Salt Lake City, Utah

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Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah Flag of Salt Lake City Seal of Salt Lake City City nickname: "Crossroads of the West" Location of Salt Lake City in the state of Utah Mayor Rocky Anderson County Salt Lake County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 285.9 km² (110.4 mi²) 282.5 km² (109.1 mi²) 3.3 km² (1.3 mi²) 1.17% Population (2000)   - City   - Metro   - Density 181,743 1,333,914 643.3/km² (706.4/mi²) Time zone Mountain: UTC-7/-6 Latitude 111° 53' W Longitude 40° 45' N External link: Salt Lake City official web page (http://www.slcgov.com/)

Salt Lake City is the state capital of and largest city in Utah, a state of the United States of America. It sits in the Salt Lake Valley in north-central Utah along the Wasatch Front at an elevation of 4,330 ft (1,320 m). The valley is mostly surrounded by mountains that rise up to 6,000 ft (1,850 m) above the valley floor. Salt Lake City is also located near the Great Salt Lake, but is separated from it by marshes and mudflats.

In the 2000 census, the city had a population of 181,743, up from 159,936 in 1990. According to the 2000 census, the Salt Lake City-Ogden metropolitan area had a population of 1,333,914, a 24.4% increase over the 1990 figure of 1,072,227. Salt Lake City is the largest city in the state and the county seat of Salt Lake County. Residents are called Salt Lakers.

Salt Lake City is known for the mountain resorts in the nearby Wasatch Mountains. The Utah Travel Council advertises these mountains as having the "Greatest Snow on Earth" (reminiscent of "The Greatest Show on Earth", the slogan for Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus) because of the snow's powdery texture. The ski season usually lasts from November to May, but may extend further on either end. Eight ski resorts are located within one hour of Salt Lake City. Because of these conditions, Salt Lake City was host to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

The current mayor of the city is Ross C. ("Rocky") Anderson.

History

Please see main article: History of Salt Lake City.

On July 24, 1847 143 men, three women and two children, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, founded Salt Lake City on the eastern shore of the Great Salt Lake. They were led by Brigham Young, who led the Saints after the death of the religion's founder Joseph Smith, Jr.. Upon arrival to the Salt Lake valley, Young reportedly confirmed a vision by saying, "It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on." For over 20 years, Salt Lake City was settled mostly by Mormon pioneers who crossed the continent overland.

Beginning in 1869 the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit linked Utah with the rest of the world. By January 1870, the transcontinental line was linked south from Ogden to Salt Lake City, bringing residents manufactured goods previously a luxury, and ending the era of laborious pioneer immigration.

The city was originally named "Great Salt Lake City", but changed to "Salt Lake City" upon displacing Fillmore, Utah as Utah territorial capital in 1856. The city became Utah's capital on January 4, 1896 when statehood was finally granted.

US Troops were sent to the city in 1857 to quell the "anti-American" and "anti-democratic" practice of polygamy practiced by many city residents. These troops were soon replaced by a garrison at Fort Douglas on the eastern edge of the city in order to secure the route through Salt Lake during the Civil War.

The city continued to grow during the 20th century, and began to suffer from urban sprawl after World War II. Today, the city and its surrounding suburbs fill most of the Salt Lake Valley.

In 2002 Salt Lake City played host to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. The games were a success, and Salt Lake is one of the few Olympic venues to have made a profit. The impact the Olympics had on the area can still be seen today, from the new freeways surrounding the city, to the Olympic torch memorial at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Law and government

City and County Building, seat of city government since 1894

Since 1979 Salt Lake City has maintained a non-partisan Mayor-council form of government. The full-time mayor is elected to four year terms without term limit. The last such election occurred in 2003. Salt Lake City's seven part-time city councilors are also elected to four year terms. Three council elections are held the same year as mayoral elections and the other four are staggered two years from these votes. Each council seat is defined by geographic boundaries, so each councilor represents about 26,000 citizens.

Although the mayor is officially a non-partisan position, Salt Lake City has elected Democratic mayors for almost the last 16 years. City council members tend to be locally well-known and are elected under specific issues. With no major factories or large-scale manufacturing base, union politics or mass labor issues rarely play a role in local politics. Councilors and the mayor are most likely to push platforms centering on school zoning, economic development, and transportation. The metropolitan area's political demographics are unlike much of the rest of Utah's, where Republican or conservative citizens usually dominate and are represented by politicians of similar persuasion.

See also: List of mayors of Salt Lake City.

City layout

The city itself is laid out in a grid plan with most streets running precisely north-south or east-west. The origin of the grid is the south-east corner of Temple Square, the location of the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Street addresses are coordinates within the grid system. 100 units is equal to 1/8th of a mile, the length of blocks in downtown Salt Lake City. For instance, one might speak of the intersection of 700 East and 3300 South or 7th East and 33rd South. Both styles indicate the same coordinate.

According to the original plans for the city, loosely based on LDS Church founder Joseph Smith's "Plat of the City of Zion", the city was to be laid out in 135 ten-acre (40,500 m²) lots. However, the farther one goes outside the original zone around the city's core, the more irregularly spaced the blocks become. During the late 1800s, after the LDS Church had lost control over the city's growth but before zoning ordinances were created in the 1920s, many small streets were criss-crossed through the original grid, usually at the developer's whim.

There are three distinct street patterns in Salt Lake City:

• The original square blocks and the small streets that criss-cross it.
• The 2.5-acre (10,100 m²) blocks of the Avenues district.
• The more rectangular blocks south of 900 South.

The entire county bases its grid from the same unit length and origin. [1] (http://members.aol.com/utahhwyp/strtname.htm).

Neighborhoods

Salt Lake City has quite a number of informal neighborhoods that are well known throughout the city and even noted on most local maps. One of the most recognizable is The Avenues to the northeast. The Avenues is a district of old houses built at a similar time on perfectly rectangular blocks defined by streets named after letters of the alphabet, and avenues (1st, 2nd, etc). Other neighborhoods include:

Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah

• Downtown – towards the north-central, just below the mountain slope
• Central City – the main residential area of the city, located mainly south and southeast of downtown
• Sugar House – commercial/residential district to the southeast
• Federal Heights – affluent district high up the mountain slope to the northeast
• The Avenues – crowded district just northeast of downtown, first neighborhood
• East Bench – residential region on the mountain slope to the east
• Capitol Hill – affluent district above downtown, near the capitol
• Rose Park – poorest neighborhood, situated to the northwest
• Glendale – another poor neighborhood located to the southwest

The east side of town (Sugar House, Capitol Hill, Federal Heights, etc.) is often characterized as the "good" side, whereas the westside (Rose Park and Glendale) is the "bad" side. These characterizations are based on historical prejudices. When the railroad first came to Salt Lake, it ran primarily through the west side, and large industrial complexes grew up around it. Many primarily non-Mormon immigrants settled there to work, whereas the majority of Mormon citizens stayed on the east of town. After World War II, much of the affordable housing was built in Rose Park and Glendale. As these families gained wealth, they moved to more desirable homes on the east. The neighborhoods were left with mostly poorer residents, and crime became rampant. These distinctions are still apparent.

The LDS church also divides the city (and other locations where it is strong) into stakes and wards. A stake is roughly analogous to a diocese, and a ward is similar to a parish. Due to the pervasive influence of the LDS church within Utah, even those who are not members of the LDS church are often aware of what ward they are in.

Transportation

The freeways in Salt Lake City are: I-15, running north/south; I-80, running east/west; and the I-215 Belt Route, running 3/4 of the way around the city in a "U" shape. Other highways include Utah 201 (also called "the 201" or the "21st South freeway"), Bangerter Highway, and US 89 (also known as State Street). In anticipation of the 2002 Winter Olympics, major overhauls were made on these roadways, particularly I-15.

Plans exist for a freeway running the length of the west side of the Wasatch Front from Brigham City in the north to Nephi in the south, connecting with I-215 in Salt Lake County. This freeway is know as the Legacy Highway and has caused quite a bit of controversy. It is currently stalled because environmentalists' lawsuits forced the re-evaluation of the environmental impact statement.

A light rail system, known as TRAX, had also been planned for years. In anticipation of the 2002 Winter Olympics this system was funded and built. It began service on December 4, 1999 and currently links downtown with the suburbs, as well as the University of Utah. Plans for a future link into other parts of the city are already in the works, including several proposed lines. Suggestions include a line to Sugar House, a link to the airport, and several alternative plans to bring TRAX into West Valley City, West Jordan, and Draper. It is administered by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA).

There are also plans for a commuter rail system that by 2020 should extend from Brigham City, north of Ogden in Box Elder County, to Payson, which is south of Provo in Utah County. This is the approximate length of the Wasatch Front. The first segment, between Salt Lake City and Ogden, is expected to be completed by 2007.

UTA bus at a stop

UTA also runs the bus system in Salt Lake. The combined bus and rail services reach almost everywhere within Salt Lake City, and many points in the valley and beyond, serving the entire length of the Wasatch Front. Other services provided by UTA include a paratransit service, which has curbside pickup for disabled riders, express buses running between Salt Lake and its major suburbs, and winter service to the ski resorts in the Wasatch Mountains.

Salt Lake City is serviced by the Salt Lake City International Airport. In 2004 Delta Air Lines announced an expansion of their hub at the airport. The airline will add 58 flights (including 13 nonstop) beginning in February 2005, while cutting back on its service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, thus "de-hubbing" it.

Three taxicab services exist in Salt Lake City. They are Ute Cab, City Cab, and Yellow Cab. A recent controversy has sprung up between enterpreneurs wishing to enter the taxi market in the city, and the mayor's office, which has maintained tight restrictions on the taxi fleet. The controversy was fueled by Yellow Cab's advocacy of Mayor Anderson's re-election campaign by displaying the mayor's campaign ads wrapped around the company's taxis, and further by the decision by the mayor's campaign not to report this as a political in-kind contribution. Anderson drove a cab for Yellow while in college.

Major attractions

Salt Lake City's downtown core houses an impressive collection of old and new structures with several twenty-plus story steel and glass towers adjacent to late nineteeth century brick and mortar. The tallest building in the city is the Wells Fargo Center, at 24 stories and 422 ft, although the LDS Church Office Building has more stories, at 28, and is only slightly shorter, at 420 ft. Furthermore, the Church Office Building actually appears higher as it stands on slightly higher ground. The Wells Fargo Center is sometimes referred to as the American Stores Tower, but American Stores, a grocery chain, never moved in as it merged with Albertsons in 1999.

Other important buildings are the Delta Center, One Utah Center, the historic Tabernacle on Temple Square, the Salt Lake LDS Temple (which is Utah's number one tourist attraction), and the newer LDS Conference Center which seats about 20,000. Another popular attraction is the architecturally unique Salt Lake City Public Library, which is Utah's second most popular tourist attraction. The LDS Genealogical Library, located just west of Temple Square, ranks among Utah's most popular tourist destinations (with Temple Square and Zion National Park).

Hogle Zoo is at the foot of the mountains on the east bench, and Liberty Park is just southeast of downtown.

Future plans for Salt Lake include the Living Earth Aquarium (which is already running on a limited scale at the Gateway Mall) and the Leonardo, which will be a multi-faceted art, culture, and science center. The Leonardo will be housed in the old Salt Lake City main library building. [2] (http://www.theleonardo.org/)

Salt Lake City is also the home of the Utah Symphony Orchestra, which performs in Abravanel Hall.

See also: Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City, Utah

Recreation and sports

Winter snow-skiing includes destinations such as Alta and Deer Valley (which both allow only skiing). Both skiing and snowboarding are available at Snowbird, Park City, Solitude, and Brighton. Eight ski resorts are located within an hour's drive of the airport. The proximity of the ski resorts adds to the Utah boast of the "Greatest Snow on Earth". The ski resorts see frequent storms which deposit light, dry snow due to a phenomenon called the "lake effect" where moisture picked up over the Great Salt Lake precipitates in the Wasatch Mountains.

Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Jazz, a NBA team, as well as the Salt Lake Stingers minor league baseball team. The Stingers are the Anaheim Angels Triple A affiliate. The city also hosts a hockey team, the Utah Grizzlies and a minor league mens' soccer team, the Utah Blitzz. Major League Soccer announced that Salt Lake City will receive its latest expansion team in 2005, which will be known as Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake City will also receive an expansion team from the revived American Basketball Association, known as theUtah Snowbears [3] (http://www.usbasket.com/USAteam.asp?TEAM=6468) in 2005, and an Arena Football League team in 2006.

Culture and celebrations

Although the city is often stereotyped as entirely Mormon, it is in fact culturally diverse. The city is the location of many cultural activities (http://salt.lake.city.eventguide.com/), Mormon and otherwise. Some popular annual cultural celebrations include:

• First Night - New Year celebration.
• Days of '47 - Salt Lake City's largest parade. Occurs every July 24th on Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday comemorating the Mormon pioneers' entry into Salt Lake Valley.
• Greek Festival - In September. Weekend festival celebrating Utah's Greek heritage.
• Portions of the Sundance Film Festival.

Economy

The economy of the city is primarily service-oriented. While nearby Kennecott Copper Mine provided a strong source of income during the 19th century, the city has evolved to an economy built on transit hubs, call-centers, and seasonal tourism. The 2002 Olympic Winter Games gave a great boost to the area's economy.

Education

History

Education has always been a priority in the Salt Lake Valley. In 1847 pioneer Jane Dillworth held the first classes in her tent for the children of the first Mormon families. By 1850 many schools had already sprung up around the valley, and there were plans for a school attached to every wardhouse. In 1851 the territorial legislature passed the first public school law creating the office of the superintendent of schools. Many large Mormon families, such as Brigham Young's, had their own schools, known as "family schools".

In the last part of the 1800s there was much controversy over how children in the area should be educated. Mormon influence in public schools created problems with non-Mormon parents, and raised issues about public school supervision. Mormons became upset about the number of private protestant schools popping up. The schools would offer free tuition to Mormon students in order to convert them. Westminster College, although now a secular four-year college, is the last remaining example of these schools. LDS Church members also resented non-Mormon influences in the public schools and began to focus once again on efforts to develop church-run schools.

Many Mormon children attend some form of religious instruction, referred to as seminary. In years past children would attend during school hours and even receive credit for it. Although many still attend during school hours, they no longer receive any credit.

Primary and secondary education

Due to high birth rates and large classrooms Utah spends less per capita on students than any other state. Money is always a challenge and many businesses donate to support schools. Several districts have set up foundations to raise money.

Salt Lake City School District serves Salt Lake City proper. For other local school districts, see: Salt Lake County.

Colleges and universities

Post-secondary educational options in Salt Lake City include:

• the University of Utah
• Westminster College, Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake Community College
• the BYU Salt Lake Center
• LDS Business College

Trade and technical schools

• Utah College of Massage Therapy

Media

Salt Lake has many diverse media outlets. Major ones include:

KSL-TV, channel 5 is one of Utah's oldest television stations. Other media include newspapers, such as the Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret Morning News, and the Salt Lake City Weekly.

For more information see: List of Salt Lake City media and Salt Lake City in film.

Geography and climate

Salt Lake City is located at 40°45'17" North, 111°53'33" West (40.754700, -111.892622)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 285.9 km² (110.4 mi²). 282.5 km² (109.1 mi²) of it is land and 3.3 km² (1.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.17% water.

The city is located in a large valley, the Salt Lake Valley, separated by the Wasatch Mountains to the east and the Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

Photo taken by NASA of Salt Lake City, Utah. North is to the left of the photo.

Like most of the cities stretching north and south of Salt Lake City (See Ogden and Provo), it lies at the base of the Wasatch Mountains which in some places rise impressively 6,000 feet (1,850 m) above the valley floor. This metro area is known commonly as the Wasatch Front. Most of the valley floor is built up, except for some rapidly disappearing fields and farms on the south and west sides of the valley. Some parts of the benches have seen residential construction, and often the higher up the bench one goes, the more ostentatious the dwellings become.

The valley floor is the lake bed of the ancient Lake Bonneville, of which the Great Salt Lake is a remnant. Soils in the valley are largely clay and sand, which exposes the city's edifices to considerable risk of damage due to liquefaction caused by an earthquake. The Wasatch Fault runs along the eastern benches of the city, and geologists consider it due for a major earthquake.

Winter weather is not as harsh as in some other locations within the Rocky Mountain region because of the moderating effect of the Great Salt Lake to the northwest of the city. Temperatures seldom fall below 0°F/-18°C for any length of time. However, temperature inversions in winter commonly result in cold, foggy weather in the city while the surrounding mountains enjoy warmer temperatures and sunshine.

Summers are likewise moderated somewhat by the lake, and also by the city's elevation (4,290 feet at Temple Square). Days over 100°F/38°C occur on average 8 times per year, but such days are not terribly uncomfortable due to the typically low humidity, which, combined with the altitude, produce a large daily range in temperatures, and hence, rather cool nights, in summer (both precipitation and humidity are highest in late winter and early spring, and lowest in late summer and early autumn).

Snowfall is frequent from December through March, but it is unusual for any one storm to accumulate more than 12 inches/30 cm on the valley floor (average winter temperatures in the city are not quite cold enough to support a stable, constant snow cover all winter long every year). Bench locations near the mountains often receive substantially more. The summer monsoon rising from Mexico and Arizona occasionally pass through the region starting in mid-July and continue through September, bringing intense thunderstorm activity; otherwise, summers are generally dry.

The marshlands and mudflats to the south and east of the Great Salt Lake border the city's northwest side. Freshwater estuaries enter the lake here, and the lower salinity combines with the marshy terrain to result in considerable algae growth. Under certain weather conditions, which occur up to roughly a dozen times a year, some of the algae dies off and decays, and the northwest winds carry the scent of decaying algae into the city. The smell is known as "lake stink." Because of the flatness of the valley (which impedes views of the lake) and the worthlessness of the lake as a fishery or recreational water (due to its high salinity), the lake stink is one of the few reminders Salt Lakers have that they live near a major body of water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 181,743 people, 71,461 households, and 39,803 families residing in the city. The population density is 643.3/km² (1,666.1/mi²). There are 77,054 housing units at an average density of 272.7/km² (706.4/mi²).

The racial makeup of the city is:

• 79.20% White
• 18.85% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race
• 1.89% African American
• 1.34% Native American
• 3.62% Asian
• 1.89% Pacific Islander
• 8.52% from other races
• 3.54% from two or more races

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 non-families. 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.

Salt Lake City

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 income for a household 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 income 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.

Religious affiliation

About half of Salt Lake City's population are members of the LDS Church. This rises to about 75% for the state's more rural municipalities, averaging about 60% for Utah as a whole.

Trivia

• Salt Lake City is recognized as the birthplace of modern computer graphics, an accomplishment credited to researchers at the University of Utah.
• The world's first Kentucky Fried Chicken (now KFC) was established in 1952 by Harland Sanders and Pete Harman in what is now South Salt Lake.
• Salt Lake City has a law against carrying an unwrapped ukulele on the street.

External links

Government

• Official website of Salt Lake City (http://www.ci.slc.ut.us/)
• Salt Lake City Government official page (http://www.slcgov.com/)

Media

• Deseret Morning News (http://www.deseretnews.com/dn)
• Salt Lake Tribune (http://www.sltrib.com/)
• Salt Lake City Weekly (http://www.slweekly.com/)
• KSL-TV - NBC affiliate (http://www.ksl.com/)
• KTVX - ABC affiliate (http://www.ktvx.com/)
• KUTV - CBS affiliate (http://www.kutv.com/)

Travel guides

• Wikitravel — Salt Lake City travel guide (http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Salt_Lake_City)
• Photographic virtual tour of Salt Lake City. (http://www.Untraveledroad.com/USA/Utah/SaltLake/Saltlake.htm)

Regions of Utah
Great Salt Lake Area | Wasatch Front
Largest Cities
Bountiful | Centerville | Cottonwood Heights | Draper | Kearns | Layton | Logan | Midvale | Murray | Ogden | Orem | Provo | Roy | Salt Lake City | Sandy | South Jordan | St. George | Taylorsville | West Jordan | West Valley City
Counties
Beaver | Box Elder | Cache | Carbon | Daggett | Davis | Duchesne | Emery | Garfield | Grand | Iron | Juab | Kane | Millard | Morgan | Piute | Rich | Salt Lake | San Juan | Sanpete | Sevier | Summit | Tooele | Uintah | Utah | Wasatch | Washington | Wayne | Weber

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