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The Many Sides of Salt Lake City

By Dan Schlossberg
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 20, 2006

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Two things come in mind when someone mentions Salt Lake City: the Great Salt Lake and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. But the capital of Utah is much more than that.

Founded by Brigham Young and his Mormon pioneers in the summer of 1847, Salt Lake – as locals call it – has blossomed into a cosmopolitan convention center perfectly positioned for both professional pursuits and pleasurable ones.

Its 181,000 residents enjoy big-league basketball (the Utah Jazz at Delta Center), educational entertainment (the Clark Planetarium and IMAX theater), and world-class shopping (130 shops at ZCMI Center Mall, 90 at Gateway Mall, and 80 shops and cafes in one-time trolley barns at historic Trolley Square, listed on the National Register of Historic Places).

Because the Jazz gained their nickname during their formative years in New Orleans, they suffer under the worst misnomer in professional sports. But locals don't seem to mind.

They fill the well-located Delta Center, which seats nearly 20,000 for basketball and is the last stop on the light-rail line (a 21st century train string of ultra-modern streetcars hooked together). The arena, which hosted the figure skating competition in the 2002 Winter Olympics, also serves as a concert venue.

For those who prefer classical music, Abravanel Hall is the local version of Lincoln Center, with concerts by the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, and Ballet West. In the heart of town, there are also weekly concerts by the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which has performed at eight presidential inaugurations.

In addition to the Sunday morning performances, there are daily organ recitals at the Mormon Temple, the centerpiece of the 10-acre Temple Square. Guides on the free walking tours explain that it took 40 years to construct the white building topped by six spires that seem to reach for the heavens.

History lives at every corner of Salt Lake City. The Armstrong Mansion, built by one-time mayor Francis Armstrong for his wife Isabel in 1893, still has pillows, tapestries, and antiques from the Victorian era. It also has a new life as a bed-and-breakfast.

The Kearns Mansion, built by mining magnate Thomas Kearns in 1902, is the current home of Utah's governor. It is one of many handsome mansions on South Temple Street.

Other architectural gems include the vintage 1914 Capitol Building, a historical structure patterned after its Washington namesake, and the public library, which encourages lobby sitters with a working fireplace on the ground floor. The rooftop garden is open in warmer weather.

With winter weather often benign, walking is a good way to see Salt Lake. In addition to Temple Square, highlights of a walking tour could include the Living Planet Aquarium, in the old Union Pacific depot that also houses the planetarium; the Brigham Young Monument; and the Museum of Utah Art & History.

Beyond basketball, spectator sports include minor-league baseball (the Salt Lake Bees) in summer, professional hockey (the Utah Grizzlies) in winter, and the ghosts of Olympic Cauldron Park, adjacent to Rice-Eccles Stadium on the University of Utah's campus. It was the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2002 winter games.

In Salt Lake proper, the terrain is hilly, with an elevation that ranges from 4,330 to 5,200 feet -- not quite a Mile High City but close. The weather in the Salt Lake Valley, protected by the mountains and moderated by the enormous lake west of the city, is almost arid, with cold but not severe winters and hot, dry summers.

Even in the heart of downtown, the scenery is stunning: the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains ring the city, beckoning the sports-minded to swap computers for skis. Residents of Salt Lake, Ogden, and Provo are said to live along the "Wasatch Front," which also serves as a descriptive indicator for television weathermen.

It's a hop, skip, and jump (30-40 minutes by car) from Salt Lake to Park City, an 1872 mining town that has blossomed into a world-class ski capital. The home of Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival each January, Park City has a mix of shops, galleries, museums, and historic structures on Main Street.

Utah shares its borders with six other states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming) and is home state to five national parks. One of them, the aptly-named Arches National Park, has more than 2,000 natural arches. Zion National Park, the most popular, draws three million visitors per year -- twice as many as the Florida Marlins baseball team drew for their entire 81-game home schedule in 2006.

But Zion probably had a better year.

Two other national parks, Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef, are located in the southern part of the state, also the home of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Hollywood's home-away-from-home in countless westerns. John Wayne allegedly learned to ride a horse there. Not far away is picturesque Lake Powell, created by the Glen Canyon dam on the Colorado River.

Beyond the parks, Utah's borders include 10 national monuments and recreational areas that range from geological landscapes to historic preserves.

No wonder Outside magazine named Salt Lake as one of the 10 American towns that are perfect places to live. Where else can a visitor land at noon and be on the ski slopes at 1?

With more than its share of sunny days and seven ski resorts perched within an hour of the Salt Lake Valley, Ski Utah calls its product "the Greatest Snow on Earth." Arguments to the contrary would be futile.

According to a healthy majority of those who attended the Fall Exchange of the National Tour Association (NTA) in early November, the Salt Palace Convention Center is a first-class venue for large gatherings. Served by light rail and a well-planned bus network, the center even hosts occasional performances – including Bush impersonator Steve Bridges during the NTA fete.

There's a nightly parade of musical talent at Monk's, a basement watering hole that attracts young professionals who admire jazz, rock, and blues. Strict liquor laws were eased in 2003 so visitors don't have to worry about abstaining during their stay. At the same time, however, smoking prohibitions are stringent. Those who indulge are urged to go to Wyoming.

The best hotel in Salt Lake is Grand America, known for its old-world atmosphere and glittering five diamonds. Home of many Olympic athletes when the 1972 winter games were held in Salt Lake, Grand America is a graceful reminder of another era, with antique clocks, high ceilings, and afternoon tea.

Potential visitors should not be misled by the tongue-twisting title of the Salt Lake City Marriott City Center. The four-diamond, 359-room property features marble floors, crystal chandeliers, free use of its computer-equipped business center and spa, and an expensive library, lounge, and concierge center that unfortunately closes on weekends without explanation.

But its proximity to the convention center (two blocks distant), the free downtown light-rail system (a block away) and the international airport (10 minutes away) make it easy for guests to get around without renting cars. Salt Lake City International has 800 daily flights, nonstop service to more than 100 cities, and service from a dozen different carriers, including direct links to New York's JFK on JetBlue. The airport is the major western hub for Delta, which has the most flights.

For further information, contact the Salt Lake City Visitors and Convention Bureau, 90 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1406 (Tel. 801-521-2822, Fax 801-534-4927, slcvb@saltlake.org.

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