is the oldest district in
Salt Lake City ,
Utah . The grid from which the entire city is laid out originates at
Temple Square , the location of the
Salt Lake City Temple .
Downtown Salt Lake City is usually defined as the area approximately between North Temple and 900 South Streets north to south and about 500 East and 600 West Streets east to west. Downtown encompasses the areas of
Temple Square , the
Gateway District , Main Street, the core business district, South Temple, and others.
Much of downtown Salt Lake City's early history is intertwined with that of Salt Lake itself at the time. Downtown began to form when
Brigham Young chose the spot where the
Temple of the
Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints was to be located.
Originally, due to the
Mormon faith's tendency towards
Socialism in its early years, no provision was made for a business district. Over the years, the city's core took shape as businesses located themselves around
Main Street . The first businesses to locate themselves on Main Street were those founded by James A. Livingston and Charles A. Kincade in
1850 in the area south of the Council House that was being built on the corner of Main and South Temple Streets.
Early on, many of the Main Street businesses were
Saloons , earning the street the
Nickname "
Whiskey Street".
Originally the business district extended along the west side of Main between South Temple and 100 South. By the
1880s the area had expanded to both sides of the street and down to 200 South, and increased about a block a decade, until in
1900 it reached 400 South. Today the southern limit is usually considered 900 South.
From
1870 to the
1930s Commercial Street (renamed Regent Street in the
1920s ) was Salt Lake's notorious
Red Light District .
Prostitution was begrudgingly tolerated as long as it was confined to Commercial Street, thus kept out of the public eye.
In the late
1880s the trade was unofficially licensed. Police would "arrest" all of the prostitutes and their madams each month and "fine" them $50 each. After a physical examination they would be released and allowed to ply their trade without any further fear of molestation.
Many notable
Salt Lakers owned buildings on Commercial Street, including the Brigham Young Trust Company, whose board included many prominent members of the
Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Brigham Young, Jr. , then a church
Apostle and vice president of the bank, temporarily resigned over the matter, until the building was later sold.
After
World War II many people could afford to move out of downtown into the
Suburb s. By
1971 60% of the homes in downtown Salt Lake City were in major disrepair.
Starting in the
1960s revitalization efforts began, spearheaded by the LDS Church, who had always considered downtown their home. During the '60s they built the
ZCMI Center Mall on a full city block of land that had previously housed the
ZCMI department store, preserving the historic storefront. The Church also leased land to a developer to build
Crossroads Mall . The land for the mall originally housed the Amusen Jewelry building (
1869 ), at the time Salt Lake City's oldest building. A study commissioned by the city found it to be Salt Lake City's most architecturally significant building, and efforts to preserve it were underway. However, before the building could be saved, it was torn down to make way for the
Mall .
Also built during this era was the
LDS Church Office Building , completed in
1973 , which at that time was Salt Lake's tallest building at 28 floors. However, this was surpassed in
1999 by the American Stores Tower (now known as the Wells Fargo Center). Although it has fewer floors, it is taller than the Church Office Building by two feet, although the Church Office Building appears taller because it is located on higher ground.
In the
1980s a group of
Saudi businessmen had a vision of turning Salt Lake City into major business hub. Forming a U.S. holdings company, "Triad Utah", they planned to build two large
Skyscrapers , as well as smaller out-buildings. The company ran out of money, and the skyscrapers never materialized, leaving the current
Triad Center with only buildings 3, 4 and 5. Revitalization efforts of downtown continued through the
1990s and
2000s . The old
Salt Palace arena was torn down and a new arena, the
Delta Center , was constructed to the northwest in
1991 . A
Convention Center of the same name was built on the site. In
2000 , the
LDS Conference Center was completed and supplanted the still-existing
Salt Lake Tabernacle for conferences of the
Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints . The
Gateway District , which contains office space, apartment complexes, and an open-air
Shopping Center , was completed in
2001 near the western edge of downtown, replacing an old, run-down industrial area near the
Railroad . The LDS Church recently bought both ZCMI Mall and Crossroads Mall and has plans to renovate and modernize them, connecting them to each other through underground pathways and
Skyway s. Apartment complexes and office buildings will also be relocated onto the site.
LDS Business College as well as the
BYU Salt Lake Center will also be moved downtown to the Triad Center, which was also purchased by the LDS Church in
2004 .
