Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, the city is the core of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which had a population of 1,257,936 at the 2020 census. Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo Combined Statistical Area, a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along a segment of the Wasatch Front, comprising a population of 2,746,164 (as of 2021 estimates), making it the 22nd largest in the nation. It is also the central core of the larger of only two major urban areas located within the Great Basin (the other being Reno, Nevada).

Salt Lake City was founded July 24, 1847, by early pioneer settlers led by Brigham Young, who were seeking to escape persecution they had experienced while living farther east. The Mormon pioneers, as they would come to be known, entered a semi-arid valley and immediately began planning and building an extensive irrigation network which could feed the population and foster future growth. Salt Lake City's street grid system is based on a standard compass grid plan, with the southeast corner of Temple Square (the area containing the Salt Lake Temple in downtown Salt Lake City) serving as the origin of the Salt Lake meridian. Owing to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named Great Salt Lake City. In 1868, the word "Great" was dropped from the city's name.

Immigration of international members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad initially brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the West". It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913. Two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, now intersect in the city. The city also has a belt route, I-215.

Salt Lake City has developed a strong tourist industry based primarily on skiing, outdoor recreation, and religious tourism. It hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and is a candidate city for the 2030 Winter Olympics. It is known for its politically liberal culture, which stands in contrast with the rest of the state's highly conservative leanings. It is home to a significant LGBT community and hosts the annual Utah Pride Festival. It is the industrial banking center of the United States. Salt Lake City and the surrounding area are also the location of several institutions of higher education including the state's flagship research school, the University of Utah. Sustained drought in Utah has more recently strained Salt Lake City's water security and caused the Great Salt Lake level drop to record low levels, and has impacted the local and state economy.

History

Before settlement by members of the LDS Church, the Shoshone, Weber Ute, and Paiute had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. At the time of Salt Lake City's founding, the valley was within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone. One local Shoshone tribe, the Western Goshute tribe, had names for the Jordan River, City Creek, and Red Butte Canyon (Pi'o-gwût, So'ho-gwût, and Mo'ni-wai-ni). The Goshutes (or, Gosiutes) also lived in the vicinity of Salt Lake and the valleys to the west. The land was treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone was ever ceded or relinquished by treaty with the United States. The first explorer of European descent in the Salt Lake area was likely Jim Bridger in 1825, although others had been in Utah earlier, including some who traveled as far north as the nearby Utah Valley (the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition were undoubtedly aware of Salt Lake Valley's existence). U.S. Army officer John C. Frémont surveyed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley in 1843 and 1845. The Donner Party, a group of ill-fated pioneers, had traveled through the Great Salt Lake Valley in August 1846.

The settling of Salt Lake City dates to the arrival of the Latter-day Saints in July 1847. They had traveled beyond the boundaries of the United States into Mexican Territory seeking a secluded area to safely practice their religion away from the violence and the persecution they experienced in the United States. Upon arrival at the Salt Lake Valley, president of the church Brigham Young is recorded as stating, "This is the right place, drive on." Brigham Young is said to have seen the area in a vision before the wagon train's arrival. They found the broad valley empty of any human settlement.

The city was not platted till after the federal surveyor abandoned his post in 1857. In 1855 Congress directed the President of the United States to appoint a surveyor general for Utah Territory, and to cause that the lands of that territory should be surveyed preparatory to bringing them on the market. Because of numerous conflicts between the surveyor and the territorial government the first surveyor general abandoned his post in 1857, not to return till 1869.

There was a Native American population in the valley, but an outbreak of measles during the winter of 1847 killed many. The Shoshone saved the pioneers when they taught them to eat the bulb of the native sego lily, which has long been part of the ordinary diet of the Shoshone, ''sego'' being derived from the Shoshone word ''seego''. The sego lily was commemorated by the Sego Lily Dam, a flood-prevention infrastructure project in the shape of a giant sego lily, built in Sugar House Park in 2017.

Four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young designated the building site for the Salt Lake Temple. The Salt Lake Temple, constructed on the block later called Temple Square, took 40 years to complete. Construction started in 1853, and the temple was dedicated on April 6, 1893. The temple has become an icon for the city and serves as its centerpiece. The southeast corner of Temple Square is the point of reference for the Salt Lake meridian, and for all addresses in the Salt Lake Valley.

The pioneers organized a state called State of Deseret, and petitioned for its recognition in 1849. The United States Congress rebuffed the settlers in 1850 and established the Utah Territory, vastly reducing its size, and designated Fillmore as its capital city. Great Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital in 1856, and the name later was shortened to Salt Lake City. The city's population continued to swell with an influx of converts to the LDS Church and Gold Rush gold seekers, making it one of the most populous cities in the American Old West.

The first group of settlers brought African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery. Three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with the first group of settlers in 1847. The settlers also began to purchase Indian slaves in the well-established Indian slave trade, as well as enslaving Indian prisoners of war. In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County. In 1852, the territorial legislature passed the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners formally legalizing slavery in the territory. Slavery was abolished in the territory during the Civil War.

Explorer, ethnologist, and author Richard Francis Burton traveled by coach in the summer of 1860 to document life in Great Salt Lake City. He was granted unprecedented access during his three-week visit, including audiences with Brigham Young and other contemporaries of Joseph Smith. The records of his visit include sketches of early city buildings, a description of local geography and agriculture, commentary on its politics and social order, essays, speeches, and sermons from Young, Isaac Morley, George Washington Bradley and other leaders, and snippets of everyday life such as newspaper clippings and the menu from a high-society ball.

Disputes with the federal government ensued over the church's practice of polygamy. A climax occurred in 1857 when President James Buchanan declared the area in rebellion after Brigham Young refused to step down as governor, beginning the Utah War. A division of the United States Army, commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston, later a general in the army of the Confederate States of America, marched through the city and found it had been evacuated. They continued their march through the deserted city to vacant land at the southwest corner of the valley. There they set up Camp Floyd ( south of the city). Another military installation, Fort Douglas, was established in 1862 to maintain Union allegiance during the American Civil War. Many area leaders were incarcerated at the territorial prison in Sugar House in the 1880s for violation of anti-polygamy laws. The church began its eventual abandonment of polygamy in 1890, releasing "The Manifesto", which officially suggested members obey the law of the land (which was equivalent to forbidding new polygamous marriages inside the US and its territories, but not in church member settlements in Canada and Mexico). This paved the way for statehood in 1896, when Salt Lake City became the state capital.

The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 at Promontory Summit on the north side of the Great Salt Lake. 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 had 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 near the parking ramp which has replaced Plum Alley. Immigrants also found economic opportunities in the booming mining industries. Remnants of a once-thriving Japantown – namely a Buddhist temple and Japanese Christian chapel – remain in downtown Salt Lake City. European ethnic groups and East Coast missionary groups constructed St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in 1874, B'nai Israel Temple in 1890, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine in 1909 and the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1923. This time period also saw the creation of Salt Lake City's now defunct red-light district that employed 300 courtesans at its height before being closed 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 was approved for conversion in 1941, yet ran until 1945, due to World War II. Trolley buses ran until 1946. Light rail transit returned to the city when UTA's TRAX opened in 1999. The S Line (formerly known as Sugar House Streetcar) opened for service in December 2013 on an old D&RGW right-of-way.

The city's population began to stagnate during the 20th century as population growth shifted to suburban areas north and south of the city. Few of these areas were annexed to the city, while nearby towns incorporated and expanded. As a result, the population of the surrounding metropolitan area greatly outnumbers 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 has gained an estimated 5 percent of its population since the year 2000.

The city has experienced significant demographic shifts in recent years. Hispanics now account for approximately 22% of residents and the city has a significant LGBT community. There is also a large Pacific Islander population (mainly Samoans and Tongans; they compose roughly 2% of the population of the Salt Lake Valley area.

Salt Lake City was selected in 1995 to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. The games were plagued with controversy. A bid scandal surfaced in 1998 alleging bribes had been offered to secure the bid. 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 turn a profit. In preparation major construction projects were initiated. Local freeways were expanded and repaired, and a light rail 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. Salt Lake City is currently bidding to host the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics.
Salt Lake City hosted the 16th Winter Deaflympic games in 2007, taking place in the venues in Salt Lake City and Park City, and Rotary International 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 Olympics. The U.S. Volleyball Association convention in 2005 drew 39,500 attendees.

In 2020, the city experienced a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, protests against the killing of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, and a damaging windstorm with hurricane-force winds, amidst the wider national George Floyd protests, the global COVID-19 pandemic, and protests against pandemic measures.

Geography

Salt Lake City has an area of and an average elevation of above sea level. The lowest point within the boundaries of the city is near the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake, and the highest is Grandview Peak, at .

The city is in the northeast corner of the Salt Lake Valley surrounded by the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, the steep Wasatch Range to the east, and Oquirrh Mountains to the west. Its encircling mountains contain several narrow canyons, including City Creek, Emigration, Millcreek, and Parley's which border the eastern city limits.

The burgeoning population of Salt Lake City and the surrounding metropolitan area, combined with its geographical situation, has led to air quality becoming a concern. The Great Basin is subject to strong temperature inversions during the winter, which trap pollutants and decrease the air quality. The Utah Division of Air Quality monitors air quality and issues alerts for voluntary and mandatory actions when pollution exceeds federal safety standards. Protests have been held at the Utah State Capitol and Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation in the Utah State Legislature to make public transportation free during January and July, when air quality is usually at its worst. The population of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area is projected to double by 2040, putting further pressure on the region's air quality.

The Great Salt Lake 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 Lake that empties into the Great Salt Lake.

The highest mountaintop visible from Salt Lake City is Twin Peaks, which reaches . Twin Peaks is southeast of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Range. The Wasatch Fault is found along the western base of the Wasatch and is considered at high risk of producing an earthquake as large as 7.5. Catastrophic damage is predicted in the event of an earthquake with major damage resulting from the liquefaction of the clay- and sand-based soil and the possible permanent flooding of portions of the city by the Great Salt Lake. On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, the largest in the Salt Lake City area in modern times, hit Magna, just southwest of Salt Lake City, causing some minor damage throughout the valley.

The second-highest mountain range is the Oquirrhs, reaching a maximum height of 10,620 feet (3,237 m) at Flat Top. The east–west-oriented Traverse Mountains to the south extend to 6,000' (1830m), 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 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 Bonneville, which existed at the end of the last ice age. Several Lake Bonneville shorelines can be distinctly seen as terraces on the foothills or benches of nearby mountains.

Layout

The city, as well as the county, is laid out on a grid plan. Most major streets run very north–south and east–west. The grid's origin is the southeast corner of Temple Square, the block containing the Salt Lake Temple; the north–south axis is Main Street; and the east–west axis is South Temple Street. Addresses are coordinates within the system (similar to latitude and longitude). Odd and even address numbering depends on the quadrant of the grid in which an address is located. The rule is: When traveling away from the grid center (Temple Square) or its axes (Main Street, South Temple Street), odd numbers will be on the left side of the street.

The streets are relatively wide due to the direction of Brigham Young, who wanted them wide enough to permit an ox-pulled wagon team to 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" (for a local Marine corporal killed in action) or others honoring Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., César Chávez, Harvey Milk, and John Stockton. These honorary names appear only on street signs and cannot be used in postal addresses.

In the Avenues neighborhood, north–south streets are given letters of the alphabet, and east–west streets are numbered in blocks, smaller than those in the rest of the city.
Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, planned the layout in the " Plat of the City of Zion" (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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 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 Creek. Subsequent development of water resources was from successively more southern streams flowing from the mountains east of the city. Some old irrigation ditches are still visible in the eastern suburbs, or are still marked on maps, years after they were gone. There are still some canals that deliver water as required by water rights. Many lots, in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, have irrigation water rights attached to them. Local water systems, in particular Salt Lake City Public Utilities, have a tendency to acquire or trade for these water rights. These can then be traded for culinary water rights to water imported into the valley. At its peak, irrigation in the valley comprised over one hundred distinct canal systems, many originating at the Jordan Narrows at the south end of the valley. Water and water rights were important in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As heavy agricultural usage changed into a more urban and suburban pattern, canal water companies were gradually replaced by culinary water systems.

Cityscape

Downtown Salt Lake City has been a hub of commerce for the Intermountain West and its architecture reflects this history. Main Street, which was the primary commercial avenue for the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, anchors the historic core of the downtown area that begins at the Salt Lake Temple and concludes at the City and County Building. Halfway between those two structures, the Walker Center, at the corner of Main and 200 South, was built in 1912 and was the tallest building between Chicago and San Francisco upon its completion. Other extant pre-war structures include the Kearns Building, Hotel Monaco, the First Security Building, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (formerly Hotel Utah), the Boston and Newhouse Buildings, the Utah State Capitol, and the Clift Building. Salt Lake City has two historic passenger rail depots, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Depot and the Union Pacific Depot, the latter of which now anchors the Gateway district. Salt Lake City lost many significant structures to forces such as urban renewal in the 20th century, including the Dooly Building, designed by Louis Sullivan, the Hotel Newhouse, and the Salt Lake Theatre.

After a period of stagnation in the era of urban sprawl, and with the construction of TRAX in the late 1990s and the City Creek Center in the early 2010s, downtown Salt Lake City is experiencing a period of revival. Empty lots and older structures are in the process of being redeveloped into apartment and office towers and the city has begun to close Main Street to automobile traffic on summer weekends to encourage pedestrian activity and business. More than 5,000 new residential units are planned or under construction for the downtown area as of April 2021 and many new breweries and restaurants have opened in the last decade. Regent Street, which in the early 20th century was the city's red-light district, has recently been redeveloped with the notable additions of the 2,468-seat Eccles Theater and 111 Main, an adjacent 24-story office building.

A distinctive feature of Salt Lake City's cityscape is its very large block sizes, which are 660 feet square and separated by streets 132 feet wide, making them the largest in the United States. This and the resulting development patterns gives the city and its buildings a unique sense of scale but also a distinct challenge to urban walkability, with many streets boasting six lanes for automobile traffic. On the other hand, the extra-wide streets have made the addition of dedicated transit lanes and light rail more feasible and many streets are now being redesigned with features such as protected bike lanes, linear parks, and even spaces for urban development within the medians. The city also encourages new projects to incorporate mid-block walkways and other scale-mitigation strategies into planning to promote pedestrian engagement.

Neighborhoods

Salt Lake City has many distinct neighborhoods. There is a general east–west socioeconomic divide. The eastern neighborhoods of the city, such as the Avenues, 9th & 9th, Yalecrest, Federal Heights, and Sugar House tend to be more affluent. These districts are popular with professionals, families, and students due to their proximity to Downtown, the University of Utah, commercial precincts, and the Wasatch foothills. The western neighborhoods of the city, such as Poplar Grove, Rose Park, and Glendale tend to be more working-class and ethnically diverse and are popular with immigrants and young people.

This divide is a result of the railroad being built in the western half as well as panoramic views from inclined ground in the eastern portion. Housing is more economically diverse on the west side, which results in demographic differences. Interstate 15 was also built in a north–south line, further dividing east and west sides of the city.

Sugar House, in southeastern Salt Lake City, has a reputation as an older neighborhood with small shops in the center. Sugar House is an area which has been the focus of redevelopment efforts such as the UTA S-Line Streetcar. In late 2015 there were approximately 900 apartment units either recently built or under construction in the Sugar House area, with an additional 492 units proposed.

Northeast of Downtown is The Avenues, a neighborhood outside of the regular grid system on smaller blocks. The area between 6th Avenue to South Temple Street is a Historical District that is nearly entirely residential, and contains many historical Victorian era homes. Recently the Avenues is becoming known for restaurants and shops opening in old retail space mixed within the community. The Avenues are situated on the upward-sloping bench in the foothills of the Wasatch Range, with the earlier built homes in the lower elevation. The Avenues, along with Federal Heights, just to the east and north of the University of Utah, and the Foothill area, south of the university, contain gated communities, large, multimillion-dollar houses, and panoramic 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 (at the intersection of 900 East and 900 South Streets) and 15th & 15th (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 by Troy Pillow of Seattle, Washington inspired by the 9 Muses of Greek myth, thanks in part to a monetary grant from Salt Lake City.

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

Salt Lake City has a cold semi-arid climate (''BSk''), though it borders on a mediterranean climate (''Csa'') and a humid continental climate (''Dsa'') as summers are dry and hot and winters are cold and wet, but rarely frigid. Late summer and early fall monsoonal activity can keep precipitation fairly consistent throughout the year aside from early to mid summer when rain is minimal. The temperature of the Salt Lake City area is mediated by its unique geography, generally keeping highs and lows from reaching extremes.

The primary source of precipitation in Salt Lake City is massive storms that move in from the Pacific Ocean along the jet stream from October to May. In mid-to-late summer, when the jet stream retreats far to the north, precipitation mainly comes from afternoon thunderstorms caused by monsoon moisture moving up from the Gulf of California. Although rainfall can be heavy, these storms are usually scattered in coverage and rarely severe. However, downtown was hit by an F2 tornado on August 11, 1999, killing 1 person, injuring 60, and causing $170 million in damage. The remnants of tropical cyclones from the East Pacific can rarely reach the city during Fall. The remnants of Hurricane Olivia helped bring the record monthly precipitation of in September 1982. 1983 was the wettest year on record, with , while 1979 was the driest, when were recorded. Spring snowmelt from the surrounding mountains can cause localized stream flooding during late spring and early summer, the worst examples being in 1952 and especially 1983, when City Creek burst its banks, forcing city engineers to convert several downtown streets into waterways.

Snow falls on average from November 6 to April 18, producing a total average of , although measurable snow has fallen as early as September 17 and as late as May 28. The snowiest season was 1951–52, with , while the least snowy season was in 1933–34. The snowiest month on record was January 1993, in which were recorded.

The nearby Great Salt Lake is a significant contributor to precipitation in the city. The lake effect can enhance rain from summer thunderstorms and produces lake-effect snow approximately 6 to 8 times per year, some of which can produce prodigious snowfall amounts. It is estimated about 10% of the annual precipitation in the city can be attributed to the lake effect.

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 , 23 days of at least , and 5 days of . However, average daytime July humidity is only 22%. Winters are quite cold but rarely frigid. While an average of 127 days drop to or below freezing, and 26 days with high temperatures that fail to rise above freezing, the city only averages 6.3 days at or below . The record high temperature is , which occurred first on July 26, 1960, July 13, 2002, June 16, 2021, July 17, 2022, and most recently September 7, 2022, while the record low is , which occurred on February 9, 1933.

During mid-winter, strong areas of high pressure often stagnate over the Great Basin, leading to strong temperature inversions. This causes air stagnation and thick smog in the valley from several days to weeks at a time and can result in the nation's worst air-pollution levels. This same effect will also occasionally play a role in the summer months, causing tropospheric ozone to peak in July & August, but in 2015 it started at the beginning of June. In 2016 Salt Lake's air quality was ranked 6th worst in the nation by the American Lung Association. It received an F grade for both ozone and particulate matter. Particulate pollution is considered especially dangerous, as the tiny pollutants can lodge deep in lung tissue. Both ozone and particulate pollution are associated with increased rates of strokes, heart attacks, respiratory disease, cancer and premature death. Outdoor air particulates have been associated with low and very low birth weight, premature birth, congenital defects, and death.

Severe drought and water diversions have shrunk the Great Salt Lake by two-thirds and reduced it to its lowest recorded levels, resulting in hundreds of square miles of dry lake bed and exposing millions of people living in the fast-growing metropolitan region to dust storms laced with arsenic and other toxic chemicals. Around 65% of the diverted water goes to agriculture, but demand for water is soaring as Utah's population grows.

Parks

The largest park in Salt Lake City is This Is the Place Heritage Park, a part of the Utah State Parks system. At 217.5 acres, This is the Place Heritage Park re-creates typical 19th century pioneer life and contains over 50 restored or replicated historical buildings. This is the Place Monument also is located within the park, marking the end of the Mormon trail.

Sugar House Park is the second largest park in Salt Lake City at and is a part of the Salt Lake County park system. The park is known for its large, rolling hills surrounding a pond with fountains. It was also the site of an annual Fourth of July fireworks display until 2018.

Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, in the foothills of Salt Lake City, features many different exhibits and also hosts many musical concerts. It is operated by the University of Utah.

City parks

Salt Lake City has a system of 85 municipal parks. Some of the most notable, other than those mentioned above, are:
* Liberty Park () is one of the city's oldest parks, having been established in 1881, and features a small lake with two islands and the Tracy Aviary. The park is home to a large number of birds, both wild and in the aviary.
* City Creek Park ()
* Pioneer Park ()
* Lindsey Gardens ()
* Gilgal Garden ()
* Jordan Park () is home to the International Peace Gardens.
* Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a popular hiking and biking nature trail which spans through the foothills of the Wasatch Front.

Demographics

US Census Bureau estimates for 2019 listed 200,567 people in Salt Lake City. The racial makeup of the county was 65.8% non-Hispanic White, 2.6% Black, 1.5% Native American, 5.4% Asian, 1.6% Pacific Islander, and 3.3% from two or more races. 21.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

At the 2010 census, Salt Lake City's population was 75.1% White, 2.6% African American, 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.4% Asian, 2.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 10.7% from other races and 3.7% of mixed descent. 22.3% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The city's population has historically been predominantly white. Between 1860 and 1950 whites represented about 99% of the city's population but this somewhat changed in the decades that followed.

, 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. insular territories, or born abroad to American parent(s). 27.0% spoke a language other than English at home.

There were 186,440 people (up from 181,743 in 2000), 75,177 households, and 57,543 families in the city. This amounts to 6.75% of Utah's population, 18.11% of Salt Lake County's population, and 16.58% of the new Salt Lake metropolitan population. The area within the city limits covers 14.2% of Salt Lake County. Salt Lake City was more densely populated than the surrounding metro area with a population density of 1,688.77/sqmi (1,049.36/km). There were 80,724 housing units at an average density of 731.2/sqmi (454.35/km).

The Salt Lake City- Ogden metropolitan area, which included Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber 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 Census, the Census Bureau has added Summit and Tooele counties to the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, but removed Davis and Weber counties and designated them as the separate Ogden- Clearfield metropolitan area. The Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield combined statistical area, together with the Provo-Orem metropolitan area, which lies to the south, had a combined population of 2,094,035 as of July 1, 2008.

There were 75,177 households, out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% were other types of households. Of the 75,177 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 were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.24.

The city's age distribution (as of 2000):
*23.6% under 18
*15.2% from 18 to 24
*33.4% from 25 to 44
*16.7% from 45 to 64
*11.0% 65 or older

The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $36,944, and the median income for a family was $45,140. Males had a median income of $31,511 versus $26,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,752. 15.3% of the population and 10.4% of families were 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 were living below the poverty line.

Large family sizes and low housing vacancy rates, which have inflated housing costs along the Wasatch Front, have led to one out of every six residents living below the poverty line.

According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey of 2017, the highest disparity in income in Utah is in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City's GINI Index score was 0.4929, compared with the state's overall score of 0.423. The west-side areas of Salt Lake have the lowest-incomes while areas like the upper Avenues, have much higher incomes. Other Utah cities with relatively high scores include Provo, 0.4734; and Ogden, 0.4632.

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, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members make up about 62% of Utah's population.

The Rose Park and Glendale sections are predominantly Spanish-speaking with Hispanic and Latino Americans 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 Fox began his 2006 US tour in Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City is home to a Bosnian American community of more than 8,000, most of whom arrived during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The large Pacific Islander population, mainly Samoan and Tongan, 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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though various Samoan and Tongan-speaking congregations are situated throughout the Salt Lake area including Samoan Congregational, Tongan Wesleyan Methodist, and Roman Catholic. Just outside Salt Lake City limits, newer immigrant communities include Nepalis, and refugees of Karen origin from Myanmar (former Burma). Salt Lake City also has the third largest Sri Lankan community in the United States.

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 leaders of 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 2015 Williams Institute comparison of 50 Most Populous Metro Areas ranked by Gallup Daily tracking and the US Census, ranked SLC 7th in Metro areas, up from 39th in 1990.

In 2007, Salt Lake City was ranked by ''Forbes'' 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 cities of similar size. ''Forbes'' also found the city to be the 8th most stressful. In contrast to the 2007 ranking by ''Forbes'', a 2010 study conducted by Portfolio.com and bizjournals concluded Salt Lake City was the ''least'' stressful city in the United States. In 2014, CNN deemed Salt Lake City to be the least stressed-out city in the United States, citing the low cost of living and abundance of jobs.

A 2008 study by the magazines ''Men's Health'' and ''Women's Health'' 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

Historically known as the "Crossroads of the West" for its railroads, when nearby steel, mining and railroad operations provided a strong source of income with Silver King Coalition Mines, Geneva Steel, Bingham Canyon Mine, and oil refineries, Salt Lake City's modern economy is service-oriented. Today the city's major sectors are government, trade, transportation, utilities, and professional and business services. The daytime population of Salt Lake City proper swells to over 315,000 people, not including tourists or students.

Local, state, and federal governments have a large presence in the city, and trade, transportation, and utilities provide significant employment, with the major employer being the Delta hub at Salt Lake City International Airport. Equally significant are the professional and business services, while health services and health educational services are significant areas of employment, including the largest health care provider in the Intermountain West, Intermountain Healthcare. Other major employers include the University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Besides its central offices, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns and operates a for-profit division, Deseret Management Corporation and its subsidiaries, which are headquartered in the city.

Salt Lake City is home to two Fortune 1000 companies, Zions Bancorporation and Questar Corporation. Other notable firms headquartered in the city include AlphaGraphics, Alsco, Sinclair Oil Corporation, Smith's Food and Drug (owned by national grocer Kroger), MonaVie, Myriad Genetics, Creminelli Fine Meats and Vehix.com. Notable firms based in nearby cities within the metropolitan area include Arctic Circle Restaurants, FranklinCovey, and Overstock.com. Metropolitan Salt Lake was also once the headquarters of American Stores, the Skaggs Companies, and ZCMI, one of the first department stores; it is now owned by Macy's, Inc. Former ZCMI stores now operate under the Macy's label. High-tech firms with a large presence in the suburbs include Adobe, eBay, Unisys, Siebel, Micron, L-3 Communications, Telarus, and 3M. Goldman Sachs has its second-largest presence in Salt Lake City. It is categorized as a "Gamma−" global city, according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Other economic activities include tourism, conventions, 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 construction of the Salt Palace convention center in the late 1990s, which hosts trade shows and conventions, including the Novell BrainShare conference. In 2020, Salt Lake City entered the bidding process to host the 2030 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Law and government

The Salt Lake City and County Building has been the seat of city government since 1894. It also served as Utah's first statehouse from 1896 until the current Utah State Capitol was dedicated on October 9, 1916.
Since 1979, Salt Lake City has had a non-partisan mayor-council form of government. The mayor and the seven councillors are elected to staggered four-year terms. Council seats are defined by geographic population boundaries. Each councilor represents approximately 26,000 citizens. Officials are not subject to term limits.

Municipal elections throughout Utah are non-partisan. The most recent election was held on November 5, 2019. Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall was elected mayor, Daniel E. Dugan won against incumbent Charlie Luke, while Andrew Johnston and Ana Valdemoros retained their seats on the council. Darin Mano was appointed by the council to serve the rest of Mendenhall's term. Members of the city council also serve as the governing board of the city's Redevelopment Agency.

Elections are held in odd-numbered years. Candidates take office in January of the following year.

The separation of church and state was the most heated topic in the days of the Liberal Party and People's Party of Utah, when many candidates were also would-be LDS Church bishops. This tension is still reflected today with the ''Bridging the Religious Divide'' campaign. This campaign was initiated when some city residents complained 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-Mormon bias in city politics.

The city's political demographics are considerably more liberal than the rest of Utah. While Utah as a whole is a strongly conservative and Republican state, Salt Lake City is considered a Democratic bastion. Since 1976, all of the city's mayors have been Democrats.

The city is home to several non-governmental think-tanks and advocacy groups such as the conservative Sutherland Institute, the progressive Alliance for a Better Utah, the gay-rights group Equality Utah, and the quality-growth advocates Envision Utah. Salt Lake hosted many foreign dignitaries during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and in 2006 the president of Mexico began his U.S. tour in the city and Israel's ambassador to the United States opened a cultural center. President George W. Bush visited in 2005 and again in 2006 for national veterans' conventions; both visits were protested by then-Mayor Rocky Anderson. Other political leaders such as Howard Dean and Harry Reid gave speeches in the city in 2005.

In July 2013, a new Public Safety Building housing police, fire, and emergency dispatch employees opened. It was billed as the largest net zero energy building in the nation at opening, and is expected to be certified LEED Platinum.

The Salt Lake City Fire Department operates out of 14 fire stations.

Education

In 1847, LDS pioneer Jane Dillworth held the first classes in her tent for the children of the first LDS families. In the last part of the 19th century, there was a lot controversy over how children in the area should be educated. LDS and non-LDS members 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 in addition to the public-school sessions, referred to as seminary. Students are released from public schools at various times of the day to attend seminary. LDS seminaries are often on church-owned property adjacent to the public school and within walking distance.

Due to high birth rates and large classrooms, Utah spends less per student than any other state, yet also spends more per capita (of total state population) than any state with the exception of Alaska. 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 District, which serves most of the area within the city limits. There are twenty-three K-6 elementary schools, five 7–8 middle schools, three 9–12 high schools (Highland, East, and West, with the former South High being converted to the South City campus of the Salt Lake Community College), and an alternative high school (Horizonte) 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). Many Catholic schools are in the city, including Judge Memorial Catholic High School. Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, established in 1867 by Episcopal Bishop Daniel Tuttle, is the area's premier independent school.

The Salt Lake City Public Library system consists of the main library downtown, and five branches in various neighborhoods. The main library, designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, opened in 2003. In 2006, the Salt Lake City Public Library was named "Library of the Year" by the American Library Association.

Postsecondary educational options in Salt Lake City include the University of Utah, Westminster College, Salt Lake Community College, Eagle Gate College, Violin Making School of America (now named Peter Prier & Sons Violins), and Ensign College (formally LDS Business College). Utah State University, Neumont College of Computer Science and Brigham Young University also operate education centers in the city. 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 ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet, in 1969, and was the site of the first artificial heart transplant in 1982.

Culture

Museums and the arts

Salt Lake City is home to several museums. Near Temple Square is the Church History Museum. Operated by the LDS Church, the museum contains collections of artifacts, documents, art, photographs, tools, clothing and furniture from the history of the LDS Church {{R from other capitalisation ...