Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City facts for kids
Central downtown Salt Lake City as viewed from the north facing south
Salt Lake City, Utah is a city with many interesting and old places to visit. While people sometimes call the whole area "Salt Lake City," this article will only talk about the cool buildings and spots found inside the official city limits.
Contents
Neighborhoods and Councils
Salt Lake City is made up of many different neighborhoods, each with its own unique feel. Here are some of them:
- The Avenues
- Bonneville Hills
- Capitol Hill
- Central City
- Downtown
- East Bench
- East Central
- Fairpark
- Federal Heights
- Foothill/Sunnyside
- Glendale
- Guadalupe
- Highland Park
- Jackson Square
- Jordan Meadows
- Liberty-Wells
- The Marmalade District
- People's Freeway
- Poplar Grove
- Rose Park
- Sugarhouse
- Sunnyside East
- University Park
- Wasatch Hollow
- Yalecrest
- Yuma View
Parks and Fun Places
Salt Lake City has lots of parks and attractions where you can have fun and learn new things.
- Artesian Well Park - This park has a natural spring that has been used since the first pioneers arrived.
- Ensign Peak - A hill and nature park just north of downtown. It offers great views of the city.
- First Encampment Park - This is where the first European-Americans set up camp in the Salt Lake Valley.
- Gilgal Sculpture Garden - A small park with unique stone carvings inspired by Mormonism.
- Hogle Zoo - Located in the eastern foothills, this zoo is home to many animals.
- International Peace Gardens - Created after World War II to encourage peace among nations. It's located in Glendale.
- Liberty Park - A large public park with an aviary (a place for birds) and other fun attractions.
- Main Street Plaza - This area used to be a street but was bought by the LDS Church to create a walking path connecting its main buildings.
- Memory Grove - A park that honors those who served in World War I and other wars.
- Pioneer Park - The site of the first fort built by the Mormon pioneers in Salt Lake City. It is now a public park.
- Red Butte Garden and Arboretum - Found in the foothills, this garden has many plant exhibits and hosts concerts in the summer.
- Salt Lake City Cemetery - This is the largest cemetery in Utah.
- Sugar House Park - This park is on the site of Utah's first state prison.
- Temple Square - A group of religious buildings in downtown Salt Lake City belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS Church).
- University of Utah - The main campus of this university is on the east side of the city.
- Utah Museum of Contemporary Art - A museum in downtown Salt Lake City that shows modern and contemporary art. It opened in 1931.
- Utah Museum of Fine Arts - This museum has over 20,000 artworks, making it one of the largest collections in the western United States.
- Utah Museum of Natural History - A museum where you can learn about natural history.
- Washington Square - A public park that surrounds the city offices.
Olympic Attractions
Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002, and you can still visit some of the places from the games!
- Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron Plaza - This is where the giant cauldron from the 2002 Winter Olympics is located, at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
- Olympic Legacy Plaza - Found at The Gateway, this plaza has an Olympic fountain with a water show that plays music every hour.
Buildings
Many buildings in Salt Lake City are connected to religion, especially the LDS Church.
The city was settled by Brigham Young and 147 other pioneers on July 24, 1847. These Latter-day Saints were looking for a safe place to live. Salt Lake City is the main headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most of these buildings are in or near Downtown Salt Lake City.
Religious Buildings
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
- 19th Ward Meetinghouse and Relief Society Hall - An old and unique LDS ward house on Capitol Hill. It has a special onion dome steeple and is now home to a theater company.
- Beehive House - One of Brigham Young's historic homes, located next to the Lion House.
- Conference Center - A very large and new meeting hall used for big church gatherings called General Conference.
- Garden Park Ward - A beautiful LDS ward house surrounded by gardens and a duck pond. It's a popular spot for wedding photos.
- Joseph Smith Memorial Building - This elegant building used to be the Hotel Utah.
- LDS Church Office Building - A tall skyscraper that serves as the world headquarters for the LDS Church.
- Lion House - This was the home of Brigham Young and where he passed away.
- Salt Lake Assembly Hall - Another historic building located on Temple Square.
- Salt Lake Tabernacle - An old meeting hall on Temple Square with a unique dome-shaped roof. The famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir is named after it.
- Salt Lake Temple - This is a very important building for Mormonism, located on Temple Square.
Other Faiths
- Cathedral of the Madeline - Salt Lake City's main Roman Catholic cathedral.
- First Church of Christ, Scientist
- First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City - The second oldest non-Latter-day Saint church building still in use in Salt Lake.
- Holy Trinity Cathedral - A Greek Orthodox Church located in Greek Town.
- St. Mark's Cathedral - The oldest non-Latter-day Saint church building still in use in Salt Lake. It's the main church for the Utah diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
- White Community Memorial Chapel - A historic LDS chapel that is now used by different churches.
Educational and Arts Buildings
- Abravanel Hall - This is where the Utah Symphony Orchestra performs.
- Clark Planetarium - A modern planetarium located at The Gateway shopping area.
- Capitol Theatre - Home to the Utah Opera Company and Ballet West. It also hosts many touring shows.
- Clift Building - This building houses the Off-Broadway theatre, known for plays and improv comedy.
- Eccles Theater - A theater that hosts touring Broadway shows and other performing arts events.
- Family History Library - The largest library in the world for researching family history, maintained by the LDS Church.
- Hansen Planetarium - This historic building used to be the main library and the home of the planetarium before it moved.
- Marriott Library - The main library at the University of Utah.
- Kingsbury Hall - A performing arts center located on the University of Utah campus.
- Park Building - An important and recognizable building at the University of Utah.
- Salt Lake City Public Library - A large and modern main city library designed by Moshe Safdie.
- Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre - A large theater on the University of Utah campus, home to the Pioneer Theatre Company.
- The Leonardo - This building used to be a library and is now an arts center.
- Villa Theatre - Once a famous movie theater, it is now a Persian rug store.
Commercial Buildings
- 111 Main - A tall skyscraper in Downtown Salt Lake City that is very energy efficient. It is currently the state's 3rd tallest building.
- 222 South Main - Utah's first high-rise building to be certified as very energy efficient, designed by a famous architecture firm.
- 95 State - Also called Tower 8 or Big Blue, this commercial skyscraper is currently being built and will be the state's third tallest when finished in 2022.
- City Creek Center - A large shopping, dining, and living complex in downtown. It replaced two older malls.
- Deseret News Building - The former home of the daily newspaper, Deseret News.
- First Security Bank Building - A skyscraper built in the 1950s with a modern design.
- The Gateway - A shopping mall designed for walking.
- Jon M. Huntsman Center - The main indoor sports arena at the University of Utah.
- Kearns Building - Built by a wealthy mining leader, this building was once the center of business in Salt Lake City.
- One Utah Center - A twenty-four story skyscraper made of granite.
- Rice-Eccles Stadium - The football stadium for the University of Utah. It was also where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics took place.
- Rio Grande Depot - A historic train station built in 1910. Today, it is the headquarters of the Utah State Historical Society.
- Salt Lake City Union Pacific Depot - Another historic train station, originally called the Union Station.
- Salt Lake City International Airport - Located west of Rose Park, about five miles from Downtown.
- Salt Lake Regional Medical Center - A hospital built around an old chapel.
- Salt Palace - A large convention center where big events and conferences are held.
- Tribune Building - Named after The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, which used to be located there.
- Vivint Arena (formerly the Delta Center/Energy Solutions Arena) - This is the home court for the Utah Jazz NBA basketball team.
- Walker Center - A national historic skyscraper built in 1912.
- Wells Fargo Center - Currently the tallest skyscraper in Salt Lake City, built in 1998.
- ZCMI Center Mall - A former downtown mall that kept the front of the old ZCMI department store.
Residences
- Alfred McCune Home - A very fancy mansion on Capitol Hill from the early 1900s.
- David Keith Mansion - The home of David Keith, a business partner of Thomas Kearns.
- George M. Cannon House - An 1890 mansion built by George Mousley Cannon, who helped develop the Forest Dale area.
- Thomas Kearns Mansion - Built by mining leader and U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns. It is now the Utah State Governor's Mansion, one of the largest in the United States.
- Walker-McCarthey Mansion
- Woodruff-Riter-Stewart Home - Another mansion located on Capitol Hill.
Fraternal Buildings
- Salt Lake Masonic Temple - The main building for Freemasonry in Salt Lake City and for the Masonic organization in Utah.
First Condominium in the United States
Salt Lake City is home to Graystone Pines, which was the first condominium building in the United States.
Monuments
Monuments are special structures built to remember important people or events.
- Brigham Young Monument - A monument south of the Main Street Plaza that honors Brigham Young and the first 147 pioneers.
- Eagle Gate - A remaining part of the city's original wall.
- Seagull Monument - An LDS monument that celebrates the "Miracle of the Gulls," when seagulls supposedly saved pioneer crops from crickets.
- This Is The Place Monument - A large monument high in the east near Hogle Zoo. It remembers Brigham Young's famous words when he first saw the valley: "This is the right place, drive on."
Transportation
.jpg)
Salt Lake City has a good public transportation system to help people get around.
- FrontRunner - This is a commuter train system that runs through Salt Lake County and extends north to Pleasant View and south to Provo. It has two stops in Salt Lake City: Salt Lake Central and North Temple.
- TRAX - This is a light rail system that runs through much of Salt Lake County. There are different lines:
- The north-south line starts at the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub (Salt Lake Central) and goes south to Draper.
- Other lines go east to the University of Utah, west to the Salt Lake City International Airport, west to West Valley City, and southwest to South Jordan.
- There are currently 23 TRAX Stations within Salt Lake City, including: 900 East, 900 South, 1940 W North Temple, Airport, Arena, Ballpark, Central Pointe, City Center, Courthouse, Fairpark, Fort Douglas, Gallivan Plaza, Jackson/Euclid, Library, North Temple Bridge/Guadalupe, Old GreekTown, Planetarium, Power, Stadium, Temple Square, Trolley, University Medical Center, University South Campus.
- S Line - This is a streetcar system that started in December 2013. It connects the Sugar House area of Salt Lake City with South Salt Lake and the TRAX system. It has 3 stops within Salt Lake City.
Images for kids
-
Rio Grande Depot
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.