Salt Lake City is the capital and largest city in the state of Utah. It only has a population of 181,743 but it is the hub of a much larger metropolitan center made up at the base of the Wasatch Front. The Salt Lake City Metropolitan population is roughly 1.4 million people.
Founded in 1847 by Brigham Young, the town grew rapidly throughout the late 1800’s and well into the 1900s. It wasn’t until the 1920s and the Great Depression did Salt Lake City really see a turn around in its population and economic growth.
It took over two decades for Salt Lake City to rebound and finally in 1940 the city yet again blossomed, with high-rise buildings sprouting up all around downtown.The area became the lively spot for citizens of Salt Lake, Salt Lake County, Utah, and as far the intermountain west.
In 1950 the downfall of Salt Lake City began. The new freeway opened areas unknown to past Salt Lakers. People flocked to the areas south of the city and began to populate in suburban homes. Downtown Salt Lake City, the bustle of the community, was slowly dying. Salt Lake City’s population would only grow by slight numbers through the boom of the suburbs. It wasn’t until the 70’s that the core city began to lose population.
But as the city lost its population, the downtown grew. In the 1960’s the city saw many high-rise buildings go up downtown. In the 1970’s the city’s tallest building was topped off, the LDS Church Office Building dominated the downtown skyline.
The boom flew over into the 1980’s with the completion of the Beneficial Life Tower, American Plaza Towers, and Eagle Gate Plaza among other smaller buildings. In the 1980’s Salt Lake City also saw a bright future. A major project broke ground on the west side of downtown Salt Lake. The area, officially called Triad America, would be home to two twin towers, towering about 40 stories. The area would have also been home to some smaller 20 story residential towers, as well as a hotel and other 5-10 story buildings. But the shady deals that took place throughout the time of groundbreaking brought the inevitable. The groups behind the area screwed the city and after all the dust settled, only two buildings, phase one of the project, were built. Today we know them as Broadcast House, home to KSL-TV in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Also during this time an area off of State Street saw the proposed tallest building in the Rocky Mountain area, a 55-story tower. But the deal fell through and now the area is home to a Carl’s Jr. fast-food restaurant.
All that was proposed in the 80’s didn’t fall through. The proposed One Utah Center went up and was topped off in 1991, as well as the Broadway Centre and some other mid to low rises throughout downtown.
The 90’s also saw the rise of the Gateway Tower West and Wells Fargo Center (named American Stores Tower when first completed).
With Salt Lake City on the verge of hosting the Olympics, 2001 saw the opening of two grand hotels. The Marriott City Center, located on State Street, was the first to open. The state of the art hotel has wonderful views of the mountains and downtown Salt Lake City. Just a few months later, the first and only 5 star hotel in Salt Lake City opened, the Grand American Hotel. The hotel is the largest, both in size and height, in the Salt Lake City area. It sits adjacent to the Little America Hotel. Both Hotels reside on the south end of downtown Salt Lake City.
Thus far, only two towers have been proposed for downtown Salt Lake City. The Social Hall Center had so much promise. The tower, which would have peaked in at over 600’ feet tall, would have been the city’s tallest. Every thing was looking bright until the man behind the tower filed for Chapter 11. Now the chances of the tower ever going up is as rare as ever.
On the bright side another tower has been proposed for downtown. The Hamilton Partners Tower would be anywhere from 20-28 stories high and would sit across from the One Utah Center and Wells Fargo Center. The first 20 stories of the tower would be home to office space, while the top 8 would be upscale condos. The tower could become the city’s tallest when finished.
But downtown Salt Lake City isn’t all towers. It’s also home to the Delta Center, a 20,000-seat arena that has been home to the Utah Jazz for over 10 years. It’s home to many theatres and if all goes well will be home to a new Broadway style theatre. Downtown Salt Lake City is also the shopping hub of the metro and state. Two major malls reside in the blocks around State Street and Main Street. In November of 2001 the Gateway Shopping Center opened up, the first and only open-air shopping center in the state of Utah and the intermountain west. The plaza is also home to lower income condos, with a 12-story condo tower under construction. The Gateway is the start of the revitalization of the west end of downtown Salt Lake City, an area that has been plagued by crime for over a decade. In the coming years a new Intermodal Transportation Hub will open up. A hub that will connect the Wasatch Front with Salt Lake City. As well as the beginning of a phase to create a lively district. An aquarium is also being constructed in the area. It’ll be state of the art and the only aquarium in the city.
Just 10 miles west of downtown Salt Lake City the city is seeing the start of construction of a new International Airport. The outdated 70’s Salt Lake City International Airport is too small to handle the air traffic for the growing city. The new airport will have three terminals, a main one with two smaller ones, connected by underground tunnels. When completed it will be one of the largest in the country.
Salt Lake City is growing feverishly. The past has been bright for the city, but the future will be even brighter.