Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt
Lake, or its initials, S.L.C. It was originally known as Great Salt Lake City.
Salt Lake City has a population of 178,858 as of 2006.[1] The Salt Lake City metropolitan area spans Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties, and has a total estimated
population of 1,018,826. Salt Lake City is further situated in a larger urban area known as
the Wasatch Front, and until 2003 the Ogden-Clearfield metro area within it was considered
part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.[2] The total
estimated population of the Wasatch Front is approximately 2,150,000.
The city was founded in 1847 by a group of Mormon pioneers led by their prophet,
Brigham Young, who fled hostility and violence in the midwest. The headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the L.D.S. or Mormon
Church) is located in Salt Lake City.
Mining booms and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad initially brought economic growth, and the city became
nicknamed the Crossroads of the West. In the 21st century the city has developed a strong outdoor recreation tourism industry (skiing and biking), become the industrial banking center of the U.S,[3] and served as host to the 2002 Winter Olympics.
History
-
Before Mormon settlement, the Shoshone, Ute, and
Paiute had dwelled in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. However, these tribes dwelt
only on a temporary basis near streams emptying from Canyons into the Salt Lake Valley. The first Caucasian in the Salt Lake area
is believed to be the explorer Jim Bridger in 1825, although other Caucasians had been in
Utah earlier, some as far north as the nearby Utah Valley. U.S. Army officer John C.
Frémont surveyed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley in 1843 and 1845.[4] The Donner party, a group of ill-fated
pioneers, had traveled through the Great Salt Lake Valley in August 1846.
Panorama from South Temple Street taken in 1912
The first Europeans to settle in the valley were the Latter-day Saints on July 24,
1847. They had traveled beyond the boundaries of the United
States seeking an isolated area to practice their religion, away from the hostility they had faced in the East. Upon arrival, President of the Church
Brigham Young is recorded as stating, "this is the right place," later abbreviated to
simply "this is the place," after reportedly seeing the area in a vision. They found
the large valley empty of any human settlement.
Only four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young designated the site for the Salt Lake Temple, intended to be the third temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
to replace the abandoned Kirtland Temple in Ohio and Nauvoo Temple in Illinois.
Constructed on Temple Square, in the center of the city, the temple took 40 years to
complete, being started in 1853 and dedicated on April 6, 1893.
These delays meant that temples in St. George, Logan and Manti were completed before the Salt Lake Temple [5] The temple has become iconic of the city and is the centerpiece of the city
(in fact, the southeast corner of Temple Square is the reference point for all addresses in the Salt Lake Valley).
The Mormon pioneers organized a new state called Deseret and petitioned for its recognition in 1849. The United
States Congress rebuffed the settlers in 1850 and established the Utah Territory,
vastly reducing its size. Great Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial
capital in 1858, and the name was subsequently abbreviated to Salt Lake City. The city's population swelled with an influx of
religious converts, making it one of the most populous cities in the American Old
West.
Disputes with the federal government ensued over the widespread Mormon practice of polygamy.
A climax occurred in 1857 when President James Buchanan declared the area in rebellion
after Brigham Young refused to step down as governor, beginning the Utah War. A division of the United States Army, commanded by
Albert Sidney Johnston, later a general in the army of the Confederate States of
America, marched through the city and found that it had been evacuated. This division set up Camp
Floyd approximately 40 miles (65 km) southwest of the city. Another military installation, Fort Douglas, was established in 1862 to maintain Union allegiance during the American Civil War.
Many area leaders were incarcerated at the territorial prison in Sugar
House in the 1880s for violation of anti-polygamy laws. The LDS Church abandoned polygamy in 1890, releasing
"The Manifesto," which officially renounced the practice in the church. This paved the
way for statehood in 1896, when Salt Lake City became the state capital.
The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 at
Promontory Summit on the north side of the Great Salt
Lake. A railroad was connected to the city from the Transcontinental Railroad in 1870, making travel less burdensome. Mass
migration of different groups followed. They found economic opportunities in the booming mining
industries. These groups constructed the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1905 and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine in
1909. This time period also saw the creation of Salt Lake City's now defunct Red-light
district that employed 300 courtesans at its height before being closed down in
1911.[6]
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an extensive streetcar system was constructed throughout the city with the
first streetcar running in 1872 and electrification of the system in 1889. As in the rest of the country, the automobile usurped
the streetcar and the last trolley ran in 1945. Rail transit was re-introduced when TRAX, a
light rail system, opened in 1999.[7]
The city's population began to stagnate during the 20th century as population growth shifted to suburban areas north and south of the city. Few of these areas were annexed to the city, while nearby towns
incorporated and expanded themselves. As a result, the population of the surrounding metropolitan area greatly outnumbers that of
Salt Lake City. A major concern of recent government officials has been combating inner-city commercial decay. The city lost
population from the 1960s through the 1980s, but experienced some recovery in the 1990s. Presently, the city is losing population
again (though that of the metro area continues to grow), having lost an estimated 2 percent of its population since the year
2000.[8]
The city has experienced significant demographic shifts in recent years.[9] Hispanics now account for approximately 19% of residents and the
city has a large gay community.[10] There is also a large Pacific Islander population, mainly made
up of Samoans and Tongans; they compose roughly 1% of the
population of the Salt Lake Valley area.[11]
Salt Lake City was selected to host the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995. The games
were plagued with controversy. A bid scandal surfaced in 1998 alleging
that bribes had been offered to secure the city for the 2000 games location. During the games, other scandals erupted over
contested judging scores and illegal drug use. Despite the controversies, the games were heralded as a financial success, being
one of the few in recent history to profit. In preparation major construction projects were initiated. Local freeways were expanded and repaired, and a light rail system was
constructed. Olympic venues are now used for local, national, and international sporting events and Olympic athlete
training.[12] Tourism has increased since the Olympic
games,[13] but business did not
pick up immediately following them.[14]
Salt Lake City hosted the 16th Winter Deaflympic games in 2007, taking place in the venues in Salt Lake City and
Park City,[15]
and Rotary International has designated the city as the site of their 2007
convention, which will be the largest single gathering since the 2002 Winter
Olympics.[16] The U.S. Volleyball Association
convention in 2005 drew 39,500 attendees.
Geography
-
Salt Lake City from space.
Salt Lake City is located at 40°45′N,
111°53′W. The total area is 110.4 square miles (285.9 km²) and has an average elevation of 4,327 feet
(1,320 m) above sea level. The lowest point within the boundaries of the city is 4,210 feet near the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake, and the highest is Grandview Peak, at 9,410 feet.[17]
The city is located in the northeast corner of the Salt Lake Valley surrounded by
the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, and the steep Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, on the eastern and western border
respectively. Its encircling mountains contain many narrow glacially and volcanically carved canyons, among them City Creek, Emigration, Millcreek, and
Parley's border Salt Lake proper.
The Great Salt Lake is separated from Salt Lake City by extensive marshlands and
mudflats. The metabolic activities of bacteria in Willard Bay (the freshwater portion of the lake) results in a phenomenon known
as "lake stink", a scent reminiscent of foul poultry eggs, two to three times per year for a few hours.[18] The Jordan River flows through the city and is a drainage of
Utah Lake that empties into the Great Salt Lake.
The highest mountaintop visible from Salt Lake City is Twin Peaks, which reaches
11,489 feet (3502 m).[19] Twin
Peaks is located southeast of Salt Lake in the Wasatch Range. The Wasatch Fault is found along the western base of the Wasatch and is considered overdue for an earthquake
as large as 7.5. Catastrophic damage is predicted in the event of an earthquake with major damage resulting from the
liquefaction of the clay- and sand-based soil and the possible permanent flooding of
portions of the city by the Great Salt Lake.[20]
The second-highest mountain range are the Oquirrhs, reaching a maximum height of
10,620 feet (3,237 m) at Flat Top. The Traverse Mountains to the south extend to
6,000 feet (1,830 m), nearly connecting the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains. The mountains near Salt Lake City are easily
visible from the city and have sharp vertical relief caused by massive ancient earthquakes, with a maximum difference of 7,099
feet (2164 m) being achieved with the rise of Twin Peaks from the Salt Lake Valley floor.[19]
The Salt Lake Valley floor is the ancient lakebed of Lake Bonneville which existed at
the end of the last Ice Age. Several Lake Bonneville shorelines can be
distinctly seen on the foothills or benches of nearby mountains .
Layout
Plat of Salt Lake City, circa 1870s
The city, as well as the county, is laid out on a grid plan;[21] Most major streets run
very nearly north-south and east-west. There is about a fourteen to fifteen minute of arc
variation of the grid from true north.[citation needed] The grid's origin is the southeast corner of Temple Square, the block containing the Salt Lake Temple of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Addresses are coordinates
within the system (similarly to latitude and longitude). One
hundred units are equal to 1/8th of a mile (200 m), the length of blocks in downtown Salt Lake City.[citation needed] The streets are relatively wide, at
the direction of Brigham Young, who wanted them wide enough that a wagon team could turn around
without "resorting to profanity." [22] These wide streets
and grid pattern were copied in other Mormon towns of the pioneer era throughout the West.
Though confusing to new arrivals and visitors, the grid system actually makes it easier to navigate. For instance, take the
address "7289 S 1750 West" -- this is parsed in the same way as other North American addresses, with the building number (7289
South) followed by the street name (1750 West). To go from there to 105 W 5600 South, you would go north and east.
Some streets have names, often added to the numbers assigned on the grid system. Some of these are for convenience (100 East
is more commonly known as State Street), or to commemorate a major point of interest (Ensign Vista is near Ensign Peak) or a
school (Bengal Way is named after the sports teams of a school which is on that street). The western portion of 300 South was
named "Adam Galvez Street" in honor of a local Marine corporal who was killed in Iraq, and can be called by either name, as are
streets named after Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King,
Jr., and César Chávez.
There is also an area, on the hills north and east of Temple Square, known as "The Avenues," where north-south streets are
given letters of the alphabet, and east-west streets are numbered in 2.5 acre (10,100 m²) blocks, closer than the rest
of the Valley.
To make matters more confusing, several major streets change alignment and take a new name. One example is 3300 South. The
major roadway jogs south at about 1300 West, to become 3500 South. These exceptions and deviations become more common as one
moves away from the city center, and mirrors the waning influence of the Church on the city's layout as time went by and the city
grew.
Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, planned
the layout in the "Plat of the City of Zion" (intended as a template for Mormon towns
wherever they might be built). In his plan the city was to be developed into 135 10-acre lots. However, the blocks in Salt Lake
City became irregular during the late 19th century when the LDS Church lost authority over growth and before the adoption of
zoning ordinances in the 1920s. The original 10-acre blocks allowed for large garden plots, and many were supplied with
irrigation water from ditches that ran approximately where modern curbs and gutters would be laid. The original water supply was
from City Creek. Subsequent development of water resources was from
successively more southern streams flowing from the mountains to the east of the city. Some of the old irrigation ditches are
still visible in the eastern suburbs, or are still marked on maps, years after they were gone.
Neighborhoods
- See also: Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City, Utah -
Neighborhoods and areas
Map of modern Salt Lake City and its suburbs.
Salt Lake City has many informal neighborhoods. The eastern portion of the city has higher property values than its western
counterpart. This is a result of the railroad being built in the western half as well as scenic views from inclined grounds in
the eastern portion. Housing is more affordable on the west side, which results in demographic differences. Interstate 15 was also built in a
north-south line, further dividing east and west sides of the city.
The west side of the city has historically been a working-class neighborhood, but recently the more affordable nature of the
area has enticed many professionals to the neighborhood. For example, the small, increasingly trendy Marmalade District on the
west side of Capitol Hill, once considered seedy as few as 5–10 years
ago, was heavily gentrified and is now thought of as an eclectic and desirable location. During the 1980s, gang activity was also
centered in the western neighborhoods of Rose Park, Poplar Grove, and
Glendale.
Sugar House, which is in the near southeast portions of Salt Lake
City, has been somewhat gentrified, but does contain some poorer areas. Other parts of Salt Lake City have no real neighborhood
name or designator, such as areas south of 1300 South, East of I-15 and west of Sugarhouse. This area has been traditionally
associated with the lower middle class.
Just northeast of Downtown is The Avenues, a neighborhood outside
of the regular grid system on much smaller blocks. This area is nearly entirely residential, and contains much of the young
student-aged population. The Avenues are situated on the upward-sloping bench in the foothills of the Wasatch Range, with property values generally increasing with elevation. The Upper Avenues, along with
Federal Heights, just to the east and north of the
University of Utah, and the East
Bench, south of the University, contain gated communities, large, multi-million dollar houses, and fantastic views of the
valley.
Climate
-
The flood of
City Creek in 1983 occurred from snowmelt after record snow
fell in nearby mountains the previous winter.
The climate of Salt Lake City is characterized as a semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen Bsk), with four distinct seasons. Both summer and winter are long,
with hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, and with spring and fall serving as brief but comfortable transition periods. The
city receives 16.50 in (419 mm) of precipitation annually.[24] Spring is the wettest season, and another "rainy season" occurs in fall. Snow occurs on average
from November 6 to April 18, producing a total average of
62.7 in (159 cm),[25] while the city's watersheds in nearby mountains accumulate averages as high as 500 in (1,270 cm). The period without
freezing temperatures usually lasts an average of 167 days, from April 30 to October 15.[26]
During the winter months cold fronts typically originate in the Gulf of Alaska and
move southeastward into the area. The nearby Great Salt Lake produces lake-effect snow
approximately 6 to 8 times per year, some of which can drop excessive snowfalls. The lake-effect also contributes to some rain
storms, and it is estimated that about 10% of the annual precipitation in the city can be attributed to the lake effect.[27] During mid-winter, strong areas of high pressure often
situate themselves over the Great Basin, leading to strong temperature inversions. This causes air stagnation and
thick smog in the valley for several days to weeks at a time and can result in the worst
air-pollution levels in the U.S. reducing air quality to unhealthy levels.[28][29] The city has an average
of three days annually with low temperatures below 0 °F, with an all-time record low temperature of -30 °F (-34 °C), which
occurred on February 9, 1933.[30]
In the spring, most of the storms originate in the Pacific Ocean from the
Pineapple Express, bringing in the most moisture of the entire year. Larger and cooler
storms in the spring can lead to heavy overnight snowfall. Measurable snow has occurred as late as May
18.[31]
The summers of the city are marked by hot weather and are mostly dry. The monsoon rises from
the Gulf of California from approximately mid-July into September, producing
localized severe afternoon thunderstorms. Due to the low daytime humidity, virga, lightning, and microbursts can lead
to wildfire problems. During active monsoon periods, widespread thunderstorms carrying excessive precipitation are common. High
temperatures of at least 100 °F (38 °C) occur on average five times a year, but always on days with low humidity. The record high
temperature is 107 °F (42 °C), which occurred first on July 26, 1960 and again on July 13, 2002.[32]
During October, the Pacific Ocean once again becomes active, bringing in more precipitation, occasionally in the form of the
remnants of tropical cyclones. The remnants of Hurricane Olivia helped bring the record monthly precipitation of 7.04 in (179 mm) in
September 1982.[33][34] The first measurable snowfall has occurred as early as September 17.
|
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Record Daily High |
°F (°C) |
63 (17) |
69 (21) |
78 (26) |
89 (32) |
99 (37) |
104 (40) |
107 (42) |
106 (41) |
100 (38) |
89 (32) |
75 (24) |
69 (21) |
| Average Daily High |
°F (°C) |
37 (3) |
43 (6) |
53 (12) |
61 (16) |
71 (22) |
82 (28) |
91 (33) |
89 (32) |
78 (26) |
64 (18) |
49 (9) |
38 (3) |
| Average Daily Low |
°F (°C) |
21 (-6) |
26 (-3) |
33 (1) |
39 (4) |
47 (8) |
56 (13) |
63 (17) |
62 (17) |
52 (11) |
41 (5) |
30 (-1) |
22 (-6) |
| Record Daily Low |
°F (°C) |
-22 (-30) |
-30 (-34) |
2 (-17) |
14 (-10) |
25 (-4) |
35 (2) |
40 (4) |
37 (3) |
27 (-3) |
16 (-9) |
-14 (-26) |
-21 (-29) |
| Data is for Salt Lake International Airport |
|
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Record Precipitation |
in. |
3.23 |
4.89 |
3.97 |
4.90 |
4.76 |
3.84 |
2.57 |
3.66 |
7.04 |
3.91 |
3.34 |
4.37 |
| Average Precipitation |
in. |
1.37 |
1.33 |
1.91 |
2.02 |
2.09 |
0.77 |
0.72 |
0.76 |
1.33 |
1.57 |
1.40 |
1.23 |
| Average Snowfall |
in. |
13.6 |
9.9 |
9.1 |
4.9 |
0.6 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
1.3 |
7.0 |
12.0 |
| Record Snowfall |
in. |
50.3 |
32.1 |
41.9 |
26.4 |
7.5 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
4.0 |
20.4 |
33.3 |
35.2 |
| Data is for Salt Lake International Airport |
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 181,743 people (up from 159,936 in 1990), 71,461 households,
and 39,803 families residing in the city. This amounts to 8.1% of Utah's population, 20.2%
of Salt Lake County's population, and 13.6% of the Salt Lake metropolitan
population. Salt Lake City proper covers 14.2% of Salt Lake County. Salt Lake City is more densely populated than the surrounding
metro area with a population density of 643.3/km² (1,666.1/mi²). There are 77,054
housing units at an average density of 272.7/km² (706.4/mi²).
The Salt Lake City-Ogden metropolitan area,
which included Salt Lake, Davis, and
Weber counties, had a population of 1,333,914 in 2000, a 24.4% increase over the 1990
figure of 1,072,227. Since the 2000 Census, the Census Bureau has added Summit and Tooele counties to the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, but removed Davis and Weber counties and
designated them as the separate Ogden-Clearfield
metropolitan area. Together with the Provo-Orem
metropolitan area, which lies to the south, a roughly continuous urban corridor along the Wasatch
Front is formed, which has a combined population of well over 2 million.
There are 71,461 households, out of which 27.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% are married couples living together, 10.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% are
nonfamilies. Of the 71,461 households, 3,904 were reported to be unmarried partner households: 3,047 heterosexual, 458 same-sex
male, and 399 same-sex female. 33.2% of all households are made up of individuals, and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65
years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48, and the average family size is 3.24.
In the city the population is spread out with:
- 23.6% under the age of 18
- 15.2% from 18 to 24
- 33.4% from 25 to 44
- 16.7% from 45 to 64
- 11.0% who are 65 years of age or older
The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are
101.2 males. The median income for a household in the city is
$36,944, and the median income for a family is $45,140. Males have a median income of $31,511 versus $26,403 for females. The
per capita income for the city is $20,752. 15.3% of the population and 10.4% of
families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.7% of those under
the age of 18 and 8.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
| Historical Population |
| Year |
Population |
| 1860 |
8,236 |
| 1870 |
12,854 |
| 1880 |
20,768 |
| 1890 |
44,843 |
| 1900 |
53,531 |
| 1910 |
92,777 |
| 1920 |
116,110 |
| 1930 |
140,267 |
| 1940 |
149,934 |
| 1950 |
182,121 |
| 1960 |
189,454 |
| 1970 |
175,885 |
| 1980 |
163,034 |
| 1990 |
159,936 |
| 2000 |
181,743 |
| 2006 |
178,858 |
Large family sizes and low housing vacancy rates, which have inflated housing costs along the Wasatch Front, have led to one out of every six residents living below the poverty line.
Less than 50% of Salt Lake City's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a much
lower proportion than in Utah's more rural municipalities; altogether, LDS members make up about 62% of Utah's
population.[35]
The Rose Park and Glendale sections are predominantly Spanish-speaking with Latinos accounting for 60% of public school-children.[36] The Centro Civico Mexicano acts as a community gathering point for the Wasatch
Front's estimated 300,000 Latinos,[37] Mexican President
Vicente Fox began his U.S. tour in the city in 2006, and the largest supermarket chain of
Mexico, Supermercados Gigante, is planning a location, the first in the U.S.
outside of California.[38] Bosnian, Sudanese, Afghani,
Somali, and Russian refugees have settled in the city under
government programs.[39] There is also a large Pacific
Islander population, mainly made up of Samoans and Tongans. Many of
the Pacific Islanders are members of the LDS Church.[40]
Salt Lake City has been considered one of the top 51 "gay-friendly places to live" in the U.S.[41] The city is home to a large, business savvy, organized, and politically
supported gay community. Leaders of the Episcopal
Church's Diocese of Utah,[42][43] Utah's largest Jewish congregation, the Salt Lake
Kol Ami,[44] and three elected representatives of the
city, two members of the state house and one in the senate, all identify as gay. These developments have attracted controversy
from socially conservative officials representing other regions of the state. State Senator Chris
Buttars of West Jordan publicly denounced Mayor Rocky Anderson for having
"attracted the entire gay community to come and live in Salt Lake County" after a Dan Jones poll indicated strong support for
allowing domestic partnerships. In the 2004 election, 63% of the city population voted against banning same-sex marriage, in agreement with Mayor Anderson.[45]
Economy
-
Part of Downtown Salt Lake 2006
The modern economy of Salt Lake City is service-oriented. In the past, nearby steel, mining and railroad operations provided a
strong source of income with Silver King Coalition Mines, Geneva
Steel, Bingham Canyon Mine, and oil
refineries. Today the city's major industries are government, trade, transportation, utilities, and professional and
business services. The city is known as the "Crossroads of the West" for its central geography in the western United States. As a
result, Interstate 15 is a major corridor for freight traffic and the area is host to many
regional distribution centers.[citation needed]
Local, state, and federal governments have their largest presence in the city proper itself, and trade, transportation, and
utilities also take up a significant portion of employment, with the major employer being the western North America
Delta Air Lines hub at Salt Lake
City International Airport. Equally significant are the professional and business services, while health services and
health educational services also serve as significant areas of employment. Other major employers include the University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Besides its central offices, the LDS Church owns and operates a profit division, Deseret Management Corporation and its subsidiaries, which are headquartered in the city.
Other notable firms headquartered in the city include AlphaGraphics, Sinclair Oil Corporation, Zions Bancorporation, Merrill Lynch Bank USA, UBS Bank USA, American
Express Centurion Bank, GMAC Automotive Bank, Morgan Stanley
Bank, Smith's Food and Drug (owned by national grocer Kroger). Notable firms based in the metropolitan area include Arctic
Circle Restaurants, Franklin-Covey, and Overstock.com. Metropolitan Salt Lake was also once the headquarters of Kentucky
Fried Chicken (the first ever KFC is located in South Salt Lake),
American Stores, the Skaggs Companies, and
ZCMI, one of the first-ever department stores; it is currently owned by Federated Department
Stores. Former ZCMI stores now operate under the Macy's label. Suburban Salt Lake
was also the first location for Sears Grand (at the Jordan Landing shopping center in West Jordan).
Since Utah is one of seven states that allow the establishment of commercially-owned industrial banks, the vast majority of
industrial banks in the U.S. have established their headquarters in the Salt
Lake City area. High-tech firms with a large presence in the suburbs include e-Bay,
Unisys, Siebel, Micron, L-3
Communications and 3M.
Other economic activities include tourism, conventions, and major suburban call centers. Tourism has increased since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games,[13] and many hotels and restaurants were built for the events. The convention industry has
expanded since the construction of the Salt Palace convention center in the late 1990s,
which hosts trade shows and conventions, including the annual Outdoor Retailers meeting and Novell's annual BrainShare convention.
In 2006, the largest potato producer in Idaho, the United Potato Growers of America, announced
that it would re-locate its headquarters to Salt Lake City, citing its need for a large
international airport, being that Salt Lake City International is the 18th busiest in the world in terms of combined freight and passengers. The
announcement led some members of the Idaho legislature to propose legislation changing the state license plate, which currently
reads "Famous Potatoes".[46]
In 2005, it was found the downtown area was experiencing rapid population growth.[47] The number of residential units in the central business district has increased
by 80% since 1995, and is forecasted to nearly double in the next decade. The City Creek development of the LDS Church will be
adding 300 units in its first phase including the 415 ft. tall City Creek
condominium tower,[48] Allen Millo Associates
currently has two projects under construction and two more planned,[49] all 200 units have been sold before construction of a seven-story condominium planned by Wood
Property,[50] a residential tower is planned for Trolley
Square, and this is after the recent completion of the Northgate Apartments and 12-story condominiums at Gateway with two more
buildings finished nearby and the Liberty Metro apartments near Library Square.
Office vacancy rates are low in the downtown region. In response, two new large buildings are being constructed. The first is
eight stories and located in the Gateway District,[51]
while the second will be 22 stories high and is currently under construction on Main Street.[52] In addition, the historic Walker Bank Building is currently undergoing major
renovations that will enable it to achieve Class A office space status.[53] Construction of the Gateway District, light rail, and planned
commuter rail service have supported the revival of downtown.
- See also: List of foreign consulates in Salt Lake
City
Law and government
Since 1979 Salt Lake City has had a nonpartisan mayor-council form of government. The mayor and the seven
councilors are elected to four-year terms. Mayoral elections are held the same year as three
of the councilors. The other four councilors are staggered two years from the mayoral. Council seats are defined by geographic
population boundaries. Each councilor represents approximately 26,000 citizens. Officials are not subject to term limits. The most recent election was held in 2005.
The city has elected Democratic Party mayoral candidates since the
1970s. Councilors are elected under specific issues and are usually well-known.
![A rare F2 tornado forms in downtown Salt Lake City on August 11, 1999 (orange fireball is substation exploding).[23]](http://www.answers.com/main/Record2?a=NR&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FImage%3ASaltlaketornado.jpeg)
![City and County Building, seat of city government since 1894. It also served as Utah's first statehouse from 1896 until the current Utah State Capitol was dedicated on October 9, 1916.[54]](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/f/f9/180px-SLCCityAndCountyBldg.jpg)