Downtown Salt Lake City
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Downtown is the oldest district in Salt Lake City. The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at Temple Square
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...
, the location of the Salt Lake Temple
Salt Lake Temple
The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of more than 130 temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the sixth temple built by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth operating temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo,...
.
Location
Downtown Salt Lake City is usually defined as the area approximately between North Temple and 900 South Streets north to south and about 500 East and 600 West Streets east to west. Downtown encompasses the areas of Temple SquareTemple 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...
, the Gateway District
Gateway District
The 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...
, Main Street, the core business district, South Temple, and others.
History
Much of downtown Salt Lake City's early history is intertwined with that of Salt Lake itself at the time. Downtown began to form when Brigham YoungBrigham Young
Brigham 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 in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
chose the spot where the temple
Temple (LDS Church)
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was to be located.
Main Street
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
Pioneers, who originally settled in Salt Lake City, adopted a form of consecration whereby crops grown and products produced were divided among LDS Church members in ward-houses. This enabled new settlers to have the food and products they needed after they made the rigorous journey to Salt Lake City. This exchange was eventually organized into what would become ZCMI.
The first businesses to locate on Main Street were those founded by James A. Livingston and Charles A. Kincade, in 1850, in the area south of the Council House
Council House (Salt Lake City)
The Council House, often called the State House, was the first public building in Utah; being constructed in 1849-1850. The building stood in Salt Lake City, Utah, on the corner of Main Street and South Temple Street...
that was being built on the corner of Main and South Temple Streets. The Mormon pioneers lived a very secluded existence in the remote Salt Lake Valley for the first 20 years of settlement. However, in 1865 U.S. troops stationed in Park City discovered silver and announced it to the world.
With this announcement, an entirely new element began streaming into Salt Lake City. Prospectors completely changed the downtown district. In accommodation of the new crowd, many of the Main Street businesses were saloons
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
, earning the street the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Whiskey Street".
For many years, there existed a political and cultural divide in Salt Lake City. Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
would mostly shop and congregate around their temple and Z.C.M.I on the North-end of Main Street and non-members, who were mostly prospectors in the early days, would stay South of the predominantly Mormon area.
Originally, the business district extended along the west side of Main between South Temple and 100 South. By the 1880s, the area had expanded to both sides of the street and down to 200 South, and increased about a block a decade, until 1900, when it reached 400 South. Today, the southern limit of Salt Lake City is usually considered 900 South.
Commercial Street
From 1870 to the 1930s, Commercial Street (renamed Regent Street in the 1920s) was Salt Lake's notorious red light districtRed Light District
Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...
. Prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
was begrudgingly tolerated as long as it was confined to Commercial Street, thus kept out of the public eye.
In the late 1880s, the trade was unofficially licensed. Police would "arrest" all of the prostitutes and their madams each month and "fine" them $50 each. After a physical examination, they would be released and allowed to ply their trade without any further fear of molestation.
Many notable Salt Lakers owned buildings on Commercial Street, including the Brigham Young Trust Company, whose board included many prominent members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Brigham Young, Jr.
Brigham Young, Jr.
Brigham Young, Jr. served as president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1899 until his death. His tenure was interrupted for one week in 1901 when Joseph F...
, then a church Apostle and vice president of the bank, temporarily resigned over the matter, until the building was later sold.
20th century
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, many people could afford to move out of downtown into the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s. By 1971, 60% of the homes in downtown Salt Lake City were in major disrepair.
Starting in the 1960s, revitalization efforts began, spearheaded by the LDS Church, who had always considered downtown their home. During the '60s, they built the ZCMI Center Mall
ZCMI Center Mall
The 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...
on a full city block of land that had previously housed the ZCMI department store, preserving the historic storefront. The Church also leased land to a developer to build Crossroads Mall. The land for the mall originally housed the Amussen Jewelry building (1869), at the time Salt Lake City's oldest building. A study commissioned by the city found it to be Salt Lake City's most architecturally significant building, and efforts to preserve it were underway. However, before the building could be saved, it was torn down to make way for the mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
.
Also built during this era was the LDS Church Office Building
LDS Church Office Building
The Church Office Building is a 28-story building in Salt Lake City, Utah, which houses the administrative support staff for the lay ministry of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world....
, completed in 1973, which at that time was Salt Lake's tallest building at 28 floors. However, this was surpassed in 1999 by the American Stores Tower (now known as the Wells Fargo Center). Although it has fewer floors, it is taller than the Church Office Building by two feet, although the Church Office Building appears taller because it is located on higher ground.
From 1970-1976 the Central Main Street shopping district saw a dramatic shift from the South-end (near Exchange Place and Broadway) to the North-end (near the L.D.S Temple). This shift was the result of a change in buying patterns, with shoppers preferring malls rather than on-street department stores. Using land and a loan provided by Zion Securities, the second Main Street mall was completed in 1978. Following the completion of the Crossroads Mall the South-end of main street collapsed, beginning with 117-year-old merchant Auerbachs Department Store. Others to go under were Broadway Music, Paris Company, Baker Shoes, Pinbrokes, Keith O'Brien and Keith Warshaw.
In the 1980s, a group of Saudi
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
businessmen had a vision of turning Salt Lake City into major business hub. Forming a U.S. holdings company, "Triad Utah", they planned to build two large skyscrapers, as well as smaller out-buildings. The company ran out of money and the skyscrapers never materialized, leaving the current Triad Center
Triad Center
The Triad Center is a complex of office buildings in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Originally planned to be a large development, containing several offices and residential buildings , the project was canceled after only two phases were completed...
with only buildings 3, 4 and 5. Revitalization efforts of downtown continued through the 1990s and 2000s. The old Salt Palace
Salt Palace
This 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"....
arena was torn down and a new arena, the Delta Center (now EnergySolutions Arena
EnergySolutions Arena
EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, owned by Jazz Basketball Investors, Inc., the estate of Larry H. Miller...
), was constructed to the northwest in 1991. A convention center
Convention center
A convention center is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typically offer sufficient floor area to accommodate several thousand attendees...
of the same name was built on the site. In 1998 the Wells Fargo Center
Wells Fargo Center (Salt Lake City)
The Wells Fargo Center is a skyscraper located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was built in 1998 and is the tallest skyscraper in Utah, standing 24 stories above street level and at roof level, at its highest point excluding the antenna.-History:...
was completed and remains the tallest building in Salt Lake City today (although the LDS Church Office Building appears taller because it stands on higher ground). In 2000, the LDS Conference Center
LDS Conference Center
The Conference Center, located in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the premier meeting hall for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Completed in spring 2000 in time for the church's April 2000 general conference, the 21,000-seat Conference Center replaced the traditional use of the nearby Salt...
was completed and supplanted the still-existing Salt Lake Tabernacle
Salt Lake Tabernacle
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple.-History:...
for conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Gateway District
Gateway District
The 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...
, which contains office space, apartment complexes, and an open-air shopping center, was completed in 2001 near the western edge of downtown, replacing an old, run-down industrial area near the railroad. LDS Business College
LDS Business College
LDS 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...
as well as the BYU Salt Lake Center will also be moved downtown to the Triad Center, which was also purchased by the LDS Church in 2004. In 2007, the newest high-rise known as the 222 South Main building began construction. The 21 story building is expected to be completed in July 2009.
City Creek Center
City Creek CenterCity Creek Center
The City Creek Center is a development with a shopping center, office and residential buildings, and fountain and stream under construction near Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an undertaking by Property Reserve, Inc. and Taubman Centers, Inc...
is a retail, office and residential development being constructed on nearly 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) across three blocks in downtown Salt Lake City. Construction is scheduled to last five years. When completed in 2012, the project will include nearly 725000 square feet (67,354.7 m²) of retail space, new and refurbished office towers, new residential buildings, and a full-service grocery store.