Provo is a city in Utah and the county seat
of Utah County, located about 35 miles south of
Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. It
lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. It is the home of Brigham Young
University, operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The LDS Church's largest Missionary Training Center is located in Provo.
Provo was originally called Fort Utah when it was settled in
1849 by 33 Mormon families from Salt Lake City, but was re-named
Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early
French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825.
Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a Spanish Franciscan missionary-explorerer is considered the first explorer to visit the
area in 1776, but only came as far north as Utah valley (Provo), some 30 miles south of the Salt Lake City area. Escalante
chronicled this first European exploration across the Great Basis desert.
Provo has grown to a population of 115,135[1] —making it
the third-largest city in Utah, only about 3,000 people smaller
than West Valley City. The Provo-Orem Metropolitan Area, consisting of
Utah County and Juab County has 474,180 residents as of the July 1, 2006 U.S. Census
Bureau estimate.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census2 of 2000, there were 105,166 people, 29,192 households, and 19,938 families
residing in the city. The population density was 1,024.3/km² (2,653.2/mi²). There
were 30,374 housing units at an average density of 295.8/km² (766.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.52%
White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.80% American Indian, 1.83% Asian, 0.84% Pacific Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.47% of the population.
There were 29,192 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were
non-families. 11.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 3.34 and the average family size was 3.40.
22.3% of residents are under the age of 18, 40.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 8.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and
over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,313, and the median income for a family was $36,393. Males had a median
income of $32,010 versus $20,928 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$13,207. About 12.5% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
Geography
Provo is located at 40°14′40″N, 111°39′39″W (40.244421,
-111.660804)1. It lies in the
Utah Valley at an elevation of 4,549 feet (1,387 meters). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 108.2 km² (41.8 mi²). 102.7 km² (39.6 mi²) of it is land and 5.6 km²
(2.2 mi²) of it (5.14%) is water. [1]
The Wasatch Range contains many peaks within Utah
County along the east side of the Wasatch Front. One of these peaks, known as
Y Mountain, towers over the city. There is a large "Y" made of
whitewashed concrete half-way up the steep mountain, built in the early part of the 20th century to commemorate Brigham Young University (original plans included construction of all three letters: BYU). Wild
deer (and less frequently, cougars and moose) still roam the mountains (and occasionally the city streets). The scenery is generally considered enjoyable
and allows for hiking, skiing, fishing and other outdoor
activities.
Landmarks
Provo Utah LDS Temple
The Provo Utah Temple is located at the base of Rock
Canyon in Provo. Due to its proximity to Brigham Young University and
the Missionary Training Center (MTC), just
across the street, this temple is among the busiest the LDS Church operates. [2]
Brigham Young University
Provo is home to Brigham Young University (BYU), a private university operated by The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU (occasionally, but incorrectly, called "BYU-Provo") is the second largest
private university in the country, with more than 34,000 students. It is the flagship of the Church Educational System of higher education. The large population of students makes Provo a
"college town". Provo's ambiance differs from other college towns, however, since the majority of its students are
LDS - the Church bans the consumption of alcohol at BYU resulting in BYU being consistently rated the most "stone-cold sober"
university in the United States, by The Princeton Review.[3] The campus also is home to the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, the
tallest building in Provo.[2][3]
Most BYU students live near BYU's campus. BYU requires that single students live in approved, non-coed housing, with
BYU-approved standards that include no smoking, no alcohol, no pre-marital sex, and other regulations as well. New rules will
keep apartments from being "BYU-approved" if they are more than two miles from the center of campus. Many students live either in
on-campus housing north of the University or just south of campus, in an area dedicated to student apartments and condos.
LDS Missionary Training Center
Provo is also home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' largest Missionary Training Center (MTC). Each week some 475 LDS missionaries enter for 3 - 12 weeks of training before they depart for the mission field;
becoming part of over 50,000 in more than 120 countries. Presently, about 1,100 instructors (many returned missionaries) teach 62
languages. The center in Provo began construction in July 1974 and completed in July 1976. The MTC was expanded in the early
1990s, becoming the largest of 17 such centers in the world.[4][5]
Recreation
Provo is surrounded by mountains, canyons, rivers, ski resorts and Utah Lake. These provide opportunities for fishing,
kayaking, river rafting, hunting, mountain biking, camping, hiking, rock climbing, sight-seeing, golfing, boating, snow skiing,
snowmobiling, water skiing.
Transportation
Interstate 15 runs along the west edge of Provo, connecting it with the rest of the
Wasatch Front and much of Utah. U.S. 89 runs northwest to southeast through the city as State Street, while U.S. 189 connects U.S. 89 with I-15, BYU, and
Orem to the north. At the north edge of the city, U.S. 189 heads northeast into Provo Canyon, where it connects with Heber. Amtrak the national passenger rail system, provides service to Provo
station, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between
Chicago, Illinois and Emeryville,
California, across the bay from San Francisco. Provo also can be
accessed by Greyhound Bus Lines and the extensive Utah Transit Authority (UTA) bus system. A commuter rail line is planned to be extended to the
city by 2015.
Religious affiliation
The residents of Provo are predominately members of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS. According to data taken in 2000 by the
ARDA, 88% of the overall population, and 98% of religious
adherents in the Provo-Orem area are LDS[6].
Politics
- Further information: List of Utah State
Legislatures, List of United States Senators from
Utah, Utah's 3rd congressional
district, 15th Utah Senate
District, and 16th Utah Senate District
According to a study released by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, Provo is the most conservative city in the United
States with a population over 100,000.[4] [7] Local
discussion of national politics tends to fall within the spectrum of moderately conservative to arch-conservative thought. Utah's
3rd Congressional District, of which Provo is a part, elected Democrat Bill Orton to three
consecutive terms during the 1990s, however.
City administration
The current Mayor of Provo is Lewis K. Billings, a lifelong Provo resident who is serving his
third term as Mayor. Billings was originally elected Provo City Mayor in November 1997, after completing three years as Chief
Administrative Officer and Director of Community and Government Relations for the City of Provo. Never having earned a college
degree, and prior to his service to Provo City, Mayor Billings was President and Managing Partner of IDC, an investment
partnership specializing in "turnkey" lease facilities for small to medium sized businesses. Before joining IDC in December of
1983, Mr. Billings was Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of CalDisk, a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of
rotating memory storage products for computer applications.
The current Police Chief of Provo is J. Craig Geslison, a 29-year veteran of the Provo Police
Department. He was hired in April of 1978. Chief Geslison served four years as a patrolman and then spent two years as the Provo
Police Department's first full-time Crime Prevention and Community Relations officer. Chief Geslison was promoted to Sergeant in
1984 where he served in detectives, patrol and dispatch divisions. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1988, where he served as a
watch commander, and was appointed a Captain in 1994. Geslison became Provo's first Assistant Chief of Police in 1997 and was
directly responsible for Support Services, the Patrol Division and had oversight of the Police Department's budget.
Companies in Provo
Local Companies of Interest
Provo is home to hundreds of restaurants, and many shopping centers. The Provo Towne Centre, a shopping mall, operates
in Provo.
International Companies
- Nature's Sunshine Products, a direct-selling company, manufactures and
markets tablets and encapsulated herbal products, high-quality natural vitamins, food supplements, skin care and other
complementary products. The Company has operations in the United States, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Brazil, Canada,
Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the United Kingdom, Israel and Chile. The Company also exports its products to several
other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway and the Russian Federation.
- The Generations Network is a genealogy
and family networking company, whose holdings include ancestry.com.
- Software company Novell, Inc. was founded and originally headquartered in Orem but soon after developed and moved into a facility in Provo. Novell continues to operate and employ
around 2000 people at the Provo facility.
- Nu Skin Enterprises, a multi-level marketing firm for high-quality skin care
products, was founded in 1984. In 2005, some 82% of revenues for the $1B USD company were generated through markets in Asia.
- Tahitian Noni International is a health and skin care manufacturer whose products are
based on the Tahitian fruit called noni.
Special Events
Every July, Provo hosts America's Freedom Festival at Provo which
includes the Stadium of Fire at BYU. It is held in LaVell Edwards Stadium, home to Brigham Young
University's NCAA football team. The Independence Day festivities are quite popular among local residents and have
featured such notable figures as Bob Hope, David
Hasselhoff, Reba McEntire, Mandy Moore,
Huey Lewis and the News, Toby Keith,
Sean Hannity, Fred Willard, and Taylor Hicks[8].
Notable Residents
Points of Interest
Notes
External links
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Coordinates:
40.244421° N 111.660804°
W
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