Salt Lake City began as a dream - a utopia in which the persecuted Mormons would have the freedom to create a Kingdom of God on earth. Their prophet, Brigham Young, led the first group of 143 men, 3 women, and 2 children to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in July 1847. Upon seeing the valley that Young proclaimed the "right place," many of the settlers wanted to continue on to California. But Young saw the value of staying; he knew that only a determined people could live here, and that the land's remoteness would protect them against their enemies.

They settlers immediately began digging irrigation canals, planting crops, constructing a small fort, and laying out a city. Nearly 2,00 more immigrants arrived that same summer. By necessity, early citizens had to be self-sufficient - the nearest outposts was 1,000 miles away. Through trial and error, farmers learned techniques of irrigating and farming the desert land. Tanneries, flour mills, blacksmith shops, stores and other enterprises sprung up under church direction. Then disaster struck. A plague of "crickets" descended from the hills to the east and began devouring the crops of the 1848 harvest, nearly ending chances for the community's survival. Miraculously, a flock of California seagulls appeared out of the west and devoured the insects.

In 1849 Utah made its first bid at statehood. The attempt failed, due mostly to the practice of polygamy within the church (although at the height of the practice, less then 10% of the church was actively involved in polygamy). The church denounced polygamy in 1890, paving the way for statehood in 1896. Utah became the 45th state in the Union, with

Marmalade Historic District is located just west of the State Capitol building. Its streets are named after fruits, and the area was settled by many early English and Scandinavian immigrants.

The State Capitol was built in 1916 of Georgia marble and Utah granite. The inside has a skyscape with huge seagulls painted on the dome ceiling. The seagull is Utah's state bird. On the grounds is a statue of Massasoit, the Indian chief who Massachusetts is named after. The sculpture is a copy of the Dallin original which stands at Plymouth Bay. The sculptor was an Utah native. The Mormon Battalion Monument, also on the capitol grounds, commemorates the troops which marched 2,000 miles from Iowa to California in the Mexican War of 1846.

Cathedral of Madeleine (331 East South Temple) was built by the first bishop of Salt Lake City, Bishop Lawrence Scanlon. Begin in 1900, the cathedral is 190 feet long, 100 feet wide and has two towers, 220 feet high

Eagle Gate (State St at South Temple) This 4,000 pound eagle spanning State Street "guards" the entrance to what was once the private estate of Brigham Young.

Beehive House (67 East South Temple and State Street) was built by Brigham Young in 1854, and is now a museum operated by the Church. The house is named for the unique hand-hewed beehive sculpture resting on the roof's cupola. The building served as the official residence of Young, many of his 27 wives and 56 children.

Lion House (next door to Beehive House) was a "supplementary" domestic residence for Brigham Young and many of his older children. An impressive sculptured stone lion guards the entrance. The main floor lodged Young's many wives in individual quarters, and the twenty gabled dormers on the second story marked the rooms of the older children. The Lion House is now used by the LDS Church for social purposes, and is closed to the public.

Temple Square is the heart of the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Church. Located here are two visitor centers, the Tabernacle, Temple, Assembly Hall, Seagull Monument, Nauvoo Bell, and the Osmun Deuel log cabin which was built in 1847.

The Salt Lake City Temple Shortly after their arrival at Salt Lake City in 1847, Brigham Young, with cane in hand, consecrated this site for the construction of the church's temple. The plan of the Salt Lake City Temple first came as a vision to Brigham Young while he was still living in Illinois. Young later worked with church architect Truman O. Angell during the actual planning and building. Construction of the Temple began in 1853. For over 40 years (1853-93) teams of oxen dragged and hauled granite blocks from nearby quarries in the Wasatch Mountains until the six spired neo-Gothic Latter Day Saints Temple was completed at a cost of $4 million. The foundation alone required 7,478 tons of stone. Walls measure 9 feet thick at the base and taper to 6 feet on the second story. The highest of the 6 spires stands 210 feet, topped with a statue of the Angel Moroni. Moroni stands 12-1/2 feet high, covered in gold leaf

The Tabernacle seats 6,500 under one of the world's largest domed roofs without center supports. Pioneers labored from 1863 to 1867 to construct this unique dome-shaped building. Brigham Young wanted a meeting hall capable of holding thousands of people in an interior free of supports that would block vision and sound. His design, drawn up by bridge-builder Henry Grow, took the form of massive latticed wooden beams resting on 44 supports of red sandstone. Wooden pegs and rawhide strips hold the structure together. Because Utah lacked many of the building supplies familiar to the workers, they often had to make substitutions. The large organ pipes resemble metal, balcony pillars appear to be marble, and the benches look like oak, yet all are pine wood painted to simulate those materials. The tabernacle has earned fame both for the phenomenal acoustics of the smooth arched ceiling and the tabernacle organ, regarded as one of the finest ever created. From 700 pipes when constructed in 1867, the organ has grown to about 12,000 pipes, 5 manuals, and one pedal keyboard.

Assembly Hall 30 craftsmen built this smaller Gothic-revival structure in 1877-82, using granite left over from the temple construction. The truncated spires, reaching as high as 130 feet, once functioned as chimneys. Inside the hall, there is seating for 1,500 people and a choir of 100.