Salt Lake City is the capital and largest city of the state of Utah. The city was founded on July 24, 1847, by Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young. The pioneers came from the eastern United States, where they were victims of persecution because of their Mormon faith, and they settled in Mexico, to which Utah belonged in 1847.

Four days after the founding of the city, Brigham Young designated the site where the Mormon temple would be built. After this, Salt Lake City grew rapidly due to the arrival of more Mormons and gold miners as well, who helped make the city one of the largest in the West. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad came to the area north of Salt Lake City, and the following year a siding opened to the city.

The railroad brought great immigration to Salt Lake City, where the first streetcars came into service in 1872. Throughout the 20th century, growth continued to about 200,000 in 1950 and 900,000 in the urban area by the end of the century. In 2002, Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Olympics, which brought new construction and international publicity.

Today, Brigham Young’s Salt Lake City has become a city of millions, where the old Salt Lake Temple on Temple Square remains the center of the city. The square covers 4 hectares, and the Salt Lake Temple stands as the most important building. The temple was dedicated in 1893 and was designed by Truman O. Angell in Gothic and Romanesque style. On the outer walls of the temple, you can see several symbols such as the all-seeing eye. There is no general access to the temple, however, there is an interesting visitor center, and there are also other well-known buildings that belong to the Mormon church.

To the west of the temple, you can see the Salt Lake Tabernacle, constructed 1863-1875 to house meetings in the church. Today, a modern conference center has been built for meetings, but the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still used by the famous Tabernacle Choir, accompanied by the building’s organ. South of the Tabernacle you can see the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, which was built in Victorian Gothic 1877-1882. The Assembly Hall is used for concerts and various meetings.

A little north of the Salt Lake Temple is the city’s other major attraction, the Utah State Capitol, which is the government building of the state of Utah. The Capitol was built in neoclassical style in the years 1912-1916. Utah became a US state in 1896, and for the first decades the Salt Lake City and County Building served as the state’s seat of government.

The new Capitol building was built on Capitol Hill, which is elevated above the city and from which there is a fine view of the city and to the surrounding mountains and countryside. The building dominates the Salt Lake City skyline with its height of 76 meter to the top of the dome. Inside the Utah State Capitol, you can admire grand halls and art depicting various scenes from the history of Utah.

The interior of the dome is decorated with a sky with clouds and seagulls, symbolizing the miracle of the seagulls that happened in 1848. It is said that seagulls miraculously saved the new settlers’ second harvest in Utah by eating the insects that threatened the harvest and thereby survival in the new society. To the south of the Capitol, you can notice the Salt Lake City Council Hall, which was built 1864-1866 as the city hall. It had that function until 1894.

From the Capitol and the Salt Lake Temple, you can walk south along State Street, Main Street and South Temple Street, where the city center and several attractions are located. At the intersection of State Street and South Temple Street stands The Eagle Gate Monument, which in its first version was erected in 1859 to mark the entrance to Brigham Young’s land.

At the monument you can see the beautiful old houses in the Brigham Young Complex, which consists of The Beehive House, which was the Young family residence, and The Lion House, which was Young’s official residence as Mormon leader and governor of the Utah Territory. On the opposite side of State Street, you can take a walk in the Brigham Young Historic Park, which belonged to Brigham Young and his family. They used the place for growing crops and keeping animals.

If you continue along State Street to the south, you arrive at Washington Square Park, where the Salt Lake City and County Building stands as the centerpiece. The large building was completed in 1894 and at that time it replaced the city’s then town hall as the city’s government building. Washington Square Park is an important place in Salt Lake City’s history, as it was here that the first pioneers in 1847 set up their camp.

There are several other interesting sights and attractions in Salt Lake City’s downtown. You can e.g. see the city’s two cathedrals: St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral from 1874 and the Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine from 1909. There are several museums as well such as the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, which is a museum of contemporary art. The Utah Museum of Fine Arts is good choice as well for an art museum, and you can enjoy performing arts on several of the city’s stages. The beautiful Capitol Theater was built in 1913 as a vaudeville stage, and today you can see operas and ballet here.

A little south of Salt Lake City’s center is Liberty Park, where you can take a walk in the city’s botanical garden, and at the foot of the Rocky Mountains to the east you can take a walk in the mountains at the natural history museum. West of the city are several of Utah’s many great natural experiences in the form of the Great Salt Lake and the salt desert that stretches to the border with the state of Nevada.