Salt Lake City Apartment Reviews

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Salt Lake City Information

Plat of Salt Lake City, Utah, circa late 1860's.The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 at Promontory Summit linked Utah with the rest of the world. By January 1870, the transcontinental line was expanded south from Ogden to Salt Lake City, bringing to residents many manufactured goods that were previously difficult to obtain. The railroad also ended the era of pioneer migration to Utah by covered wagon and handcart.

The city was originally named Great Salt Lake City, but changed to Salt Lake City upon displacing Fillmore as the capital of Utah territory in 1856. The city became Utah's capital on January 4, 1896, when statehood was granted.

The U.S. Army was sent to the city in 1857 during the so-called "Utah War" to quell the practice of polygamy practiced by many city residents. These troops were soon replaced by a garrison at Fort Douglas on the eastern edge of the city in order to secure the route through Salt Lake during the American Civil War. During the 1880s when anti-Polygamy fervor reached its height, many government and LDS leaders were imprisoned for "co-habitation" at a territorial prison in Sugar House constructed especially for polygamists. The LDS Church's 1890 Manifesto renouncing polygamy ended the controversy and ensured statehood for Utah.

The city continued to grow during the 20th century, with urban sprawl setting in after World War II. Today, the city and its surrounding suburbs fill most of the Salt Lake Valley.

The 2002 Winter Olympics threw Salt Lake into a global spotlight beginning in 1998 with the 2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal. Accusations that millions of dollars had been spent on bribes of International Olympic Committee members surfaced. Despite all this, the games were a success, being one of the few to make a profit. The impact the Olympics had on the area can still be seen today, from the new freeways surrounding the city, to the Olympic torch memorial at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Salt Lake City has experienced tremendous change in the past few years. The 2000 census reported about 15% of the population to be Hispanic. In 1998 the city elected Jackie Biskupski (a Democrat), the first openly gay Utah state representative. Also, the city has received many refugees from countries around the world including Bosnia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Russia, with plans to resettle 1,000 Somali Bantus within the city.