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Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is a city in the United States of America. It is the capital and largest city of the state of Utah. It was founded by the Mormons and is the official headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is named after the Great Salt Lake, which it is near. The city's population was 199,723 in 2020.[1]

City
Saltlakecityjune2009.jpg
Flag of Salt Lake City
Flag
 
Coordinates: 40°45′0″N 111°53′0″W / 40.75000°N 111.88333°W / 40.75000; -111.88333Coordinates: 40°45′0″N 111°53′0″W / 40.75000°N 111.88333°W / 40.75000; -111.88333+
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountySalt Lake
Area
 • City110.4 sq mi (285.9 km2)
 • Land109.1 sq mi (282.5 km2)
 • Water1.3 sq mi (3.3 km2)
Elevation
4,226 ft (1,288 m)
Population
 (2020)[1]
 • City199,723
 • Density1,809.1/sq mi (698.58/km2)
 • Metro
1,257,936
 • Demonym
Salt Laker
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (Mountain)
FIPS code49-67000[2]
GNIS feature ID1454997[3]
Websitehttp://www.slcgov.com
The beginning of State Street, at the foot of the Utah State Capitol.

The city was founded in 1847 by Brigham Young and his Mormon followers. They extensively irrigated and cultivated the arid valley. Due to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was originally named "Great Salt Lake City"–the word "great" was dropped from the official name in 1868.[4] Although Salt Lake City is still home to the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), less than half the population of Salt Lake City proper is Mormon today.[5]

Immigration of international LDS members, 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, and presently two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, intersect in the city. Salt Lake City has since developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry based primarily on skiing. It was host to the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is the industrial banking center of the United States.[6]

The Salt Lake City Public Library. The American Library Association called it the best in the U.S. in 2006.

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 19th century, there was much controversy over how children in the area should be educated. LDS and non-LDS parents 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 seminary. Students are released from public schools at various times of the day to attend seminary.[7][8] LDS seminaries are usually located on church-owned property adjacent to the public school and within walking distance.[9]

 
City and County Building, 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.[10]

Because of high birth rates and large classrooms, Utah spends less per student than any other state. At the same time, Utah spends more per capita than any state with the exception of Alaska. 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) 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). Many Catholic schools are located in the city, including Judge Memorial High School. Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, established in 1867 by Episcopal Bishop Daniel Tuttle,[11] 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.[12]

Colleges in Salt Lake City include the University of Utah, Westminster College, Salt Lake Community College, Stevens-Henager College, Eagle Gate College, The Art Institute of Salt Lake City and LDS Business College. Utah State University and BYU 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 has good research and medical programs. It was one of the original four universities to be connected to ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet,[13] in 1969, and was also the site of the first artificial heart transplant in 1982.[14]

Events

Salt Lake City Media

  • 1866 Harper's Weekly View of Salt Lake City, Utah w- Brigham Young (Mormons) - Geographicus - SaltLakeCity-harpersweekly-1866

  • 1863 view Salt Lake City

  • First Salt Lake City Plat Map, "Great Salt Lake City Plot A", 1857

  • Salt Lake City c. 1880 by Carleton E. Watkins

  • The east side of Main Street (also known as East Temple Street) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The photo was taken in the 1890s by photographer Charles Roscoe Savage.

  • Panorama of Temple Square taken in 1912

  • Satellite photo of Salt Lake County

  • Astronaut photography of Salt Lake International Airport in west SLC, taken from the International Space Station (ISS). North is at bottom.

  • Salt Lake City and adjacent suburbs, facing south

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Salt Lake City city". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ↑ Van Cott, John W. (1990). Utah place names: a comprehensive guide to the origins of geographic names : a compilation. University of Utah Press. pp. 327. ISBN 978-0874803457.
  5. ↑ PBS American Experience. "The Mormons" (2007-04-30)
  6. ↑ FDIC Industrial Banks. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (2004-06-25). Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
  7. ↑ "LDS Seminary in Public Schools". Acluutah.org. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  8. ↑ Guv claims Corroon could eliminate LDS seminary | The Salt Lake Tribune
  9. ↑ "Seminary". Seminary.lds.org. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  10. ↑ "Official Utah State Capitol history page". Archived from the original on 2008-01-04. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
  11. ↑ Quinn, Frederick Building the "Goodly Fellowship of Faith" - A History of the Episcopal Church in Utah - 1867-1996 Utah State University Press, Logan, Utah, 2004, chapter 1.
  12. ↑ Library Journal article: Library of the Year
  13. ↑ Leiner, Barry M.; Robert E. Kahn, Jon Postel. "A Brief History of the Internet". Internet Society. Archived from the original on 2007-06-04. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  14. ↑ "University Health Care Milestones". University of Utah Health Care. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2009-05-18.


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