Saltair (Utah) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saltair |
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Saltair III Pavilion
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Location | Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States |
| Coordinates | 40°44′49″N 112°11′17″W / 40.747029°N 112.187920°W |
Saltair is the name of several fun resorts. They were built on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States. They are about 15 miles (24 km) from Salt Lake City. People also called them The SaltAir, Saltair Resort, or Saltair Pavilion.
Contents
History of Saltair Resorts
Saltair I: The First Fun Spot
The first Saltair opened in 1893. It was owned by a group connected to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was also owned by the Salt Lake & Los Angeles Railway. This railway was built just to take people to the resort.
Saltair was not the first resort on the Great Salt Lake. But it was the most popular one ever built there. The resort looked amazing with its Moorish Revival architecture style. A famous Utah architect, Richard K.A. Kletting, designed it. The building stood on over 2,000 posts and pilings. Many of these posts can still be seen today.
Saltair was meant to be like Coney Island in the West. It was one of the first amusement parks. For a while, it was the most popular family place west of New York. The church sold the resort in 1906. Sadly, the first Saltair building was destroyed by a fire on April 22, 1925.
Saltair II: A New Beginning
After the fire, new investors built a new Saltair. They also made the resort bigger in the same spot. But this second Saltair did not become as popular as the first. Many things changed, like the rise of movies and radio. The Great Depression also made people stay home more.
The new Saltair had a huge dance floor. It was the biggest in the world at that time. So, Saltair became more famous as a dance hall. Big bands like Glenn Miller played there often. The amusement park became less important.
The first Saltair was on a busy road. This road went from Salt Lake City to the Tooele Valley. It was a popular stop for travelers. But when Saltair II was rebuilt, this road was not as busy. Cars, buses, and trains made travel easier. Also, a large community of Polynesian Mormons in Iosepa had moved away.
Saltair II faced tough competition. It also had fewer visitors. More bad luck came in 1931 with another fire. This fire caused over $100,000 in damage. In 1933, the lake water moved away from the resort. This meant they had to build a small railway. It carried swimmers from the resort to the water.
Saltair had to close during World War II. Fuel was rationed, and many customers and workers were away. After the war, the resort reopened. But people had many other fun places closer to home. They were not used to traveling "all the way out there" anymore. The resort closed in 1958.
In November 1970, a fire started on purpose destroyed the main Saltair building. Another fire in 1967 had already destroyed other parts of the resort.
Saltair III: The Latest Version
A third Saltair was built in 1981. It was closer to Interstate 80. Also, more people were moving to the Tooele Valley. The new building was made from an old aircraft hangar. It was about a mile west of the first Saltair.
Again, the lake caused problems. Only months after opening, the lake flooded the resort. After a few years, the water moved away again. New investors tried to fix and plan things. But the water kept moving further away from the site.
Concerts and other events have been held at this newest Saltair. But by the late 1990s, it was not very active. It was too small to compete with bigger places closer to people. For much of the early 2000s, Saltair III was almost empty. In 2005, some music investors bought the building. Now, they hold regular concerts there.
What's Left of Saltair?
You can still see parts of the old resorts from the highway. For a long time, you could see the remains of an old train car, "502". This car was from the Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway. It sat next to an old power station. This station once powered lights and roller coasters at the first Saltair. The train car was removed in 2012 for safety reasons.
Rows of old posts stick out into the lake. These are all that is left of the railway bridge and pier. They once led to the earlier Saltair resort. Some buildings from Lake Park, another old resort nearby, were moved. They are now part of the Lagoon Amusement Park about thirty miles away.
The Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Railway still exists. It moves goods in the Salt Lake City area. But its tracks no longer go to the resort itself.
Saltair in Movies and Music
Saltair has been used as a background for movies. Key parts of the 1962 horror movie Carnival of Souls were filmed at Saltair II. The 1993 movie Josh and S.A.M. shows the old Saltair III.
The Beach Boys had a photo shoot there in 1968. These photos were used for promotions. One even appeared on an album cover.
The Saltair Pavilion is destroyed in the 1972 movie The Giant Brine Shrimp. This movie was made by Utah filmmaker Mike Cassidy.
The song "Palace of the Brine" by The Pixies (1991) is about Saltair.
The music video for Mac Miller's song "Stay" was filmed with Saltair III in the background.
Saltair was also shown in a 2021 episode of Ghost Adventures. This TV show looks for ghosts. People claimed the building was haunted. The crew said they filmed a shadow person, heard voices, and saw other strange things.
Images for kids
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Swimmers at Saltair around the 1890s. Photo by Charles Roscoe Savage.
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