winter Deaflympic games in 2007, taking place in the venues in Salt Lake City and
Park CityPark City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is one of two major resort towns in Utah, the other being Moab. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back and a part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area...
, and
Rotary InternationalRotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. It is a secular organization open to all persons regardless of race, color, creed or political preference. There are more than 32,000 clubs and over 1.2 million members world-wide. The...
chose the city as the host site of their 2007 convention, which was the single largest gathering in Salt Lake City since the
2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
. The U.S. Volleyball Association convention in 2005 drew 39,500 attendees.
Geography
Salt Lake City is located at . The total area is 110.4 square miles (285.9 km²) and has an average elevation of 4,327 feet (1,320 m) above sea level. The lowest point within the boundaries of the city is near the
Jordan RiverThe Jordan River is a 60-mile-long [97 km] river in the U.S. state of Utah. It flows from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake. It is one of three major tributaries to the Great Salt Lake, the other two being the Bear River at the north, and the Weber River at the east.-Course:The Jordan River...
and the Great Salt Lake, and the highest is Grandview Peak, at .
The city is located in the northeast corner of the
Salt Lake ValleySalt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 948,172 as of 2005....
surrounded by the Great Salt Lake to the northwest and the steep
WasatchThe Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches about from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
and
OquirrhThe Oquirrh Mountains is a mountain range that run north-south for approximately 30 miles to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range begins in northwest Utah County and stops at the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. The highest elevation is...
mountain ranges on the eastern and western borders, respectively. Its encircling mountains contain many narrow glacially and volcanically carved canyons. Among them, City Creek,
EmigrationEmigration Canyon is a township and canyon in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, located east of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Range. Beginning at the southern end of the University of Utah, the canyon itself heads east and northeast between Salt Lake and Morgan Counties.Emigration Canyon was...
, Millcreek, and
Parley'sParley's Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Utah. It is accessed by Interstate 80 and is a relatively wide, straight canyon. The lower part of the canyon, however, is relatively twisty and had to be dynamited to make way for I-80. Despite this, the interstate remains six lanes wide...
border Salt Lake City proper.
The
Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
is separated from Salt Lake City by extensive marshlands and mudflats. The metabolic activities of bacteria in the lake result in a phenomenon known as "lake stink", a scent reminiscent of foul poultry eggs, two to three times per year for a few hours. The Jordan River flows through the city and is a drainage of
Utah LakeUtah Lake, at , is the largest natural freshwater lake in the state of Utah and a remnant of the prehistoric Lake Bonneville, which covered much of the state. It drains via the Jordan River at its north end into Lake Bonneville's largest remnant, Great Salt Lake.Endemic to the lake are the...
that empties into the Great Salt Lake.
The highest mountaintop visible from Salt Lake City is
Twin PeaksThere are actually two sets of well-known Twin Peaks of the Wasatch Front in Utah. "Broad's Fork" Twin Peaks, overlooking the Salt Lake Valley, and "American Fork" Twin Peaks which is located less than five miles to the southeast. "American Fork" Twin Peaks is actually the higher of the two, at...
, which reaches 11,330 feet (3454 m). Twin Peaks is located southeast of Salt Lake in the
Wasatch RangeThe Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches about from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
. The
Wasatch FaultThe Wasatch Fault is an earthquake fault located primarily on the western edge of the Wasatch Mountains in the U.S. state of Utah. The fault is 240 miles long stretching from southern Idaho, through Utah, into northern Arizona...
is found along the western base of the Wasatch and is considered overdue for an earthquake as large as 7.5. Catastrophic damage is predicted in the event of an earthquake with major damage resulting from the
liquefactionLiquefaction may refer to:* Soil liquefaction, the process by which sediments become suspended* Liquefaction of gases in physics, chemistry, and thermal engineering* Liquefactive necrosis in pathology...
of the clay- and sand-based soil and the possible permanent flooding of portions of the city by the Great Salt Lake.
The second-highest mountain range is the
OquirrhsThe Oquirrh Mountains is a mountain range that run north-south for approximately 30 miles to form the west side of Utah's Salt Lake Valley, separating it from Tooele Valley. The range begins in northwest Utah County and stops at the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. The highest elevation is...
, reaching a maximum height of 10,620 feet (3,237 m) at Flat Top. The
Traverse MountainsThe Traverse Mountains, or Traverse Ridge, is an anomalous, geologically complex, east-trending range that separates Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley in the U.S. State of Utah. The Traverse Mountains mark the boundary between the Salt Lake and Provo segments of the Wasatch Fault, and they are...
to the south extend to 6,000 feet (1,830 m), nearly connecting the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains. The mountains near Salt Lake City are easily visible from the city and have sharp vertical relief caused by massive ancient earthquakes, with a maximum difference of 7,099 feet (2164 m) being achieved with the rise of Twin Peaks from the Salt Lake Valley floor.
The Salt Lake Valley floor is the ancient lakebed of
Lake BonnevilleLake Bonneville was a prehistoric pluvial lake that covered much of North America's Great Basin region. Most of the territory it covered was in present-day Utah, though parts of the lake extended into present-day Idaho and Nevada. Formed about 32,000 years ago, it existed until about 16,800 years...
which existed at the end of the last
Ice AgeThe general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual...
. Several Lake Bonneville shorelines can be distinctly seen on the foothills or benches of nearby mountains.
Layout
The city, as well as the
countySalt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of July 1, 2008, the population was estimated at 1,022,651, up from a 2000 Census figure of 898,387. It was named for the Great Salt Lake nearby. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City...
, is laid out on a
grid planThe grid plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. In the context of the culture of Ancient Greece the grid plan is called Hippodamian plan.-Ancient grid plans:...
; Most major streets run very nearly north-south and east-west. There is about a fourteen to fifteen
minute of arcA minute of arc or arcminute is a unit of angular measurement, equal to one sixtieth of one degree. Since one degree is defined as one three hundred sixtieth of a circle, 1 minute of arc is 1/21,600 of the amount of arc in a closed circle...
variation of the grid from true north. The grid's origin is the southeast corner of
Temple SquareTemple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
, the block containing the
Salt Lake TempleThe Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church overall, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10...
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Addresses are
coordinatesA Cartesian coordinate system specifies each point uniquely in a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances from the point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of length....
within the system (similarly to
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
and
longitudeLongitude , identified by the Greek letter lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement...
). One hundred units are equal to 1/8th of a mile (200 m), the length of blocks in downtown Salt Lake City. The streets are relatively wide, at the direction of Brigham Young, who wanted them wide enough that a
wagonA wagon or dray is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle. Wagons were formerly pulled by animals such as horses, mules or oxen. Today farm wagons are pulled by tractors and trucks. Wagons are used for transporting people or goods...
team could turn around without "resorting to profanity." These wide streets and grid pattern are typical of other Mormon towns of the pioneer era throughout the West.
Though the nomenclature may initially confuse new arrivals and visitors, most consider the grid system an aid to navigation. Some streets have names, such as State Street, which would otherwise be known as 100 East. Other streets have honorary names, such as the western portion of 300 South, named "Adam Galvez Street" (in honor of a local Marine corporal killed in action) or others honoring
Rosa ParksRosa Louise McCauley Parks was an African American civil rights activist whom the U.S. Congress later called the "Mother of the Modern-Day Civil Rights Movement."...
,
Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon today. King is recognized as a martyr...
,
César ChávezCésar Estrada Chávez was a Mexican American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers . Supporters say his work led to numerous improvements for union laborers...
. These honorary names appear only on street signs and can be used in postal addresses.
In
The AvenuesThe Avenues is a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is named after the perfectly grid-like, closely laid out roads called Avenues and Streets. First surveyed in the 1850s, the Avenues became Salt Lake City's first neighborhood. Today, the Avenues neighborhood is generally considered younger,...
neighborhood, north-south streets are given letters of the alphabet, and east-west streets are numbered in 2.5 acre (10,100 m²) blocks, smaller than those in the rest of the city.
Joseph SmithJoseph Smith, Jr. was the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, also known as Mormonism, and an important religious and political figure during the 1830s and 1840s...
, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, planned the layout in the "
Plat of the City of ZionThe plat of Zion defined a comprehensive multiple city plan plat. Part of the plan defined a grid system of blocks and streets that was used in the construction of hundreds of Mormon and Western United States communities...
" (intended as a template for Mormon towns wherever they might be built). In his plan the city was to be developed into 135 lots. However, the blocks in Salt Lake City became irregular during the late 19th century when the LDS Church lost authority over growth and before the adoption of zoning ordinances in the 1920s. The original blocks allowed for large garden plots, and many were supplied with irrigation water from ditches that ran approximately where modern curbs and gutters would be laid. The original water supply was from
City CreekCity Creek is a small but historically important mountain stream that flows from City Creek Canyon and across part of Salt Lake City, Utah, and into the Jordan River which empties into the Great Salt Lake. City Creek's head is about 8 miles up City Creek Canyon northeast of Downtown Salt Lake...
. Subsequent development of water resources was from successively more southern streams flowing from the mountains to the east of the city. Some of the old irrigation ditches are still visible in the eastern suburbs, or are still marked on maps, years after they were gone.
Neighborhoods
- See also: Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City, Utah - Neighborhoods and areas
Salt Lake City has many informal neighborhoods. The eastern portion of the city has higher property values than its western counterpart. This is a result of the railroad being built in the western half as well as scenic views from inclined grounds in the eastern portion. Housing is more affordable on the west side, which results in
demographicDemographics or demographic data are selected population characteristics as used in government, marketing or opinion research, or the demographic profiles used in such research...
differences. Interstate 15 was also built in a north-south line, further dividing east and west sides of the city.
The west side of the city has historically been a working-class neighborhood, but recently the more affordable nature of the area has enticed many professionals to the neighborhood. For example, the small, increasingly trendy Marmalade District on the west side of
Capitol HillCapitol Hill in Salt Lake City gets its name from the Utah State Capitol prominently overlooking downtown. In addition, Capitol Hill can be considered a neighborhood of Salt Lake City.-Geography:...
, once considered seedy as few as 5–10 years ago, was heavily gentrified and is now thought of as an eclectic and desirable location. During the 1970s and 1980s, gang activity was also centered in the western neighborhoods of
Rose ParkRose Park is a neighborhood located in the northwest area of Salt Lake City, Utah and is among the most ethnically diverse areas in Utah . Its name comes from the area's original developer, who arranged part of the area's streets in the shape of several roses, with one of its main streets,...
, Poplar Grove, and
GlendaleGlendale is a neighborhood on the West side of Salt Lake City, Utah. Glendale is situated South of the Rose Park and Fair Park neighborhoods. The neighborhood was originally developed as Glendale Gardens which is where Glendale Middle School derives its name. Mountain View Elementary was...
.
Sugar HouseSugar House is one of Salt Lake City, Utah's oldest neighborhoods. The neighborhood's name is officially two words although it is often written as one...
, in southeastern Salt Lake City, has a reputation as a liberal neighborhood and until recently possessed a district of locally-owned specialty and niche shops on the corner of 2100 South and 1100 East. The stores that once occupied the street have recently moved to new locations to make way for a condominium and office complex, although the developers have stated that they wish to maintain the character of the area, and retail shops will be allowed at street-level once the complex is completed. Despite these assurances, residents have been very vocal in their concerns that the neighborhood will lose its unique eclectic appeal and have panned what they call the destruction of one of the few locally-owned business districts in the valley.
Just northeast of Downtown is
The AvenuesThe Avenues is a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is named after the perfectly grid-like, closely laid out roads called Avenues and Streets. First surveyed in the 1850s, the Avenues became Salt Lake City's first neighborhood. Today, the Avenues neighborhood is generally considered younger,...
, a neighborhood outside of the regular grid system on much smaller blocks. This area is a Historical District that is nearly entirely residential, and contains many historical Victorian era homes. The Avenues are situated on the upward-sloping bench in the foothills of the
Wasatch RangeThe Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches about from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
, with the earlier built homes in the lower elevation. The Avenues, along with
Federal HeightsFederal Heights is a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is generally considered as the residential area to the east of Virginia Street and to the north of South Temple Street in Salt Lake City. It abuts the Wasatch Mountains to the north, and the University of Utah to the south and east....
, just to the east and north of the
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, and the
FoothillFoothill in Salt Lake City, Utah is a relatively affluent and primarily residential neighborhood of Salt Lake City that lies at the base of the Wasatch Range and extends west to approximately 1500 East. Also sometimes referred to as "The East Bench", it is bordered on the north by the Federal...
area, south of the University, contain gated communities, large, multi-million dollar houses, and fantastic views of the valley. Many consider this some of the most desirable real estate in the valley.
In addition to larger centers like Sugar House and Downtown, Salt Lake City contains several smaller neighborhoods, each named after the closest major intersection. Two examples are the 9th and 9th (located at the intersection of 900 East and 900 South Streets) and 15th & 15th (located at the intersection of 1500 East and 1500 South Streets) neighborhoods. These areas are home to foot-traffic friendly, amenities-based businesses such as art galleries, clothing retail, salons, restaurants and coffee shops. During the summer of 2007, 9th and 9th saw sidewalk and street improvements as well as an art installation inspired by the 9 Muses of Greek myth, thanks in part to the 9th and 9th Merchants Association.
Many of the homes in the valley date from pre-World War II times, and only a select few areas, such as Federal Heights and the East Bench, as well as the far west side, including parts of Rose Park and Glendale, have seen new home construction since the 1970s.
Climate
The
climateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time...
of Salt Lake City is characterized as a
semi-aridA Semi-arid climate or steppe climate generally describes climatic regions that receive low annual rainfall . A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification that treats steppe climates as intermediates between the desert climates and humid climates in ecological...
steppe climate (Köppen
BSk), with four distinct seasons. Both summer and winter are long, with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, and with spring and fall serving as brief but comfortable transition periods. The city receives 16.50 inches (419 mm) of precipitation annually. Spring is the wettest season, while summer is very dry. Snow occurs on average from November 6 to April 18, producing a total average of 62.7 inches (159 cm).
The primary source of precipitation in Salt Lake City is massive Pacific storms that move in from the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
along the
jet streamJet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmosphere of planets at the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere . The major jet streams on earth are westerly winds...
from approximately October through May. Particularly cold storms have brought measurable snow as early as September 17 and as late as May 18. The nearby Great Salt Lake can help enhance rain from some of these storms and produces lake-effect snow approximately 6 to 8 times per year, some of which can drop excessive snowfalls. It is estimated that about 10% of the annual precipitation in the city can be attributed to the lake effect. After the Pacific train of storms has shut off and the jet stream has retreated far to the north during summer, the primary source of precipitation is afternoon thunderstorms generated by
monsoonA pennis is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by seasonal changes in precipitation, but now is used to describe seasonal changes atmospheric circulation and precipitation The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the African and Asia-Australian monsoons...
moisture moving up from the
Gulf of CaliforniaThe Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
during mid-to-late summer. Although rainfall can be heavy, these storms are usually scattered in coverage and the dry weather often causes the rain to evaporate before ever reaching the ground (
virgaIn meteorology, virga is an observable streak or shaft of precipitation that falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground. At high altitudes the precipitation falls mainly as ice crystals before melting and finally evaporating; this is usually due to compressional heating, because...
). The remnants of
tropical cycloneA tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones feed on heat released when moist air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor contained in the moist air...
s from the East Pacific can very occasionally make their way into the city during September and October. The remnants of Hurricane Olivia helped bring the record monthly precipitation of 7.04 in (179 mm) in September 1982.
Salt Lake City features large variations in temperatures between seasons. During summer, there are an average of 56 days per year with temperatures of at least 90 °F (32 °C), 23 days of at least 95 °F (35 °C), and 5 days of 100 °F (38 °C). However, low humidity makes these temperatures feel comparatively comfortable; average daytime July humidity is 22%. Winters are quite cold but rarely frigid, frequently remaining below freezing. There are an average of 127 days that drop to or below 32 °F (0 °C), and 3 days at or below 0 °F (-18 °C). There are also an average of 26 days with high temperatures at or below freezing. The record high temperature is 107 °F (42 °C), which occurred first on July 26, 1960 and again on July 13, 2002, while the record low is -30 °F (-34 °C), which occurred on February 9, 1933.
During mid-winter, strong areas of high pressure often situate themselves over the
Great BasinThe Great Basin is a large, arid region of the western United States. Its boundaries vary depending on how it is defined, but it is most commonly defined as the contiguous endorheic basin roughly between the Wasatch Mountains and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Culturally, the Great Basin is home to...
, leading to strong temperature inversions. This causes
air stagnationAir stagnation is a phenomenon which occurs when an air mass remains over an area for an extended period of time. Due to light winds and lack of precipitation, pollutants cannot be cleared from the air, either gaseous or particulate...
and thick
smogSmog is a kind of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide...
in the valley for several days to weeks at a time and can result in the worst air-pollution levels in the U.S., reducing air quality to unhealthy levels. Aside from occasional heavy snows in winter, severe weather is very rare. However, an
F2The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
tornadoThe 1999 Salt Lake City tornado was a very rare tornado that occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 11, 1999, during an unusually strong summer monsoon season...
did hit downtown on August 11, 1999, killing 1 person, injuring 60, and causing $170 million in damage. It was the first tornado fatality in Utah in 115 years (and only the second in history).
Demographics
At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey Estimates, the city's population was 80.6% White (67.3% non-Hispanic White alone), 4.0% Black or African American, 1.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.7% Asian, 1.5% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 9.4% from some other race and 2.0% from two or more races. 21.5% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
37.0% of the population had a Bachelor's degree or higher. 18.5% of the population was foreign born and another 1.1% was born in Puerto Rico, U.S. Island areas, or born abroad to American parent(s). 27.0% spoke a language other than English at home.
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there are 181,743 people (up from 159,936 in 1990), 71,461 households, and 39,803 families residing in the city. This amounts to 8.1% of
UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
's population, 20.2% of
Salt Lake CountySalt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of July 1, 2008, the population was estimated at 1,022,651, up from a 2000 Census figure of 898,387. It was named for the Great Salt Lake nearby. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City...
's population, and 13.6% of the Salt Lake metropolitan population. Salt Lake City proper covers 14.2% of Salt Lake County. Salt Lake City is more densely populated than the surrounding metro area with a
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
of 643.3/km² (1,666.1/sq mi). There are 77,054 housing units at an average density of 706.4/sq mi (272.7/km²).
The Salt Lake City-
OgdenOgden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 81,605 according to 2005 Census Bureau estimates. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient...
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
, which included
Salt LakeSalt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of July 1, 2008, the population was estimated at 1,022,651, up from a 2000 Census figure of 898,387. It was named for the Great Salt Lake nearby. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City...
,
DavisDavis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. In land area it is the smallest county in Utah. In 2000 the population was 238,994 and by 2008 was estimated at 295,332. It was named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion...
, and
WeberWeber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...
counties, had a population of 1,333,914 in 2000, a 24.4% increase over the 1990 figure of 1,072,227. Since the
2000 CensusThe Twenty-Second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the Census Bureau has added
SummitSummit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a rugged and mountainous area. In 2000 its population was 29,736; in 2005, it was estimated to have reached 35,001. It is part of the Salt Lake City Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Salt Lake...
and
TooeleTooele County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000, the population was 40,735 and by 2005 was estimated at 51,311. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele....
counties to the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, but removed Davis and Weber counties and designated them as the separate
OgdenOgden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 81,605 according to 2005 Census Bureau estimates. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient...
-
ClearfieldClearfield is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 25,974 at the 2000 census. The city grew drastically during the 1940s, with the formation of Hill Air Force Base, and in the 1950s with the nation-wide increase in suburb and "bedroom" community populations and has been...
metropolitan area. The Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield combined statistical area, together with the
ProvoProvo is a city located within the US state of Utah. Currently estimated at 117,592 people, it is the third largest city in Utah and is located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and...
-
OremOrem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the north-central part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is about south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Utah and...
metropolitan area, which lies to the south, have a combined population of 2,094,035 as of July 1, 2008.
There are 71,461 households, out of which 27.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% are married couples living together, 10.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% are other types of households. Of the 71,461 households, 3,904 were reported to be unmarried partner households: 3,047 heterosexual, 458 same-sex male, and 399 same-sex female. 33.2% of all households are made up of individuals, and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48, and the average family size is 3.24.
In the city the population is spread out with:
- 23.6% under the age of 18
- 15.2% from 18 to 24
- 33.4% from 25 to 44
- 16.7% from 45 to 64
- 11.0% who are 65 years of age or older
The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.2 males.
The median
incomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
for a
householdThe household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....
in the city is $36,944, and the median income for a family is $45,140. Males have a median income of $31,511 versus $26,403 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city is $20,752. 15.3% of the population and 10.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.7% of those under the age of 18 and 8.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Large family sizes and low housing vacancy rates, which have inflated housing costs along the
Wasatch FrontThe Wasatch Front is an urban area in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Santaquin in the south to Brigham City in the north...
, have led to one out of every six residents living below the poverty line.
Less than 50% of Salt Lake City's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a much lower proportion than in Utah's more rural municipalities; altogether, LDS members make up about 62% of Utah's population.
The Rose Park and Glendale sections are predominantly
Spanish-speakingSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
with Latinos accounting for 60% of public school-children. The Centro Civico Mexicano acts as a community gathering point for the Wasatch Front's estimated 300,000 Latinos, Mexican President
Vicente FoxVicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected President of Mexico in the...
began his U.S. tour in the city in 2006.
BosnianBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
,
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
ese,
AfghaniThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, Bantu,Burmese and Russian refugees have settled in the city under government programs. The large Pacific Islander population, mainly
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa , is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and Savai'i...
n and
TongaTonga , officially the Kingdom of Tonga , an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprises 169 islands, 36 of which are inhabited, and stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line...
n, is also centered in the Rose Park, Glendale, and Poplar Grove sectors. Most of Salt Lake City's ethnic Pacific Islanders are members of the LDS Church though various Samoan and Tongan-speaking congregations are situated throughout the Salt Lake area including Samoan Congregational, Tongan Wesleyan Methodist, and Roman Catholic.
Salt Lake City has been considered one of the top 51 "gay-friendly places to live" in the U.S. The city is home to a large, business savvy, organized, and politically supported gay community. Leaders of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Utah, as well as Utah's largest Jewish congregation, the Salt Lake Kol Ami, along with three elected representatives of the city identify themselves as gay. These developments have attracted controversy from socially conservative officials representing other regions of the state. A 2006 study by UCLA estimates that approximately 7.6% of the city's population, or almost 14,000 people, are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual, compared to just 3.7%, or just over 60,000 people, for the metropolitan area as a whole.
In 2007 Salt Lake City was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the most vain city in America based on the number of plastic surgeons per 100,000 and their spending habits on cosmetics, which exceed that of cities of similar size. The city was also found to be the 8th most stressful.
A 2008 study by Men's Health and Women's Health magazines found Salt Lake City to be the healthiest city for women by looking at 38 different factors, including cancer rates, air quality and the number of gym memberships.
Economy
The modern economy of Salt Lake City is service-oriented. In the past, nearby steel, mining and railroad operations provided a strong source of income with Silver King Coalition Mines,
Geneva SteelGeneva Steel was a steel mill located in Vineyard, Utah, founded during World War II to enhance national steel output. It operated from December 1944 to November 2001...
,
Bingham Canyon MineThe Bingham Canyon Mine is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, in the Oquirrh Mountains. It is owned by Rio Tinto Group, an international mining and exploration company headquartered in the United Kingdom...
, and
oil refineriesAn oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas...
. Today the city's major industries are government, trade, transportation, utilities, and professional and business services. The city is known as the "Crossroads of the West" for its central geography in the western United States. As a result, Interstate 15 is a major corridor for freight traffic and the area is host to many regional distribution centers.
Local, state, and federal governments have their largest presence in the city proper itself, and trade, transportation, and utilities also take up a significant portion of employment, with the major employer being the western North America
Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a United States airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Australia...
hub at
Salt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City International Airport is a major public airport in Utah. A joint civil-military facility, it is located in western Salt Lake City, approximately four miles from the central business district...
. Equally significant are the professional and business services, while health services and health educational services also serve as significant areas of employment. Other major employers include the
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Besides its central offices, the LDS Church owns and operates a profit division,
Deseret Management CorporationThe Deseret Management Corporation is a for-profit management company of assets for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was established in 1966 by then church president Gordon B...
and its subsidiaries, which are headquartered in the city. Other notable firms headquartered in the city include
AlphaGraphicsAlphaGraphics is a franchise chain of business centers that provide print communication solutions that include one-to-one marketing, mailing services, large format printing, design services, copying, printing, and finishing and bindery services...
, Sinclair Oil Corporation,
Zions BancorporationZions Bancorporation is a member of the S&P 500, a bank holding company headquartered Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Among its subsidiaries are NSB Public Finance, Amegy Bank of Texas, California Bank & Trust, National Bank of Arizona, Nevada State Bank, the Commerce Bank of Oregon, the Commerce Bank...
,
Smith's Food and DrugSmith's Food and Drug, commonly known as Smith's, is a leading chain of supermarkets in the Intermountain and Southwest regions of the United States. Smith's operates over 125 stores in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Smith's utilizes a combination food and drug...
(owned by national grocer
KrogerThe Kroger Co. is an American retail supermarket chain and parent company, founded by Bernard Henry Kroger in 1883 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It reported US$76 billion in sales during fiscal year 2008. It is the country's largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume ...
). Notable firms based in the metropolitan area include
Arctic Circle RestaurantsArctic Circle Restaurants is a chain of burger and shake restaurants based in Midvale, Utah. There are 78 restaurants as of October 2007, with about a third owned by the company and two-thirds by franchisees, in Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming...
, FranklinCovey, and
Overstock.comOverstock.com is an online retailer headquartered in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, near Salt Lake City. Founded in 1997 by Robert Brazell, under the name D2: Discounts Direct, it pioneered the online sale of surplus merchandise. It now features a combination of surplus, returned, and new items.The...
. Metropolitan Salt Lake was also once the headquarters of Kentucky Fried Chicken (the first ever KFC is located in
South Salt LakeSouth Salt Lake is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,038 at the 2000 census.-History:...
),
American StoresAmerican Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
, the
Skaggs CompaniesThe Skaggs Companies were predecessors to many famous United States retailing chains, including Safeway, Albertsons, Osco, and Longs Drug Stores.- Safeway :...
, and
ZCMIZion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution was founded in 1868 and was America's first department store. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, it quickly became a household name in the community. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a significant influence in the company, retaining a...
, one of the first-ever
department storeA department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
s; it is currently owned by Macy's, Inc. Former ZCMI stores now operate under the
Macy'sMacy's is a chain of mid-to-high range American department stores. Its selection of merchandise can vary significantly from location to location, resulting in the exclusive availability of certain brands in only higher-end stores...
label. Suburban Salt Lake was also the first location for Sears Grand (at the
Jordan LandingJordan Landing is a master-planned development located in the center of West Jordan, Utah, adjacent to South Valley Regional Airport. Its 500 acre size, containing of retail space, 1,200 residential units, and of office space, places it as a focal point of West Jordan's booming economy.It is one...
shopping center in
West JordanWest Jordan is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. West Jordan is a rapidly growing suburb of Salt Lake City and possesses a mixed economy, having moved beyond being simply a bedroom community for Salt Lake City...
).
Since Utah is one of seven states that allow the establishment of commercially-owned industrial banks, the vast majority of
industrial banksAn industrial loan company or industrial bank is a financial institution in the United States that lends money, and may be owned by non-financial institutions. Though such banks offer FDIC-insured deposits and are subject to FDIC and state regulator oversight, a debate exists to allow parent...
in the U.S. have established their headquarters in the Salt Lake City area. High-tech firms with a large presence in the suburbs include e-Bay,
UnisysUnisys Corporation , headquartered in Blue Bell, Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware, is a global provider of information technology services and programs.-History:...
,
SiebelSiebel, originally Flugzeugbau Halle, was a German aircraft manufacturer in Halle an der Saale.It was revived in 1948 as Siebelwerke/ATG before being absorbed by MBB in 1970.Siebel aircraft included:...
,
MicronMicron Technology is a multinational company based in Boise, Idaho, USA, best known for producing many forms of semiconductor devices. This includes DRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, SSD and CMOS image sensing chips. Most consumers are more familiar with its consumer brand Crucial Technology...
,
L-3 CommunicationsL-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. is a company that supplies command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products, avionics and ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space and navigation products. Its customers include the...
and
3M3M Company, formerly known as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation....
.
Other economic activities include
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other...
,
conventionsA convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
, and major suburban call centers. Tourism has increased since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, and many hotels and restaurants were built for the events. The convention industry has expanded since the construction of the
Salt PalaceThis article describes a large building in Utah. A one-story building made of locally mined salt blocks in Grand Saline, Texas is also called the "Salt Palace"....
convention center in the late 1990s, which hosts trade shows and conventions, including the annual Outdoor Retailers meeting and
Novell'sNovell, Inc. is a global software corporation based in the United States specializing in enterprise operating systems such as SUSE Linux Enterprise and Novell NetWare; identity, security and systems management solutions; and collaboration solutions. Together with WordPerfect, Novell was...
annual BrainShare convention.
In 2006, the largest potato producer in
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
, the United Potato Growers of America, announced that it would re-locate its
headquartersHeadquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The corporate headquarters is the entity at the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
to Salt Lake City, citing its need for a large
international airportAn international airport is an airport typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle international flights to and from other countries. Such airports are usually larger, and often feature longer runways and facilities to accommodate the large aircraft commonly used for...
, being that Salt Lake City International is the
22nd busiest in the worldThe thirty world's busiest airports by traffic movements are measured by total movements . One total movement is a landing or take off of an aircraft.-2008 final statistics:...
in terms of combined freight and passengers. The announcement led some members of the Idaho legislature to propose legislation changing the state license plate, which currently reads "Famous Potatoes".
In 2005, it was found the downtown area was experiencing rapid population growth. The number of residential units in the central business district has increased by 80% since 1995, and is forecast to nearly double in the next decade. The City Creek development of the LDS Church will be adding 300 units in its first phase including the . tall
City Creek condominium towerThe City Creek condominium tower is a planned residential-building to be erected in the City Creek development in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Current plans call for the building to stand at tall and contain 30 to 35 levels. It is projected to open sometime after 2011 when and if other...
, Allen Millo Associates currently has two projects under construction and two more planned, all 200 units have been sold before construction of a seven-story condominium planned by Wood Property, a residential tower is planned for Trolley Square, and this is after the recent completion of the Northgate Apartments and 12-story condominiums at Gateway with two more buildings finished nearby and the Liberty Metro apartments near Library Square.
Office vacancy rates are low in the downtown region. In response, two new large buildings are being constructed. The first is eight stories and located in the Gateway District, while the second will be 22 stories high and is currently under construction on Main Street. In addition, the historic Walker Bank Building is currently undergoing major renovations that will enable it to achieve Class A office space status. Construction of the Gateway District,
light railTRAX is a two-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Murray, Midvale and Sandy. The system is operated by the Utah Transit Authority ....
, and planned
commuter railFrontRunner is a commuter rail system operated by the Utah Transit Authority , serving the northern portion of the Wasatch Front, in the U.S. state of Utah. A future expansion will provide access to the south to Provo, Utah, extending the line to a total of...
service have supported the revival of downtown.
Law and government
Since 1979 Salt Lake City has had a
nonpartisanNon-partisan democracy is a system of representative government or organization such that universal and periodic elections take place without reference to political parties.-Overview:...
mayor-council form of governmentThe Mayor-Council government system, sometimes called the Mayor-Commission government system, is one of two variations of government used for the most part in modern representative municipal governments in the United States. It is also used in some other countries...
. The
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
and the seven councilors are elected to four-year terms. Mayoral elections are held the same year as three of the councilors. The other four councilors are staggered two years from the mayoral. Council seats are defined by geographic population boundaries. Each councilor represents approximately 26,000 citizens. Officials are not subject to
term limitA term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. Term limits are found usually in presidential and semi-presidential systems as a method to curb the potential for dictatorships, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
s. The most recent election was held in 2007.
The city has elected
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
mayoral candidates since the 1970s. Councilors are elected under specific issues and are usually well-known. Labor politics play no significant role. The city has two elected
openly gay womenLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
and an openly
gayThe term gay was originally used, until well into the mid-20th century, primarily to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy"; it had also come to acquire some connotations of "immorality" as early as 1637....
man, representing the city in the State House and Senate, respectively.
The
separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent from each other...
was the most heated topic in the days of the
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party, like the People's Party, flourished in Utah Territory as a local political party in the latter half of the 19th century—before Democrats and Republicans established themselves in Utah in the early 1890s....
and People's Party of Utah, when many candidates would be LDS Bishops. This tension is still reflected today with the
Bridging the Religious Divide campaign. This campaign was initiated when some city residents complained that the Utah political establishment was unfair in its dealings with non-LDS residents by giving the LDS Church preferential treatment, while LDS residents perceived a growing
anti-MormonAnti-Mormonism is discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed at members of the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
bias in city politics.
The city's political demographics are liberal and Democratic. This stands in stark contrast to the majority of Utah where
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
and
conservativeConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
views generally dominate.
| Elected officials of Salt Lake City as of 2008 |
| Official |
Position |
Term ends |
| Ralph Becker Ralph Elihu Becker Jr. is an American politician and attorney who is the former Minority Leader of the Utah State House of Representatives and the current mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. -Early life and career:...
(D) |
Mayor |
2011 |
| City Council members |
| Carlton Christensen |
1st district |
2009 |
| Van Blair Turner |
2nd district |
2011 |
| Eric Jergensen |
3rd district |
2009 |
| Luke Garrott |
4th district |
2011 |
| Jill Remington Love |
5th district |
2009 |
| JT Martin |
6th district |
2011 |
| Søren Simonsen |
7th district |
2009 |
The city is home to several non-governmental think-tanks and advocacy groups such as the conservative Sutherland Institute, the gay-rights group Equality Utah, and the quality-growth advocates Envision Utah. Salt Lake hosted many foreign dignitaries during the
2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
, and in 2006 the
President of MexicoThe Constitutional Citizen President of the United Mexican States is the head of state of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the head of government and the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
began his U.S. tour in the city and
Israel'sIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
ambassador to the United States opened a cultural center. President
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
visited in 2005 and again in 2006 for national veterans' conventions, both visits of which were protested by then-Mayor
Rocky AndersonRoss C. "Rocky" Anderson is the former mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is currently the President of High Road for Human Rights.-Life before election as Mayor:...
. Other political leaders such as
Howard DeanHoward Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from the U.S. state of Vermont. He served six terms as Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic Presidential nomination...
and
Harry ReidHarry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. He has been the Senate's Majority Leader since January 2007....
gave speeches in the city in 2005.
Education
In 1847 pioneer Jane Dillworth held the first classes in her tent for the children of the first LDS families. In the last part of the 1800s, there was much controversy over how children in the area should be educated. LDS and non-LDS could not agree on the level of religious influence in schools. Today, many LDS youths in grades 9 through 12 attend some form of religious instruction, referred to as
seminaryA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of higher education for instructing students , sometimes at the postgraduate level, in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, to prepare students for ordination as clergy or other ministry...
. Students are released from public schools at various times of the day to attend seminary. LDS seminaries are usually within walking distance of public schools and are located on church-owned property.
Because of high birth rates and large classrooms, Utah spends less per student than any other state yet simultaneously spends more per capita than any state with the exception of
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Money is always a challenge, and many businesses donate to support schools. Several districts have set up foundations to raise money. Recently, money was approved for the reconstruction of more than half of the elementary schools and one of the middle schools in the
Salt Lake City School DistrictThe Salt Lake City School District is among the oldest public school districts in Utah. Boundaries for the district are identical to the city limits for Salt Lake City...
, which serves most of Salt Lake City proper. There are twenty-three elementary schools, five middle schools, three high schools (Highland, East, and West, with the former
South Highfor schools of the same nameSouth High School was a high school in Salt Lake City, Utah, which operated from 1931 to 1988. The school was located on the south end of Salt Lake City, at 1575 S. State Street.- Beginnings :...
being converted to the South City campus of the
Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake Community College, often abbreviated SLCC and referred to locally as "Slick", is the largest two-year community college in Utah...
), and an alternative high school (Horizonte) located within the school district. In addition, Highland has recently been selected as the site for the charter school Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts (SPA), while Salt Lake City proper also holds many Catholic schools, including Judge Memorial High School.
Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School-General Information:Rowland Hall traces its roots to St. Mark's School, which was founded in Salt Lake City by Episcopal Bishop Daniel Sylvester Tuttle in 1867. In support of newly established public schools in the Utah Territory, St. Mark's School was closed in the early 1890's...
, established in 1867 by
EpiscopalThe Episcopal Church , also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America , is the Province of the Anglican Communion in the United States, Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Bishop Daniel Tuttle, is the area's premier
independent schoolAn independent school is a school which is independent in terms of its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some...
.
The
Salt Lake City Public LibraryThe Salt Lake City Public Library system's main branch building is an architecturally unique structure in Salt Lake City, Utah. Located at 210 East 400 South across from the Salt Lake City and County Building and Washington Square, and the grounds around the building is sometimes referred to as...
system consists of the main library downtown, and five branches in various neighborhoods. The main library, designed by renowned architect
Moshe SafdieMoshe Safdie, CC is an architect and urban designer. He was born in the city of Haifa, British Mandate for Palestine. He moved with his family to Montreal, Canada when he was a teenager.- Career :...
, opened in 2003. In 2006, the Salt Lake City Public Library was named "Library of the Year" by the
American Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 65,000 members....
.
Postsecondary educational options in Salt Lake City include the
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
,
Westminster CollegeWestminster College is a private liberal arts college located in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. The college comprises four schools: the School of Arts and Sciences, the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business, the School of Education, and the School of Nursing and Health...
,
Salt Lake Community CollegeSalt Lake Community College, often abbreviated SLCC and referred to locally as "Slick", is the largest two-year community college in Utah...
, BYU Salt Lake Center,
Eagle Gate CollegeEagle Gate College is a private college that specializes in career education. The College is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools . Eagle Gate College offers Bachelor degrees, Associate degrees, Certificates, and Diplomas in fields such as healthcare,...
,
The Art Institute of Salt Lake CityThe Art Institute of Salt Lake City – is one of The Art Institutes, a system of more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America, providing education in design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts....
and
LDS Business CollegeLDS Business College is a two-year college in Salt Lake City, Utah, focused on training students in business and industry. The college is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and operates under the Church Educational System and is associated with the Brigham Young University...
. There are also many trade and technical schools such as Healing Mountain Massage School and the Utah College of Massage Therapy. The University of Utah is noted for its research and medical programs. It was one of the original four universities to be connected to
ARPANETThe ARPANET created by ARPA of the United States Department of Defense during the Cold War, was the world's first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the global Internet....
, the predecessor to the
InternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, in 1969, and was also the site of the first
artificial heartAn artificial heart is a mechanical device that is implanted into the body to replace the biological heart.The term “artificial heart” has often inaccurately been used to describe ventricular assist devices , which are pumps that assist the heart but do not replace it.An artificial heart is also...
transplantHeart transplantation, or cardiac transplantation, is a surgical transplant procedure performed on patients with end-stage heart failure or severe coronary artery disease. The most common procedure is to take a working heart from a recently deceased organ donor and implant it into the patient...
in 1982.
Museums and the arts
Salt Lake is home to several
museumA museum is a building or institution which houses a collection of artifacts.Museums collect and care for objects of scientific, artistic, or historical importance and make them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary...
s. Near
Temple SquareTemple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
is the Church History Museum. Operated by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the museum contains collections of artifacts, documents, art, photographs, tools, clothing and furniture from the
history of the LDS ChurchThe history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is typically divided into three broad time periods: the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr...
, which spans nearly two centuries.
The
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
campus is home to the
Utah Museum of Fine ArtsThe Utah Museum of Fine Arts is Utah's primary resource for culture and visual arts. It is located on the University of Utah's campus close to Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. Works of art are displayed on a rotating basis. It is a university and state art museum...
as well as the
Utah Museum of Natural HistoryThe Utah Museum of Natural History is a museum located on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The museum shows exhibits of natural history subjects, specifically about Utah's natural history...
. West of the university, located at the
Gateway DistrictThe Gateway District is a large open air retail, residential and office complex in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The complex is centered around the historic Union Pacific Depot in downtown Salt Lake City...
near downtown, is the
Clark PlanetariumThe Clark Planetarium is situated within the Gateway District at the intersection of 400 West and 100 South in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
, which also houses an
IMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada's IMAX Corporation. The traditional version of IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
theater. Also in the Gateway District is
Discovery GatewayDiscovery Gateway, formerly The Children's Museum of Utah , is an interactive, hands-on children's museum located in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
, a
children's museumChildren's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feature interactive exhibits that are designed to be...
.
Other museums include the Utah State Historical Society, Daughters of Utah Pioneer Memorial Museum, Fort Douglas Military Museum, and the Social Hall Heritage Museum.
On December 5, 2007, the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance announced that a two-block section of downtown south of the planned
City Creek CenterThe City Creek Center is a shopping center development under construction near Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an undertaking by Property Reserve, Inc. and Taubman Centers, Inc...
is planned to become a new arts hub. This will include renovations to two theaters already located in the area, as well as a new theater with a seating capacity of 2,400 and increased space for galleries and artists. The opening of the new facilities are anticipated to coincide with the opening of the City Creek Center in 2011. The site of the $81.5 million theater was officially revealed and attempts to secure funding began. However, the plans for the theater have come under criticism, especially from nearby smaller theaters that host off-Broadway tours who claim that such a theater cannot be supported and that it will negatively affect their business.
Performing arts
Salt Lake City provides many venues for both professional and amateur theatre. The city attracts many traveling
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
and
off-BroadwayOff Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of plays, musicals or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, the hub of the theater industry in the United...
performances which perform in the historic Capital Theater. Local professional acting companies include the
Pioneer Theatre CompanyThe Pioneer Theatre Company is one of four fully professional theatre companies in Utah, formed in 1962 and performing at the Pioneer Memorial Theatre on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. The non-profit company produces seven plays each season, running from September to May,...
, Salt Lake Acting Company, Hale Center theater, and Plan-B Theatre Company. The Off Broadway Theatre, located in Salt Lake's historic Clift Building, features comedy plays and Utah's longest running
improv comedyImprovisational theatre is a form of theatre in which the improvisational actors/ improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously. Improvisers typically use audience suggestions to guide the performance as they create dialogue, setting, and plot extemporaneously...
troupe, Laughing Stock.
Salt Lake City is the home of the
Mormon Tabernacle ChoirThe Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to support the organization. The choir's current music director is Mack...
, founded in 1847. The Choir's weekly program, called
Music and the Spoken WordMusic and the Spoken Word is a weekly 30-minute radio and television program of inspiring messages and music produced by Bonneville Communications with music performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir .The radio program is distributed by the CBS Radio Network and its broadcast center is KSL...
, is the longest-running continuous network broadcast in the world. Salt Lake City is also the home to the
Utah Symphony OrchestraThe Utah Symphony Orchestra is a full-time symphony orchestra located in Salt Lake City, Utah.-History:The first attempt to create a symphony group in the Utah area occurred in 1892, before Utah was a state. The Salt Lake Symphony was created and presented just one concert before disbanding...
, which was founded in 1940 by
Maurice AbravanelMaurice Abravanel was aSwiss-American Jewish conductor of classical music.-Life:Abravanel was born in Thessaloniki, Greece when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. He came from an illustrious Sephardic Jewish family, which was expelled from Spain in 1492...
and has become widely renowned. Its current director is
Keith LockhartFor the baseball player, see Keith Lockhart Keith Lockhart is an American orchestral conductor.Lockhart began his musical studies with piano lessons from Gwen Stevens at age seven...
. The orchestra's original home was the
Salt Lake TabernacleThe Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple.-History:...
, but since the 1990s has performed at
Abravanel HallAbravanel Hall is a concert hall in Salt Lake City, Utah that is home to the Utah Symphony and Opera, and is part of the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts...
in the western downtown area. Salt Lake City area is also home to the award winning children's choir,
The Salt Lake Children's Choir-History:The Salt Lake Children's Choir was founded in the fall of 1979 by Ralph B. Woodward. Originally called The Wasatch Children, the choir had its first performance in a library auditorium....
. The Choir was established in 1979 and is directed by Ralph B. Woodward.
The University of Utah is home to two highly-ranked dance departments, the Ballet Department and the Department of Modern Dance. Professional dance companies in Salt Lake City include
Ballet WestBallet West, Salt Lake City, Utah was founded in 1963 by Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. It was called the Utah Civic Ballet company. Willam F...
, Rire Woodbury Dance Company (which celebrated it's 45th anniversary season in 2008/2009) and Repertory Dance Theatre. RWDC and RDT both call the Rose Wagner Theater home.
Music scene
The city has a local music scene dominated by
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
,
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
,
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, and
emo- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario* Emo's, a nightclub in Austin, Texas* An Educational Management Organization, or for-profit school- Music :...
groups. There are also many clubs which offer musical venues. Popular groups or persons who started in the Wasatch Front area or were raised and influenced by it include
The AlmostThe Almost is an American rock band from Clearwater, Florida, formed in 2005. Most notable for being the side project of Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie.-History:There is no definitive date as to when Aaron Gillespie started The Almost...
,
The BrobecksThe Brobecks is an American indie rock band, and is the full-time project of singer/songwriter Dallon Weekes. The band is unsigned and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California. The band's sound uses a wide variety of instrumentation and attributes its influences to artists such...
, Meg and Dia,
Royal BlissRoyal Bliss is an American hard rock band formed in 1997, in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently signed to Capitol Records and have recorded a new album entitled, Life In-Between. The record was released 13 January 2009 via Merovingian Music and Caroline Records under the exclusive license to...
,
ShedaisySHeDAISY is a Grammy Award-nominated American country music group founded in the late 1980s by sisters Kristyn Robyn Osborn , Kelsi Marie Osborn , and Kassidy Lorraine Osborn , all natives of Magna, Utah...
,
The Summer ObsessionThe Summer Obsession is a punk band from Jacksonville, Florida & Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The band originally started in 2004 by Lucian Walker & Allan 'Fin' Leavell. They went through several members until they reached their final bass & drum positions in the form of Chris 'Christ'...
,
Josh RosenthalJosh Rosenthal is an American singer-songwriter based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He sings about reconciliation after his parents' divorce, general relationship hardships and his affection for Salt Lake City. His song "Gotta Get Out" is about Lubbock, Texas...
and
The UsedThe Used is an American alternative rock band from Orem, Utah. Their sound has been classified under many sub-genres of rock. They signed with Reprise Records in late 2001 and rose to fame in June 2002 after releasing their debut self-titled album, The Used...
. In 2004 over 200 bands submitted tracks for a compilation by a local music
zineA zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images...
,
SLUG ("Salt Lake Underground"). The 18-year-old free monthly zine trimmed the submissions to 59 selections featuring diverse music types such as
hip-hopHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
,
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
,
jazz-rockFusion or, more specifically, jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a musical genre that developed in the late 1960s from a mixture of elements of jazz such as its focus on improvisation with the rhythms and grooves of funk and R&B and the beats and heavily amplified electric instruments and electronic...
, punk, and a variety of rock and roll.
Movies and television
Many
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
s, music videos, commercials, and TV shows have been recorded in the Salt Lake metropolitan area. They include:
SLC Punk!SLC Punk! is a 1998 American independent comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. The film is about the young punk rock fan Steven "Stevo" Levy, a college graduate living in Salt Lake City. The character is portrayed as an exaggerated stereotype of an anarchist punk in the mid...
,
Touched by an AngelTouched by an Angel is an American Fantasy drama television series that chronicles the missions of a group of angels sent by God. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson , it ran on CBS for nine seasons, from September 21, 1994 to April 27, 2003, and aired in many countries all...
,
EverwoodEverwood is a prime time television drama that initially aired in the United States on The WB. The series is set in the fictional small town of Everwood, Colorado...
,
Big LoveBig Love is an American television drama on HBO about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy. Big Love stars Bill Paxton, Chloë Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin, Harry Dean Stanton, Amanda Seyfried, Douglas Smith, Grace Zabriskie, and Matt Ross.The...
, "
BonnevilleBonneville is a 2006 American dramedy film directed by Christopher N. Rowley. The screenplay by Daniel D. Davis is based on a story by Davis and Rowley.-Plot synopsis:...
",
Dawn of the Dead,
Drive Me CrazyDrive Me Crazy is a teen-oriented romantic comedy based on the novel How I Created My Perfect Prom Date by Todd Strasser. Originally entitled Next to You, the movie's title was changed to "Drive Me Crazy" after the song from its soundtrack, Britney Spears's song, Crazy...
,
Forever StrongForever Strong is a sport-drama film directed by Ryan Little and written by David Pliler and released in September 26, 2008. The film stars Sean Faris, Gary Cole, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The film is about a troubled rugby union player who must play against the...
,
High School MusicalHigh School Musical is an Emmy Award-winning American television film, and the first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful movie that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2...
,
High School Musical 2,
High School Musical 3: Senior YearHigh School Musical 3: Senior Year is a 2008 musical film. It is the third installment in Disney's High School Musical film franchise. Its theatrical release in the United States began on October 24, 2008...
,
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,
Unaccompanied MinorsUnaccompanied Minors is a 2006 film directed by Paul Feig and starring Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gina Mantegna, and Quinn Shephard. Unaccompanied Minors has been rated PG by the MPAA for mild rude humor and language...
,
Dumb and Dumber,
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael MyersHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers is a 1988 independently-released horror film and the fourth installment in the Halloween series. The film revolves around Michael Myers once more after his absence in Halloween III: Season of the Witch. Directed by Dwight H. Little, the film stars Ellie...
,
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael MyersHalloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers is the 1989 sequel to the popular horror film, Halloween. It was directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard and starred Donald Pleasence, who again portrayed Dr. Sam Loomis and Danielle Harris, who returned to play Jamie Lloyd. The film takes place exactly one...
,
Halloween: The Curse of Michael MyersHalloween: The Curse of Michael Myers is a 1995 horror film and the sixth installment in the Halloween series. Directed by Joe Chappelle from a screenplay by Daniel Farrands, the plot involves the "Curse of Thorn", a mystical symbol first shown in Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and...
,
Independence DayIndependence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about a hostile alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they coincidentally converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance retaliation on July...
,
Poolhall JunkiesPoolhall Junkies is a 2002 drama/thriller film written, starred and directed by Mars Callahan. Film also stars Alison Eastwood, Michael Rosenbaum, Rick Schroder with Chazz Palminteri and Christopher Walken...
,
The Brown BunnyThe Brown Bunny is a 2004 American independent art house film written, produced and directed by actor Vincent Gallo about a motorcycle racer on a cross-country drive who is haunted by memories of his former lover. It had its world premiere at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival to boos and catcalls...
,
The World's Fastest IndianThe World's Fastest Indian , is a film based on the Invercargill, New Zealand speed bike racer Burt Munro and his highly modified Indian Scout motorcycle. Munro set numerous land speed records for motorcycles with engines less than 1000 cc at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the late 1950s and...
,
The Way of the GunThe Way of the Gun is a 2000 film, directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, and James Caan.It is considered a cult movie.-Plot Synopsis:...
,
Carnival of SoulsCarnival of Souls is a low budget 1962 horror film starring Candace Hilligoss. Produced and directed by Herk Harvey for an estimated $33,000, the movie never gained widespread public attention when it was originally released as it was intended as a B film and today, has become somewhat of a cult...
,
The Amazing Race 8The Amazing Race 8 was the eighth installment of the reality television show, The Amazing Race...
, and
The Postal ServiceThe Postal Service is an American electronic indie pop band composed of vocalist Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and producer Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, Headset and Figurine.-Background:...
's
"Such Great Heights"Such Great Heights" is a single released on January 21, 2003 by The Postal Service, under the Sub Pop Records label. The single includes a previously unreleased track "There's Never Enough Time" and two cover tracks by The Shins and Iron & Wine of "We Will Become Silhouettes" and "Such Great...
". In 2006 it was revealed that
Dan BrownDan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
, the author of
The DaVinci Code, was in the city studying the symbols on the Salt Lake LDS Temple and the
Salt Lake Masonic TempleCompleted in 1927, and located in the South Temple Historic District of Salt Lake City, Utah, the Salt Lake Masonic Temple, is the Masonic headquarters for Utah, and is Salt Lake City’s best example of Egyptian Revival Architecture.-General information:...
, among other historical buildings, for inclusion in an upcoming book.
Events
Although the city is often stereotyped as a predominantly LDS city, it is culturally and religiously diverse. The city is the location of many cultural activities. A major state holiday is Pioneer Day, July 24, the anniversary of the
Mormon pioneerThe Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Latter-day Saints, who migrated across the United States from the Midwest to the Salt Lake Valley in what is today the U.S. state of Utah...
s' entry into the Salt Lake Valley. It is celebrated each year with a week's worth of activities, including a children's parade, a horse parade, the featured
Days of '47 ParadeThe Days of '47 Parade is an annual parade presented by The Days of '47, Inc. The three-hour event is held in Salt Lake City starting at 9:00 a.m...
(one of the largest parades in the United States), a rodeo, and a large fireworks show at Liberty Park.
First Night on New Year's Eve, a celebration emphasizing family-friendly entertainment and activities held at
Rice-Eccles StadiumRice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference. It was originally built in 1927 at a cost of $133,000...
at the University of Utah, culminates with a fireworks display at midnight.
The Greek Festival, held the weekend after Labor Day, celebrates Utah's Greek heritage and is located at the downtown Greek Orthodox Church. The 3-day event includes Greek music, dance groups, Cathedral tours, booths and a large buffet. Attendance ranges from 35,000 - 50,000.
The Utah Arts Festival has been held annually since 1977 with an average attendance of 80,000. About 130 booths are available for visual artists and there are five performance venues for musicians.
Salt Lake City also hosts portions of the
Sundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as the Sundance Resort, the festival is the premier...
. The festival, which is held each year, brings many cultural icons, movie stars, celebrities, and thousands of film buffs to see the largest independent film festival in the United States. The headquarters of the event is in nearby
Park CityPark City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is one of two major resort towns in Utah, the other being Moab. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back and a part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area...
.
Beginning in 2004, Salt Lake City has been the host of the international
Salt Lake City MarathonThe Salt Lake City Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run entirely within Salt Lake City, Utah.The 26.2 mile course begins at the Olympic Legacy Bridge at the University of Utah. It follows the base of the Wasatch Mountains before turning into the city's neighborhoods, passing through Liberty...
. In 2006
Real MadridReal Madrid Club de Fútbol is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. It is the most successful team in Spanish football and was voted by FIFA as the most successful club of the 20th century, having won a record thirty-one La Liga titles, seventeen Spanish Cups, a record nine European...
and many of the nation's best cyclist had engagements.
Salt Lake City has begun to host its own events in the last few years, most notably the
Friday Night Flicks, free movies in the City's parks, as well as the Mayor's health and fitness awareness program,
Salt Lake City Gets Fit.
Salt Lake City was host to the
2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
. At the time of the 2002 Olympics, Salt Lake City was the most populated area to hold a Winter Olympic games. The event put Salt Lake City in the international spotlight and is regarded by many as being one of the most successful winter olympics ever.
At
Dream TheaterDream Theater are an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Myung, John Petrucci, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, before they dropped out to support the band...
's Salt Lake City show, Governor
Jon Huntsman, Jr.Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat and the current United States Ambassador to China. He served as Governor of Utah from 2005 until his resignation on August 11, 2009.- Early life and education :...
signed a proclamation making July 30, 2007 "Dream Theater Day" in the state of Utah.
Media
Salt Lake City has many diverse
mediaMass media denotes a section of the media specifically designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state. The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. However, some forms of mass media such...
outlets. Most of the major television and
radio stationRadio broadcasting is an audio broadcasting service, broadcast through the air as radio waves from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast common programming, either in syndication or simulcast or both...
s are based in or near the city. The Salt Lake City metropolitan area is ranked as the 31st largest radio and 36th largest television market in the United States.
Print media include two major daily newspapers,
The Salt Lake TribuneThe Salt Lake Tribune is the largest-circulated daily newspaper in the U.S. city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune is distributed by Newspaper Agency Corporation, which also distributes the Deseret Morning News. The Tribune — or "Trib," as it is locally known — is currently owned by...
and the
Deseret Morning NewsThe Deseret News is a newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is Utah's oldest continually published daily newspaper. It has the second largest daily circulation in the state behind The Salt Lake Tribune. The Deseret News is owned by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret...
. Other more specialized publications include
In Utah This Week,
Salt Lake City WeeklySalt Lake City Weekly is a free alternative weekly tabloid-paged newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah. It began its life as the Private Eye. City Weekly is published and dated for every Thursday by Copperfield Publishing Inc...
,
Nuestro Mundo of the Spanish-speaking community,
QSaltLakeQSaltLake is a gay and lesbian news and entertainment magazine printed biweekly in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. It contains local, national and world news, an extensive opinion section, arts and entertainment, a bar guide and classifieds...
and
The PillarThe Pillar was an LGBT publication in Salt Lake City, Utah. Published monthly, the magazine was published from 1993 to October, 2007. It was predated by other gay and lesbian publications, but was one of the longest-lasting continuously-published gay publications in Utah....
for the
LBGT communityLGBT is an initialism referring collectively to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. In use since the 1990s, the term “LGBT” is an adaptation of the initialism “LGB” which itself started replacing the phrase “gay community” which many within LGBT communities felt did not represent...
. There are a number of local magazines, such as
Wasatch Journal (a quarterly magazine covering Utah's arts, culture, and outdoors),
Utah Homes & Garden ,
Salt Lake Magazine (a bimonthly lifestyle magazine),
CATALYST MagazineCATALYST Magazine is a free alternative monthly tabloid-paged magazine published in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1982 by Greta Belanger deJong, Victoria Fugit, Lezlee Spilsbury, Don Ashton and Lucy Powell....
(a monthly environmental, health, arts and politics magazine), and
Salt Lake Underground (SLUG), an alternative underground music magazine.
KTVX signed on the air as Utah's first TV station in 1947 under the experimental callsign W6SIX. KTVX is the oldest TV station in the Mountain Time Zone and the third oldest west of the Mississippi. It is the current ABC affiliate.
KSL-TVKSL-TV is an NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah that broadcasts locally in digital on UHF channel 38, and brands itself as "Channel 5." A large translator network extends coverage throughout the state and...
, the NBC affiliate, has downtown studios at "Broadcast House" in the Triad Center office complex. KSL is operated by a company owned by the LDS Church. KUTV is Salt Lake City's CBS affiliate.
KSTUKSTU, channel 13, is the Fox-affiliated television station serving the Salt Lake City designated market area. The station is owned by Local TV LLC, the media arm of private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners, and its transmitter located on Farnsworth Peak, southwest of Salt Lake City...
is the area's Fox affiliate.
KUCWKUCW is a full-service television station licensed to Ogden, Utah and serving the Salt Lake City market as the CW television affiliate. The station broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 48 and is rebroadcast statewide on a network of translator stations...
is the CW affiliate and part of a duopoly with KTVX.
KJZZ-TVKJZZ-TV is a full-service Independent television station serving Salt Lake City, Utah, USA and surrounding areas, broadcasting in digital on UHF channel 46. The KJZZ transmitter is located on Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains...
is an independent station owned by Utah Jazz owner, Larry Miller and broadcasts Jazz games. KJZZ-TV also carries newscasts produced by KUTV.
Because television and radio stations serve a larger area (usually the entire state of Utah, as well as parts of western
WyomingWyoming is a state in the Western United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountain West, while the easternmost section of the state includes part of a high elevation prairie region known as the High Plains. While the tenth largest...
, southern
IdahoIdaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....
, parts of
MontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, and eastern
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
), ratings returns tend to be higher than those in similar-sized cities. Some Salt Lake radio stations are carried on broadcast translator networks throughout the state.
Salt Lake City has become a case of
market saturationIn economics, "market saturation" is a term used to describe a situation in which a product has become diffused within a market; the actual level of saturation can depend on consumer purchasing power; as well as competition, prices, and technology....
on the FM dial; one cannot go through more than about two frequencies on an FM radio tuner before encountering another broadcasting station. A variety of companies, most notably Millcreek Broadcasting and
Simmons MediaThe Simmons Media Group is a media company based in the United States. The company owns AM and FM radio stations, as well as outdoor advertising, a travel agency and an interactive agency.-Salt Lake City, Utah:* KXRK-96.3 FM - Format: Alternative Rock...
, have constructed
broadcast towersAn antenna is a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic waves. In other words, antennas convert electromagnetic waves into electrical currents and vice versa. Antennas are used in systems such as radio and television broadcasting, point-to-point radio communication, wireless...
on Humpy Peak in the
Uinta MountainsThe Uinta Mountains are a high chain of mountains in northeastern Utah and extreme northwestern Colorado in the United States. A subrange of the Rocky Mountains, they are unusual for being the highest range in the contiguous United States running east to west, and lie approximately 100 mi east of...
to the east. These towers allow frequencies allocated to nearby mountain communities to be boosted by smaller, low-powered FM transmitters along the Wasatch Front.
Sites of interest and city architecture
Salt Lake City is the headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and has many LDS-related sites open to visitors. The most popular is
Temple SquareTemple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
, which includes the
Salt Lake TempleThe Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church overall, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois.The Salt Lake Temple is the centerpiece of the 10...
and visitors’ centers that are open to the public, free of charge. Temple Square also includes the historic
TabernacleThe Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple.-History:...
, home of the world-famous
Mormon Tabernacle ChoirThe Mormon Tabernacle Choir is a 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to support the organization. The choir's current music director is Mack...
. The modern
LDS Conference CenterThe Conference Center, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
is across the street to the north. The
Family History LibraryThe Family History Library is a genealogical research facility provided and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .-History:...
, the largest genealogical library in the world, is located just west of Temple Square. It is run by the LDS Church and is open to the public and free of charge. Adjacent to Temple Square is also the
Eagle GateThe Eagle Gate Monument is a historical monument—more in the form of an arch than a gate—seventy-six feet across, situated at the intersection of State Street at South Temple, adjacent to Temple Square, in Salt Lake City, Utah. The monument was erected in 1859 and commemorates the entrance to...
Monument.
In 2004, the Salt Lake City main library received an Institute Honor Award for Architecture by the
American Institute of ArchitectsThe American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
. and features a distinctive architectural style. The roof of the building serves as a viewpoint for the Salt Lake Valley. The
Utah State CapitolThe Utah State Capitol is located on Capitol Hill, overlooking downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home of the Utah State Legislature, the Governor of Utah, Lieutenant Governor of Utah, the Utah Attorney General, the Utah State Treasurer, and the Utah State Auditor.Construction on the capitol...
Building offers marble floors and a dome similar to that of the building that houses the U.S. Congress. Other notable historical buildings include the
Thomas KearnsThomas Kearns was a United States Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905.- Biography :Born near Woodstock, Ontario, he moved with his parents to Holt County, Nebraska and attended the public schools, worked on a farm, and engaged in the freighting business...
Mansion (now the Governor's Mansion),
City and County BuildingThe Salt Lake City and County Building, usually called the "City-County Building", is the seat of government for Salt Lake City, Utah. The historic landmark formerly housed offices for Salt Lake County government as well, hence the name.- History :...
, built in 1894, the Kearns Building on Main Street,
St. Mark's Episcopal CathedralSt. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral located at 231 E. 100 South in Salt Lake City, Utah is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Utah in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Built in 1871, it is the third oldest Episcopal Cathedral in the United States. It was designed by noted...
, built in 1874, and the Roman Catholic
Cathedral of the MadeleineThe Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was completed in 1909, and currently serves as the cathedral, or mother church, of the Diocese of Salt Lake City....
, built in 1909.
Near the mouth of Emigration Canyon lies
This Is The Place Heritage ParkThe This Is The Place Heritage Park is located on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA at the foot of the Wasatch Range and near the mouth of Emigration Canyon.-History:...
, which re-creates typical 19th century LDS pioneer life.
Hogle ZooThe Hogle Zoo is a zoo located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the state's largest zoo, containing a variety of animals from different ecosystems...
is located across the street from the park. The city's largest public park, at over ,
Liberty ParkLiberty Park is a popular public urban park in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. It is the city's second-largest public park, at , being surpassed only by Sugarhouse Park which has...
features a lake with an island in the middle and the Tracy Aviary. The park is home to a large number of birds, both wild and in the aviary.
Red Butte Garden and Arboretum Red Butte Garden and Arboretum is a botanical garden and arboretum operated by the University of Utah, in the foothills of the Wasatch Range in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. It is open year-round to the public. Red Butte Garden contains of botanical gardens and several miles of hiking trails through...
, located in the
foothillsFoothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in hilly areas at the base of a mountain range. They are generally larger than hills, but not as tall as nearby mountains...
of Salt Lake features many different exhibits and also hosts many musical concerts. Jordan Park is home to the
International Peace GardensThe International Peace Gardens is a botanical garden located in Jordan Park in Salt Lake City, Utah.Part of Utah history, the garden was conceived in 1939 and dedicated in 1952, the International Peace Gardens has welcomed tens of thousands of travelers from every corner of the globe, including...
. The
Bonneville Shoreline TrailThe Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a mixed use recreation trail in Utah that will follow the shoreline of the ancient Lake Bonneville where today the Wasatch Front plays host to a growing region of outdoor enthusiasts. Some sections of the trail are complete and some are under developed...
is a popular hiking and biking nature trail which spans ninety miles through the foothills of the
Wasatch FrontThe Wasatch Front is an urban area in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Santaquin in the south to Brigham City in the north...
.
The
Olympic Cauldron ParkThe Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park is a plaza located at the south end of Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rice-Eccles Stadium was the site of the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the XIX Olympic Winter Games.- Cauldron :The park contains...
, located at
Rice-Eccles StadiumRice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference. It was originally built in 1927 at a cost of $133,000...
, features the
Olympic CauldronThe Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
from the games, a visitor's center, and the
Hoberman ArchThe Hoberman Arch was the centerpiece of the Olympic Medals Plaza during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Designed by Chuck Hoberman, it was used as the curtain for the stage, opening like the iris of an eye to reveal a duplicate cauldron in the floor behind the medals platform.After the Olympics it was...
. The Olympic Legacy Plaza, located at the
Gateway DistrictThe Gateway District is a large open air retail, residential and office complex in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The complex is centered around the historic Union Pacific Depot in downtown Salt Lake City...
, features a dancing fountain set to music and the names of 30,000 Olympic volunteers carved in stone. The
Utah Olympic ParkThe Utah Olympic Park is located north of Park City, Utah and east of Salt Lake City. During the 2002 Winter Olympics it served as the venue for Nordic Jumping events and sliding events including Bobsled, Skeleton, and Luge. It still serves an active training center year round for Olympic and...
, located near Park City, features the Olympic ski jumps, as well as
bobsleighBobsleigh, bobsled or bobsledge is a winter sport invented by Englishmen in the late 1860s in which teams make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sled...
,
lugeA luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Luge is also the name of the sport which involves racing with such sleds...
, and
skeletonSkeleton originated as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding in St. Moritz, Switzerland. While Skeleton "sliders" use similar equipment to Cresta "riders", the two sports are different and should not be confused .-History:...
runs. Today, the Olympic Park is used for year-round training and competitions. Visitors to the park can watch the various events that occur and even ride a bobsled. The
Utah Olympic OvalThe Utah Olympic Oval is an indoor sports arena located southwest of Salt Lake City in the township of Kearns. The Oval hosted the long track speedskating events for the 2002 Winter Olympics. The long track speedskating surface itself surrounds a full size hockey rink and dedicated short-track...
, located in nearby
KearnsKearns is a township and census-designated place in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Named after Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, it had a population of 33,659 at the 2000 Census. This was a small increase over the 1990 figure of 28,374 due to a small part of the territory incorporated...
, was home to the
speed skatingSpeed skating or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speedskating are long track speedskating, short track speedskating and marathon speed skating...
events and is now open to the public. Other popular Olympic venues include Soldier Hollow, the site of cross-country skiing events, located southeast of Salt Lake near
Heber CityHeber City is a city in Wasatch County, Utah, United States. The population was 7,291 at the 2000 census. Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1840s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball. It is...
.
Salt Lake City is in close proximity to several world-class ski and summer resorts, including
Park City Mountain ResortPark City Mountain Resort is a ski resort in Park City, Utah. The resort has been a major tourist attraction for skiers from all over the United States, as well as main employer for many people in Park City. Park City, as it is often called by locals, holds many training courses for the U.S. Ski...
,
Deer ValleyDeer Valley is an alpine ski resort in the Wasatch Range in the Park City area of northern Utah. Known for its upscale amenities, Deer Valley is consistently ranked among the top ski resorts in North America. It is one of the world's few remaining ski resorts that prohibit snowboarding...
,
AltaAlta is a ski area located in the Wasatch Mountains just east of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. with a skiable area of 2200 acres , beginning at a base elevation of 8,530 ft and rising to 10,550 ft for a vertical gain of 2,020 ft . Alta is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country,...
, and Snowbird. The resorts cater to millions of visitors each year and offer year-round activities.
Salt Lake City is also home to a few major shopping centers.
Trolley SquareTrolley Square is a partially enclosed shopping center located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is considered to be a trendy high-end center and is the second-most-visited tourist destination within Salt Lake City proper, with 30% of its customers being from out of state...
is an indoor and outdoor mall with many independent art boutiques, restaurants, and national retailers. The buildings housing the shops are renovated
trolleyA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
barns with cobblestone streets. The
Gateway DistrictThe Gateway District is a large open air retail, residential and office complex in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The complex is centered around the historic Union Pacific Depot in downtown Salt Lake City...
, an outdoor shopping mall, is the city's newest major shopping center and has many national restaurants, clothing retailers, a movie theater, the
Clark PlanetariumThe Clark Planetarium is situated within the Gateway District at the intersection of 400 West and 100 South in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
, the
Discovery GatewayDiscovery Gateway, formerly The Children's Museum of Utah , is an interactive, hands-on children's museum located in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
, a music venue called The Depot, and the Olympic Legacy Plaza.
On October 3, 2006, the LDS Church, who owns the
ZCMI Center MallThe ZCMI Center Mall was a shopping center near Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah that was owned by Zions Securities Corporation, which opened in 1975 and closed in 2007. At the time of its opening, it was the largest downtown mall in the country...
and Crossroads Mall, both on Main Street, announced plans to demolish the malls, a skyscraper, and several other buildings to make way for the $1 billion
City Creek CenterThe City Creek Center is a shopping center development under construction near Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an undertaking by Property Reserve, Inc. and Taubman Centers, Inc...
redevelopment. It will combine several new office and residential buildings (one of which will be the third-tallest building in the city) around an outdoor shopping center featuring a stream, fountain, and other outdoor amenities, and is expected to be completed in 2011.
Sugar HouseSugar House is one of Salt Lake City, Utah's oldest neighborhoods. The neighborhood's name is officially two words although it is often written as one...
is a neighborhood with a small town main street shopping area and numerous old parks.
Sugar House ParkSugar House Park, or Sugarhouse Park, is located between I-80, 2100 South, 1300 East, and 1700 East in Salt Lake City, Utah. The park is at the heart of the Sugar House neighborhood and is the site of a fireworks show and concert every Independence Day of the United States and a popular sledding...
is the second largest park in the city, and is host to frequent outdoor events and the primary
Fourth of JulyIn the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
fireworks in the city.
Other attractions in or within close proximity to Salt Lake City include the
Golden Spike National Historic SiteGolden Spike National Historic Site is a U.S. National Historic Site located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.It commemorates the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad where the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad met on May 10, 1869...
(where the world's first
transcontinental railroadA Transcontinental Railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent from "coast-to-coast". Terminals are at or connected to different oceans. Because Europe is criss-crossed by railways, railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, the Orient Express perhaps being an...
was joined), the
Lagoon Amusement ParkLagoon is an amusement park in Farmington, Utah, United States located about seventeen miles north of Salt Lake City. It is privately owned...
, the
Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
, the
Bonneville Salt FlatsThe Bonneville Salt Flats are a 159 square mile salt flat in northwestern Utah. The depth of the salt has been recorded at 6 feet in many areas. A remnant of the ancient Lake Bonneville of glacial times, the salt flats are now public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management...
, Gardner Historic Village, one of the largest dinosaur museums in the U.S. at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, and the world's largest man-made excavation at
Bingham Canyon MineThe Bingham Canyon Mine is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large porphyry copper deposit southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, in the Oquirrh Mountains. It is owned by Rio Tinto Group, an international mining and exploration company headquartered in the United Kingdom...
.
Sports and recreation
Winter sportA winter sport is a sport commonly played during winter. As a formal term, it refers to a sport played on snow or ice, but informally it can refer to sports played in winter that are also played year-round, such as basketball. The main winter sports are ice hockey and figure skating, sledding...
s, such as
skiingSkiing is a group of sports using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and
snowboardingSnowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is either partially or fully covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set into a mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, surfing and skiing...
, are popular activities in the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City. Eight ski resorts lie within 50 miles (80 km) of the city.
AltaAlta is a ski area located in the Wasatch Mountains just east of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. with a skiable area of 2200 acres , beginning at a base elevation of 8,530 ft and rising to 10,550 ft for a vertical gain of 2,020 ft . Alta is one of the oldest ski resorts in the country,...
,
BrightonBrighton Ski Resort is a ski area located in Big Cottonwood Canyon, 30 miles from downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Brighton Ski Resort was the first ski resort in Utah, and one of the first in the United States. Brighton was started in 1936 when members of the Alpine Ski Club built a rope tow from...
,
SolitudeSolitude Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in the Big Cottonwood Canyon of the Wasatch Mountains, thirty miles southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah. With 64 trails, and vertical, Solitude is smaller than other all of the other six Salt Lake City resorts except its neighbor Brighton...
, and Snowbird all lie directly to the southeast in the Wasatch Mountains, while nearby
Park CityPark City is a town in Summit and Wasatch counties in the U.S. state of Utah. It is one of two major resort towns in Utah, the other being Moab. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back and a part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area...
contains 3 more resorts. The popularity of the ski resorts has increased nearly 29% since the
2002 Winter OlympicsThe 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
. Summer activities such as
hikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking have been confirmed in studies...
,
campingCamping is an outdoor recreational activity.The participants, known as campers, leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights, usually at a campsite, which may have cabins...
,
rock climbingRock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up or across natural rock formations or man-made rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route...
,
mountain bikingMountain biking is an ever evolving sport that has recently seen a huge flux of popularity but has firm roots in experimentation with non "mountain" style bicycles. The sport consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, with specially equipped mountain bikes or hybrid / cross...
, and other related outdoor activities are popular in the mountains, as well. The many small reservoirs and rivers in the Wasatch Mountains are popular for
boatingBoating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether power boats, sail boats, or yachts , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or waterskiing...
,
fishingFishing is the activity of catching fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, and other water-related activities.
Sports
Salt Lake City is home to the
Utah JazzThe Utah Jazz are a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
of the
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
(NBA), who moved from New Orleans in 1979 and play their home games in
EnergySolutions ArenaThe EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States owned by the estate of the late Larry H. Miller. The arena seats 19,911 for basketball, has 56 luxury suites, and 668 club seats. Opened in 1991, the arena was known as the Delta Center until EnergySolutions...
. They are the only team from one of the four top-level professional sports leagues in the state. They have been one of the most successful teams in the regular season during the last 25 years, making the playoffs in 22 of them, but have yet to win a championship.
Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake is an American soccer club that is based in the Salt Lake City, Utah suburb of Sandy that participates in Major League Soccer. The club joined the league as an expansion team in 2005, and plays its home games at Rio Tinto Stadium....
of
Major League SoccerMajor League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by United States Soccer Federation . The league comprises 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada...
was founded in 2005, initially playing at
Rice-Eccles StadiumRice-Eccles Stadium is an outdoor football stadium on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the home field of the Utah Utes of the Mountain West Conference. It was originally built in 1927 at a cost of $133,000...
at the
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
before the
soccer-specificSoccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada, coined by Lamar Hunt, to refer to a sports stadium whose primary purpose is to host association football matches...
Rio Tinto Stadium was completed in 2008 in the suburb of
SandySandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, and a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 88,418 at the 2000 census, making it the fifth-largest city in Utah....
after undergoing nearly 2 years of funding difficulties and controversy. The city has also played host to several international soccer games, with the US as the home team (due to the partisan support when playing Latin American teams).
Arena footballArena football is a sport based upon American football. It is a proprietary game played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in 1986, and patented in 1990, by James F. Foster, a former executive of the United States...
expanded into the city in 2006 with the
Utah BlazeThe Utah Blaze is an Arena Football League team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play as a 2006 expansion team. They are currently coached by Ron James.-History:...
of the
Arena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League was founded in 1987 as an indoor American football by Jim Foster. It was played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game...
. They recorded the highest average attendance in the league in their first season.
There are also two minor league teams located in the city. The
Salt Lake BeesThe Salt Lake Bees are a Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Bees serve as the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They play their home games at Spring Mobile Ballpark, known to fans as the Apiary, which was...
, a
Pacific Coast LeagueThe Pacific Coast League is a minor league baseball league operating in the West, Midwest, and Southeast of the United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League...
Triple ATriple-A refers to the highest level of play in minor league baseball. Teams at this level are divided into three leagues: the International League, the Pacific Coast League, and the MLB-independent Mexican League. Each of the 30 Major League Baseball teams has an affiliation with one...
affiliate of the
Los Angeles Angels of AnaheimThe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The Angels have been based in Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 1966...
, play at Spring Mobile Ballpark and were established in 1994 as the Buzz. Their name was changed to the Stingers in 2002 and to the Bees, a historical Salt Lake City baseball team name, in 2006. The
Utah GrizzliesThe Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play out of West Valley City, Utah, United States, with their home games at the E Center.- Franchise history :...
hockey team of the ECHL were established in 2005, replacing the
previous Grizzlies teamThis is about the defunct IHL/AHL team that folded in 2005. For the current ECHL team, see Utah Grizzlies.The Utah Grizzlies were an ice hockey team in the International Hockey League and American Hockey League...
that existed from 1995 to 2005 in the IHL and, later, the
AHLThe American Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League . 28 of the 30 NHL teams have exclusive affiliation agreements with one of the AHL's 29 active clubs...
. They play at the
E CenterThe E Center is a 10,100-seat multi-purpose arena in West Valley City, Utah, southwest of Salt Lake City. The arena opened on September 21, 1997, and was used as an official Olympic Venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics, for ice hockey...
in the neighboring suburb of
West Valley CityWest Valley City is a city in Salt Lake County and a suburb of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The population was 108,896 at the 2000 census, making it the second-largest city in Utah. Prior to its incorporation as a city, it was commonly known by the communities of Hunter, Granger,...
.
Utah lacks a professional
footballAmerican football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, and often as Gridiron or Tackle football outside North America, is a competitive team sport known for combining strategy with physical play. The objective of the game is to score points by advancing the ball into the...
team of its own, and
college footballCollege football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies. It was the venue through which American football first gained popularity in the United States...
is very popular in the state. The
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
and
Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University , located in Provo, Utah, United States, is a private, coeducational research university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
both maintain large followings in the city, and the
rivalryThe University of Utah and Brigham Young University have a longstanding athletic rivalry that encompasses several sports. The annual college football game is frequently referred to as the Holy War. In the 1890s, when BYU was still known as Brigham Young Academy, the two schools started competing...
between the two colleges has a long and storied history. Despite the fact that Utah is a secular university, this is sometimes referred to as the
Holy WarThe Holy War is a college football rivalry game played between the University of Utah Utes and the Brigham Young University Cougars. The game is part of the larger Utah–BYU rivalry. In this rivalry context, the term Holy War refers to the fact that BYU is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of...
because of BYU's status as an LDS university. They both play in the
Mountain West ConferenceThe Mountain West Conference , the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS , officially began operations in July 1999. Geographically, the MWC covers a broad expanse of the western United States, with member institutions located in California,...
of the
NCAA'sThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
Division IDivision I is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States....
and have played each other 90 times since 1896 (continuously since 1922).
| Club |
Sport |
League |
Venue |
Established |
| Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
|
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
|
National Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is a professional basketball league, composed of thirty teams in North America . It is an active member of USA Basketball , which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States...
|
EnergySolutions ArenaThe EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States owned by the estate of the late Larry H. Miller. The arena seats 19,911 for basketball, has 56 luxury suites, and 668 club seats. Opened in 1991, the arena was known as the Delta Center until EnergySolutions...
|
1974 (moved to Utah in 1979) |
Real Salt LakeReal Salt Lake is an American soccer club that is based in the Salt Lake City, Utah suburb of Sandy that participates in Major League Soccer. The club joined the league as an expansion team in 2005, and plays its home games at Rio Tinto Stadium....
|
Soccer |
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by United States Soccer Federation . The league comprises 15 teams, 14 in the U.S. and one in Canada...
|
Rio Tinto Stadium |
2005 |
| Utah Blaze The Utah Blaze is an Arena Football League team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play as a 2006 expansion team. They are currently coached by Ron James.-History:...
|
Arena footballArena football is a sport based upon American football. It is a proprietary game played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game. The sport was invented in 1986, and patented in 1990, by James F. Foster, a former executive of the United States...
|
Arena Football LeagueThe Arena Football League was founded in 1987 as an indoor American football by Jim Foster. It was played indoors on a smaller field than American football, resulting in a faster-paced and higher-scoring game...
|
EnergySolutions ArenaThe EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States owned by the estate of the late Larry H. Miller. The arena seats 19,911 for basketball, has 56 luxury suites, and 668 club seats. Opened in 1991, the arena was known as the Delta Center until EnergySolutions...
|
2006 |
| Utah Grizzlies The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play out of West Valley City, Utah, United States, with their home games at the E Center.- Franchise history :...
|
Ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
|
ECHL The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada, generally regarded as a tier below the American Hockey League...
|
E Center The E Center is a 10,100-seat multi-purpose arena in West Valley City, Utah, southwest of Salt Lake City. The arena opened on September 21, 1997, and was used as an official Olympic Venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics, for ice hockey...
|
1995 (current incarnation in 2005) |
| Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Bees serve as the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They play their home games at Spring Mobile Ballpark, known to fans as the Apiary, which was...
|
BaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The goal is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond...
|
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League is a minor league baseball league operating in the West, Midwest, and Southeast of the United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League...
|
Spring Mobile Ballpark |
1994 |
Roads
Salt Lake City lies at the convergence of two cross-country freeways;
I-15In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 15 runs north-south through the southwestern and central portions of the state, passing through many of the population centers of that state, including St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, the latter three being part of the urban area known as the...
, which runs north-to-south just west of downtown, and
I-80In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 80 runs east-west through northern Utah, passing through the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, and the Wasatch Mountains...
, which connects downtown with
Salt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City International Airport is a major public airport in Utah. A joint civil-military facility, it is located in western Salt Lake City, approximately four miles from the central business district...
just to the west and exits to the east through
Parley's CanyonParley's Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Utah. It is accessed by Interstate 80 and is a relatively wide, straight canyon. The lower part of the canyon, however, is relatively twisty and had to be dynamited to make way for I-80. Despite this, the interstate remains six lanes wide...
.
I-215Interstate 215 —also known as the Belt Route or simply the 215—is an auxiliary interstate in the U.S. state of Utah that forms a 270-degree loop around Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs...
forms a 270° loop around the city. The
Legacy ParkwayThe Legacy Parkway is a four-lane freeway completely within Davis County in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah that runs from Interstate 215 in North Salt Lake to Interstate 15 and US-89 in Farmington. Construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2008, with the freeway opening 13...
, a controversial and oft-delayed freeway, finally opened September 2008, heading north from I-215 into
Davis CountyDavis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. In land area it is the smallest county in Utah. In 2000 the population was 238,994 and by 2008 was estimated at 295,332. It was named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion...
along the east shore of the
Great Salt LakeGreat Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
. Travel to and from Davis County is complicated by geography as roads have to squeeze through the narrow opening between the Great Salt Lake to the west and the Wasatch Mountains to the east. Only four roads run between the two counties to carry the load of
rush hourA rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest...
traffic from Davis County.
Salt Lake City's surface street system is laid out on a simple grid pattern. Road names are numbered with a north, south, east, or west designation, with the grid originating at the southeast corner of
Temple SquareTemple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
downtown. One of the visions of
Brigham YoungBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the western United States. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death and was the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of Utah Territory,...
and the early settlers was to create wide, spacious streets, which characterizes downtown. The grid pattern remains fairly intact in the city, except on the East Bench, where geography makes it impossible. The entire
Salt Lake ValleySalt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably West Valley City, Sandy, and West Jordan; its total population is 948,172 as of 2005....
is laid out on the same numbered grid system, although it becomes increasingly irregular the farther into the suburbs you move.
US-89In the U.S. state of Utah, U.S. Route 89 is a long north-south state highway spanning more than through the central part of the state. Between Provo and Brigham City, US-89 serves as a local road, paralleling Interstate 15, but the portions from Arizona north to Provo and Brigham City northeast...
enters the city from the northwest and travels the length of the valley as State Street.
Public transportation
Salt Lake City's
mass transitPublic transport comprises passenger transportation services which are available for use by the general public, as opposed to modes for private use such as automobiles or vehicles for hire.Public transport services are usually funded by fares charged to each passenger, with varying levels of subsidy...
service is operated by the
Utah Transit AuthorityThe Utah Transit Authority operates a public transportation system throughout the Wasatch Front of Utah. It operates fixed route buses, charter buses, ski buses, two light rail lines , and a commuter rail line from Salt Lake City to Pleasant View, north of Ogden. UTA is based in South Salt Lake,...
(UTA) and includes an extensive bus system, light rail, and a commuter rail line. The
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system, called
TRAXTRAX is a two-line light rail system in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, serving Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Murray, Midvale and Sandy. The system is operated by the Utah Transit Authority ....
, consists of two lines originating downtown at the
Salt Lake City Intermodal HubSalt Lake City Intermodal Hub is a multi-modal transportation hub located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Amtrak, the national regional rail system provides one train daily in each direction on the California Zephyr line, with service to Emeryville, California to the west and Chicago, Illinois to the east...
; one line, which opened in 1999, heads south to
SandySandy is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, and a suburb of Salt Lake City. The population was 88,418 at the 2000 census, making it the fifth-largest city in Utah....
and the other, opened in 2001, splits east to the
University of UtahThe University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
. Daily ridership averages 45,400 (as of the second quarter of 2008), significantly above original projections, and is the
eleventh-most ridden light rail system in the country, but also the
fourth-most ridden system by mile. The system has a total of 28 stations, 17 of them being located in Salt Lake City proper. The commuter rail system,
FrontRunnerFrontRunner is a commuter rail system operated by the Utah Transit Authority , serving the northern portion of the Wasatch Front, in the U.S. state of Utah. A future expansion will provide access to the south to Provo, Utah, extending the line to a total of...
, opened on April 26, 2008 and extends from the Intermodal Hub north to
Pleasant ViewPleasant View is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 5,632 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
UTA plans to complete four additional TRAX lines (one of which will connect to the airport), as well as FrontRunner south to
ProvoProvo is a city located within the US state of Utah. Currently estimated at 117,592 people, it is the third largest city in Utah and is located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and...
, by 2014 as part of its FrontLines 2015 project. These extensions were made possible by a sales tax hike for road improvements, light rail, and commuter rail that was approved by voters on November 7, 2006. In addition, a $500 million letter of intent was signed by the
Federal Transit AdministrationThe Federal Transit Administration is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transit systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administrations within the DOT...
for all four of the planned TRAX extensions in addition to the FrontRunner extension to Provo. FrontRunner South and three of these four TRAX lines are currently under construction, with the other expected to begin construction in 2009.
UTA's bus system extends throughout the
Wasatch FrontThe Wasatch Front is an urban area in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Santaquin in the south to Brigham City in the north...
from
Brigham CityBrigham City is a city in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 17,412 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Box Elder County. It lies on the western slope of the Wellsville Mountains, a branch of the Wasatch Range at the western terminus of Box Elder Canyon...
in the north to
SantaquinSantaquin is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Provo–Orem, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,834 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Santaquin is located at ....
in the south and as far west as
GrantsvilleGrantsville is the second most populous city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,015 at the 2000 census. The city has grown slowly and steadily throughout most of its existence, but rapid increases in...
. UTA also operates routes to the ski resorts in
BigBig Cottonwood Canyon is a canyon in the Wasatch Range southeast of Salt Lake City in the U.S. state of Utah. The -long canyon provides hiking, biking, picnicking, rock-climbing, camping and fishing in the summer. During winter, its two ski resorts, Brighton and Solitude, are popular among skiers...
and
LittleLittle Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern border of the Salt Lake Valley where the Rocky Mountains meet the Great Basin, roughly 15 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah...
Cottonwood Canyons during the ski season (typically November to April). Approximately 60,000 people ride the bus daily, although ridership has reportedly declined since TRAX was constructed.
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Salt Lake City, operating its
California ZephyrThe California Zephyr is a 2,438-mile long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Western United States....
daily in both directions between
ChicagoUnion Station is a Chicago train station that opened in 1925, replacing an earlier 1881 station, and is now the only intercity rail terminal in Chicago. Union Station was built on the west side of the Chicago River and stands between Adams Street and Jackson Street...
and
Emeryville, CaliforniaEmeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
. Greyhound Bus Lines serves Salt Lake City as well, providing access north-to-south through Utah along the I-15 corridor. Both of these stations are located at the Intermodal Hub.
Air transportation
Salt Lake City International AirportSalt Lake City International Airport is a major public airport in Utah. A joint civil-military facility, it is located in western Salt Lake City, approximately four miles from the central business district...
is located approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of downtown.
Delta Air LinesDelta Air Lines, Inc. is a United States airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Australia...
operates a
hubAn airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
at the airport, serving over 100 non-stop destinations throughout the United States,
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and Canada, as well as
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
.
SkyWest AirlinesSkywest Airlines Pty Ltd is a regional airline company based in Perth, Western Australia, Australia; servicing key towns in the state of Western Australia and Darwin, Northern Territory; as well as charter flights to Bali, Indonesia.-History:...
operates its largest hub at the airport as
Delta ConnectionDelta Connection is the name under which a number of individually owned regional airlines and three wholly owned regional carriers operate short and medium haul routes in association with Delta Air Lines Inc...
, and serves 243 cities as Delta Connection and
United ExpressUnited Express is a brand name under which seven regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. They primarily connect smaller cities with United's domestic hub airports and “focus cities,” although they offer some point-to-point service such as Sacramento to Eureka.As of August 1,...
. The airport is served by 4 UTA bus routes, and a light rail line should serve the airport by 2012. A total of 22,029,488 passengers flew through Salt Lake City International Airport in 2007, representing a 2.19 % increase over 2006. The airport currently ranks as the 21st busiest airport in the United States in terms of total passengers and is consistently rated #1 in the country in terms of on-time arrivals and departures as well as featuring the second-lowest number of cancellations. There are two
general aviationGeneral aviation is one of two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
airports nearby; South Valley Regional Airport in
West JordanWest Jordan is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. West Jordan is a rapidly growing suburb of Salt Lake City and possesses a mixed economy, having moved beyond being simply a bedroom community for Salt Lake City...
and
Skypark AirportSkypark Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Bountiful, a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is privately owned by Skypark Airport Assoc., LLC....
in
Woods CrossWoods Cross is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,419 at the 2000 census...
.
Bicycling
Salt Lake City is increasingly interested in promoting bicycle transportation. Quite a few city arterial streets have bike lanes, and the City has published a bicycle map . The bicycle map shows bike lanes, on-road routes, multi-use trails, and mountain biking trails.
One popular bicycling and walking route is the loop around City Creek Canyon , on Bonneville Boulevard. The city has designated the road as one lane only (one-way) for motor vehicles, turning the other lane over to two-way bicyclists and pedestrians. City Creek Canyon road itself is closed to motor vehicles on odd-numbered days during the summer. Bicycles are prohibited on even-numbered days.
Bicycles are permitted on buses, on Trax, and on the Frontrunner trains. There is no charge for bicycles, and there are no rush-hour restrictions. However, there is a limit on the number of bicycles on each bus or train. Folding bicycles may be brought on board Amtrak's California Zephyrr with service to Salt Lake City. Non-folding bicycles must be boxed and checked into the train's baggage car; however, not all stops along the route offer access to checked baggage.
Walking
Salt Lake City has sidewalks on many streets, and pedestrian-countdown signals assist walkers with crossing the wide streets safely. Downtown Salt Lake City, the 9th and 9th area, and the Avenues are especially walkable areas of town.
Sister cities
Salt Lake City has several sister cities/towns, including:
|
Country |
|
City/Town |
|
County / District / Region / State |
| Bolivia |
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
|
|
OruroOruro is a city in Bolivia with a population of over 215,660 , located about equidistant between La Paz and Sucre at approximately 3710 meters above sea level. It is the capital of the department of Oruro....
|
|
Oruro DepartmentOruro is a department in Bolivia, with an area of 53,588 km². Its capital is the city of Oruro. At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 391,870.- Provinces of Oruro :...
|
| Republic of Ireland |
IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
|
|
ThurlesThurles is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is situated on the River Suir, with a population of around 8,000. It is twinned with Bollington in England and Salt Lake City, Utah, United States....
|
|
County Tipperary County Tipperary is one of the traditional Counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary .Tipperary is the sixth largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 11th largest in terms of population...
|
| Italy |
Italy |
|
TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
|
|
PiedmontPiedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,399 km 2 and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the so-called Occitan Valleys...
|
| Japan |
Japan |
|
Matsumotois a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a Special City.-Outline:The new city of Matsumoto is the city comprising the mergers of the old city of Matsumoto and four villages. Matsumoto officially absorbed those villages without creating a new municipal...
|
|
Nagano Prefectureis a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano, and was divided among many local daimyo during the Sengoku period....
|
| Philippines |
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
|
|
Quezon CityQuezon City , is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
|
|
National Capital RegionMetropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region is the administrative region encompassing the city of Manila, the national capital of the Philippines. As of the 2007 Census, the population is 11,553,427...
|
|
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
|
|
Keelung City |
|
Taipei County Taipei County is located in northern Taiwan. The area borders Yilan to its east, Keelung on the north and Taoyuan on the south. The county surrounds but does not include Taipei City, which is a direct-controlled municipality....
|
| Ukraine |
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
|
|
ChernivtsiChernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of historic region of Bukovina, which currently is divided between Romania and Ukraine. As of the 2001...
|
|
Chernivtsi OblastChernivtsi Oblast , is an oblast in western Ukraine, bordering on Romania and Moldova. It has a large variety of landforms: the Carpathian Mountains and picturesque hills at the foot of the mountains gradually change to a broad partly forested plain situated between the Dniester and Prut rivers....
|
| Brazil |
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
|
|
ManausManaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourism destination....
|
|
Amazonas |
| Bosnia |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
|
SarajevoSarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 304,614 people in the four municipalities that make up the city proper, and an estimated urban area population of 421,289 people in the Sarajevo Canton . It is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and...
|
|
Sarajevo CantonThe Sarajevo Canton is a canton of the Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The capital is Sarajevo.The Canton is basically the metro area of the city it is named after that is inside the Federation...
|
Notable residents
- Ross C. ("Rocky") Anderson, former Salt Lake City mayor
- David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...
, singer-songwriter
- Heather B. Armstrong, Web sensation and superblogger of www.Dooce.com
- Parley Baer
Parley Baer was an American actor in film, television, and radio.-Radio:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Baer had a circus background, but began his radio career at Utah station KSL...
, actor
- Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherie Barr is an American actress, comedian, writer, and television producer.Barr won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on Roseanne...
, comedian, actress, and writer
- Robert Bennett
Robert Foster "Bob" Bennett is the Junior Senator from Utah and a member of the Republican Party. In 2006, Bennett was tapped to serve on the Senate Republican Leadership Council as counsel to the Minority Leader, United States Senator Mitch McConnell.-Early life:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah,...
, Junior Senator of UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
- Jaime Bergman
Jaime Bergman is an American model and actress who was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month in January 1999, its 45th Anniversary issue. In addition to her magazine appearance she has appeared in several Playboy videosBergman was the St...
, actress, former Playmate (former resident)
- Craig Bolerjack
Craig Bolerjack is an American sportscaster. He is currently an announcer for CBS Sports, working mostly college football and college basketball games.-Biography:...
, national sports personality
- Stewart Bradley
Stewart Bradley is an American football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
, starting linebackerA Linebacker is a position in American and Canadian football that was invented by football coach Fielding Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the Philadelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
- Brandon Bryant, Season 5 Runner-up on So You Think You Can Dance
- Wilford Brimley
Allen Wilford Brimley , better known as Wilford Brimley, is an American actor. He has appeared in such films as The China Syndrome and Cocoon...
, actor
- The Brobecks
The Brobecks is an American indie rock band, and is the full-time project of singer/songwriter Dallon Weekes. The band is unsigned and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California. The band's sound uses a wide variety of instrumentation and attributes its influences to artists such...
, indie rock band
- Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy, born Theodore Robert Cowell , was an American serial killer active between 1973 and 1978. He twice escaped from county jails before his final apprehension in February 1978. After more than a decade of vigorous denials, he eventually confessed to over 30 murders,...
, serial killer
- Neal Cassady
Neal Leon Cassady was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movement of the 1960s, perhaps best known for being characterized as Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac
's novel On the Road.-Life:Cassady was born to Maude Jean Scheuer and Neal Marshall...
, icon of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movement of the 1960s
- Tristram Coffin, western
The Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska The Western...
actor
- Cytheria, porn star born in Salt Lake City and raised in West Valley City
- Richard Paul Evans
Richard Paul Evans is an American author.-Biography:Evans graduated from Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake City. He graduated with a B.A. degree from the University of Utah in 1984. While working as an advertising executive he wrote a Christmas story for his children...
, author of the Christmas Box
- Philo Farnsworth
Philo Taylor Farnsworth was an American inventor. He is best known for inventing the first fully electronic television system, including the first working electronic image pickup device , and for being the first to demonstrate fully electronic television to the public.In his later life, Farnsworth...
, inventor of televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
- Jared Fernandez
Jared Wade Fernández is a former Major League Baseball knuckleball pitcher who last pitched in for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League....
, MLB player for the Cincinnati RedsThe Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. They are members of the Central Division of the National League....
, Houston AstrosThe Houston Astros is a major league baseball team located in Houston, Texas. The Astros are a member of the Central Division. From 2000 to the present, the Astros have played their home games at Minute Maid Park . The Astros joined MLB under the name Colt .45s along with the New York Mets in...
, and the Milwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
- Gregg Hale, guitar player from Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
- Shannon Hale
Shannon Hale is an American author of young adult fantasy and adult fiction.-Biography:Shannon Hale is the author of five award-winning young-adult novels, including the best-selling Newbery Honor book Princess Academy. Austenland was her first book for adults...
, author
- Jeremy Horn
Jeremy Graham Horn is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He is one of the most experienced fighters in the sport with a professional record of 82–19–5.-Biography:...
, mixed martial artist
- Derek Hough
Derek Hough is an American dancer and choreographer. A former world champion in Latin American Dance, he appeared on the fifth season of the ABC television series, Dancing with the Stars with actress Jennie Garth , and was eliminated during the seventh Week of the sixth season, earning sixth...
, professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars
- Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. is an American politician and diplomat and the current United States Ambassador to China. He served as Governor of Utah from 2005 until his resignation on August 11, 2009.- Early life and education :...
, governor of Utah
- Jon Huntsman, Sr.
Jon Meade Huntsman, Sr. is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Huntsman Corporation. Huntsman is a member of the Forbes 400, where he is currently ranked the 47th richest man alive...
, billionaire philanthropist of Huntsman Corporation
- Thomas Kearns
Thomas Kearns was a United States Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905.- Biography :Born near Woodstock, Ontario, he moved with his parents to Holt County, Nebraska and attended the public schools, worked on a farm, and engaged in the freighting business...
, 1900's millionaire, mining and railroad magnate, philanthropist, U.S. Senator and owner of Salt Lake Tribune
- Joel Long
Joel Long is an American poet and English teacher. He is the author of the award-winning book Winged Insects.Joel is currently an English teacher at Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School in Salt Lake City, Utah. He regularly plays semi-professional ultimate at Sugar House Park. At Rowland Hall, Joel Long...
, teacher, poet
- Mike Lookinland
Michael Paul "Mike" Lookinland is an American actor. He is best known for his role as youngest brother Bobby Brady on The Brady Bunch from 1969 until 1974.-Biography:...
, Brady Bunch actor
- Mick Morris, bass player for Orange County hardcore band, Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions were an Orange County, California, United States-based band, signed to Epic Records and Trustkill Records...
- Maddox
-Given name:*Maddox , a male given name of Welsh origin*Maddox , an American humorist and Internet personality*Maddox Jolie-Pitt, adopted son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt-Surname:...
, writer, humorist, satiristSatire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form; although in practice it is also found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,...
, comic book creatorA comic book creator is any one of a number of people working to create a comic book or graphic novel. The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
- Karl Malone
Karl Anthony Malone is a retired American professional basketball player.Born in Summerfield, Louisiana, he was nicknamed in college as the Mailman for his consistency and his work in the post. Malone twice won the National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player award...
, basketball star
- Haloti Ngata
Haloti Ngata is a football player for the Baltimore Ravens. Ngata, of Tongan ancestry, was a starting defensive tackle for the University of Oregon before he entered the 2006 NFL Draft when he was drafted by the Ravens with the 12th pick in the first round, who acquired the pick from the...
, starting defensive endDefensive End is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years...
for the Baltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the AFC North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
- Dick Nourse
Dick Nourse is a retired award-winning Salt Lake City, Utah television news anchor. He most recently worked for KSL-TV 5 Television. Nourse joined the KSL news team in 1964 as the station's weekend anchor/reporter. Six months later, he was named the station's weekday anchor...
, news anchor
- Claude Nowell
Claude Rex Nowell, also known as Corky King, Corky Ra, and Summum Bonum Amon Ra , was the founder of Summum, a 501, philosophical and religious organization that practices a modern form of mummification which has become known worldwide.-Biography:Nowell was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the...
aka Corky King, founder of SummumSummum is a religion and philosophy that began in 1975 as a result of Claude "Corky" Nowell's claimed encounter with beings he describes as "Summa Individuals"...
- Kim Peek
Kim Peek is a prodigious savant known as a megasavant. He has a photographic or eidetic memory, but also social developmental disabilities, possibly resulting from congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbit, played by Dustin Hoffman, in the movie...
, inspiration for the movie Rain ManRain Man is a 1988 comedy-drama film written by Barry Morrow and Ronald Bass and directed by Barry Levinson. It tells the story of an abrasive yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, an...
- Sione Pouha
Sione Po'uha is an American football defensive lineman for the National Football League New York Jets. Pouha played college football at the University of Utah...
, defensive lineman for the New York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the Northeastern New Jersey part of the tri-state New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays its home games in East...
of the NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
- Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American film director, actor, producer, businessman, model, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival...
, actor, movie director/producer, entrepreneur
- Lee Redmond
Lee Redmond held the record in the Guinness World Records for longest fingernails on both hands. She lives in Salt Lake City, Utah...
, record holder for longest fingernails
- Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until his resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
, political strategist
- Ryne Sanborn
Ryne Andrew Sanborn is an American actor.Sanborn, born in Salt Lake City, Utah, is best known as Jason in High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year. He currently lives in Taylorsville, Utah and graduated from Taylorville High School in 2007...
, actor
- Cael Sanderson
Cael Steven Sanderson , is considered one of the greatest American amateur wrestlers of all time. He is the current head wrestling coach at Penn State University...
, four-year undefeated NCAA wrestler and gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics in freestyle wrestling
- Nancy Saxton
Nancy Saxton is a former Salt Lake City Council Member and mayoral candidate.In November of 1999, Nancy was elected by the residents of Council District Four to serve a four-year term on the Salt Lake City Council, winning the election by a margin of 51.29% against Linda Lepreau In 2006, she...
, former Salt Lake City Councilwoman
- Dell Schanze
Dell Buck Schanze is a controversial Utah business entrepreneur, who relocated to Salt Lake City with his mother at age 12 when his parents divorced...
, entrepreneur
- Elizabeth A. Smart, kidnapping victim
- James Sorenson, billionaire
- Wallace Stegner
Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"...
, novelist, American historian
- Kaycee Stroh
Kaycee Stroh is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her roles in the hit Disney Channel Original Movies, High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and High School Musical 3: Senior Year.-Career:...
, actress
- John Stockton
John Houston Stockton is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the NBA...
, basketball star
- James Thompson
James Thompson is the name of:* James Thompson , Catholic priest hanged under Elizabeth I* James Thompson , congressman and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania...
, professional musician
- Ruth Todd
Ruth Todd is an award winning Salt Lake City television news anchor. She most recently worked for ABC4 Television. Ruth joined the ABC4 newsteam in December 2001, but first appeared On-Air April 15 2002 as the station's lead female anchor...
, news anchor
- Mark Twight
Born in 1961 in Yosemite National Park, California, Mark Twight rose to prominence in the world Alpine mountaineering community in the late 1980s and early 1990s with a well-documented series of difficult, dangerous alpine climbs in various ranges around the world.-Climbing:He made the first ascent...
, mountaineer
- Anne Wingate
Anne Wingate, born in 1943 as Martha Anne Guice, is a mystery writer currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Most of her mysteries are set somewhere within Texas. She is an adult convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and this sometimes shows in her works...
, mystery writer
- Loretta Young
-Early life:She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah as Gretchen Young, of Luxembourgian descent.At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She and her family moved to Hollywood when she was three years old. Loretta and her sisters Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young worked as child actresses,...
, actress
- Richard Whitehead Young
Richard Whitehead Young was a U.S. Army Brigadier General and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines during the time that the Philippines was a U.S. Territory....
, United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
general
- David Zabriskie
David Zabriskie is a professional road bicycle racer from the United States who rides for . His main strength is individual time trials and his career highlights include stage wins in all three Grand Tour stage races and winning the US National Time Trial Championship five times...
, professional cyclist
See also
- 2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
- Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, and the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates...
- Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
(NBA Basketball)
- Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake is an American soccer club that is based in the Salt Lake City, Utah suburb of Sandy that participates in Major League Soccer. The club joined the league as an expansion team in 2005, and plays its home games at Rio Tinto Stadium....
(MLS Soccer)
- List of famous Salt Lakers
- Salt Lake City Tornado
The 1999 Salt Lake City tornado was a very rare tornado that occurred in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 11, 1999, during an unusually strong summer monsoon season...
- Trolley Square shooting
The Trolley Square shooting was a shooting spree that occurred on February 12, 2007, at Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States...
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Temple Square
Temple Square is a ten acre complex located in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In recent years, the usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities immediately adjacent to Temple Square...
- USS Salt Lake City
Two ships of the United States Navy have borne the name USS Salt Lake City, in honor of the city in Utah which has served successively as the capital of the Provisional State of Deseret, the Territory of Utah, and the 45th state. See Salt Lake City, Utah.*The first was commissioned in 1929, and...
(Ships of the United States Navy named "Salt Lake City").
- Seal of Salt Lake City
The Seal of Salt Lake City is Salt Lake City government's official seal.-Design:The seal portrays the Salt Lake City and County Building, which has been the seat of Salt Lake City government since it was built in 1894. Below the building is the date 1847, which is the year that the first company of...
External links