Salt Lake City, Utah
If you are looking for the ideal place to live, visit, or explore, you have to consider Salt Lake City. It is a city that offers the best of everything. For those who are intellectually inclined or seeking higher education, the city has spectacular educational facilities some of which include the University of Utah, Westminster College, LDS Business College, Salt Lake Public Library, Art Institute of Salt Lake City and many other academic establishments.
On the other hand, if you are interested in arts, you will find Salt Lake City an amazing place to live. The city has some of the finest museums in the country: Church History Museum, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Daughter of Utah Pioneers Memorial Museum and the Social Hall Heritage Museum.
For sports and recreation, there is never a dull moment in Salt Lake City, home of the Utah Jazz. Ardent soccer fans troop to the impressive Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah while the Spring Mobile Ballpark is where it is happening as far as baseball is concerned.
Standing against the spectacular backdrop of the Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, Salt Lake City is perhaps one of the most enchanting cities in continental United States. The city began with the arrival of the Latter Day Saints in 1847, and it was founded by the Mormon leader Brigham Young in that same year. It was quickly populated by emigrating Mormons and others, and within a few quick decades became the most populous city in the Old West. Tram cars were introduced in 1872, and the system was electrified as early as 1889. During the late 20th century, the city became well known as the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics, which event saw considerable increase in the tourism industry.
Salt Lake City has a booming service oriented economy. In its earlier days the city was a bedlam of the mining boom that occurred in the western USA. It went through the throes of the gold rush, and had a number of large mining concerns and oil refineries providing jobs to the population. Today, it has come up as a city offering a number of service businesses, mainly in tourism, trade, transportation, and other areas.
The largest employer in the city is the Delta Airlines hub at the city's International airport which caters to all of the western United States. Other major employers include the Intermountain Health Care, the largest regional healthcare provider, the University of Utah, the Sinclair Oil Corps and the Mormon Church.
Presence of a number of major businesses has hiked up real estate value in the city itself, as well as in its suburbs. The city has at least one Fortune 500 company (the Huntsman Corporation) headquartered in it. There are two other Fortune 1000 companies present in the city as well. Many other large companies have offices or headquarters in the city and its suburbs - these include names like Overstock.com, the Sinclair Oil Corp., Skaggs Companies, FranklinCovey and others. All these businesses not only provide employment to the increasing population of the city, but also provide a backdrop against which the city develops its infrastructure and lifestyle quotients.
Culturally, although the city is the most important center for the Mormon religion, it also offers visitors other vistas of interest. The Buddhist temple and the Japanese Christian Church downtown are reminiscent of a once thriving Japanese population. The city, under the refuge policy of the US government, is today host to people from countries like Sudan, Burma, Bosnia and others, bringing with them tastes of an eclecticism rarely seen in other western US cities.
Other tourist interests include adventure sports in the Wasatch mountains; available attractions include snowboarding, skiing, handgliding, paragliding and other mountain sports. There is abundant sports fishing available along the mountain rivers. Indoor sports like Basketball, indoor hockey and other sports have large following.
Salt Lake City History
Salt Lake City has an enchanting and chequered history. Records show that the area that is now an amazing city had Native American tribes (the Ute and the Shoshone) as the first inhabitants of the area. Exploration of the area started in the year of independence (1776), and it was spearheaded by Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a priest from Spain. However, the clergyman was only able to reach the fringes of Salt Lake City as we know it today. After de Escalante blazed the trail, other explorers and pioneers made attempts to traverse the area, with varying results.
The most prominent of the historical figures are the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are regarded as the first people to establish a permanent settlement in the area in the mid-19th century. A team of Mormons led by Brigham Young arrived at the Salt Lake Valley where they decided to pitch their tents permanently. Interestingly, there is a site in the city that commemorates that remarkable event and is known to many tourists as "This Is The Place" Heritage Park.
For the Mormon Pioneers, Salt Lake City was the ideal location and without wasting time, Young took over the administration of the area and by the late 1840s, a council was set up to enact orders to used in governing the area. It was later on that a city council and the idea of having a mayor for the city was raised. The early pioneers were able to survive in the territory by being hardworking and united, with communal farming and harvesting being the order of the day. A lot of historians also point out the important role of faith in the group.
With time, the Gold Rush in California changed the fortune of the city forever. Gold prospectors and speculators on their way to the West Coast had to pass through the Salt Lake City and in no time, the city became a hub for those after Californian gold. Since they traveled with goods such as clothes and various items, it did not take long before they started bargaining with the local farmers in the city. At this period, the city was known as the 'City of the Great Salt Lake' and it was not the capital of the state of Utah. That distinction belonged to Fillmore but this changed in 1856 when Salt Lake City became the capital and got its new name.
The cocoon of the city was punctured in 1869 when the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in the city bringing outsiders, especially miners who came to take advantage of the Wasatch Mountains mineral deposits. The city officially became the capital in 1896 when Utah became a part of the Union. During the Great Depression, Salt Lake City was particularly hit but the World War II strengthened the local economy with the establishment of various defense industries. The city became so prosperous that it attempted to host the Olympics in the 1930s although this was achieved in 2002. Today, the city continues to grow and expand, and one thing that is quickly observed is its multicultural and sophisticated nature.
About Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is a fantastic place to live in for work or lifestyle. Now home to more than 186,000 people, it is hard to believe the city started with a few hundred people. On a daily basis, people stream into the city and its tourism industry is one of the most vibrant in the country attracting millions of tourists on an annual basis. The lure of this superb city is found in its people, great city development and amazing suroundings. One can understand why many people find its pull irresistible.
Salt Lake City is a financial powerhouse and is a seat of industrial banking in the United States. For those interested in outstanding business opportunities or need the services of some of the most experienced bankers in the United States, Salt Lake City is the place to be. Although banking is a major industry in the city, there are other commercial activities as well. Thriving industries include steel, mining and railroad operations. For technology gurus in search of the right partners, this is the place to be, with its intimidating collection of high-tech organizations like L-3 Communications, Micron, eBay and Unisys.
Tourism is also a major revenue earner for the government and the people of the state. A surge in tourist activity has been noticed since the city hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 2002. Another reason why many will prefer to settle in the city is its amazing educational system replete with outstanding educational institutions. These include the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College, Eagle Gate College, Utah State University and Westminster College. It is also interesting to know that the city has technical institutions like the Utah College of Massage Therapy.
For anyone who has visited the city before, its culture is hard to overlook. From performing arts to music, movies to television, Salt Lake City has it all. In the city, you can watch the amazing performances of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony Orchestra. For the museum geeks, there are lots of them in the city: Fort Douglas Military Museum, Utah Museum of Natural History, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Daughters of Utah Pioneers Museum, Church History Museum and the Discovery Gateway, a special museum for kids.
You will also be pleasantly surprised with the sporting nature of the city, especially with the halo of religiosity cast on the city. There are numerous sporting facilities and popular examples are the Rice-Eccles Stadium, Spring Mobile Ballpark, Rio Tinto Stadium, Energy Solutions and many others. The city is also known for its breath-taking sights such as the Salt Lake Temple, Place Heritage Park and the Park City Mountain Resort.
About Salt Lake County, Utah
With over one million inhabitants, the Salt Lake County is one of the most important counties in the state of Utah. The capital, Salt Lake City is found in the county. The history of the county is a fascinating one. Some of the very first settlers in the area that is now the county were Mormon pioneers who set up a permanent settlement in the area in the 19th century after the proclamation of their leader, Brigham Young. Although the area was arid, the new inhabitants soon developed the region by making use of irrigation.
In the 20th century, the county underwent a metamorphosis as a result of the advent of the railroad which also ensured that the population of the budding county swelled up. During the Second World War, the county was a site for defense installations and these helped in boosting the local economy. With time, the state of Utah became one of the most important military centers in the United States, even long after the war had ended.
In the 1960s, the county had its first international airport (Salt Lake City International Airport), and just around a decade later, the county witnessed an unprecedented boom in the real estate industry. A similar boom was to be experienced with the hosting of the Olympic Games in 2002.
Some of the most important issues facing the county today is urbanization, transportation and pollution, especially in the light of the increase in population. During the early years of the county, mining was a major economic activity. But in the 21st century, that has been replaced with a number of other industries. These include sporting activities, information and communication technology, computer manufacturing. The county is also a leading light as far as education is concerned. The county has tens of public high schools. In total, the county has fifteen cities and a single town.