Salt Palace
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| Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center | |
|---|---|
| Location | 100 W South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101 |
| Opened | 1969 |
| Demolished | 1994 |
| Owner | Salt Lake County |
| Construction cost | $93 million USD |
| Tenants | Utah Jazz (NBA) (1979-1991) Utah Stars (ABA) (1970-1975) Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) (1969-1991) |
| Capacity | |
This article describes a large building in Utah. A one-story building made of locally mined salt blocks in Grand Saline, Texas is also called the "Salt Palace".
The Salt Palace or the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah but has been the name of two other buildings in that city.
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[edit] History
The historic Salt Palace was built in 1899 under the direction of Richard Kletting, architect, and owned by John Franklin Heath. It stood on 900 south, between State Street and Main Street in Salt Lake City. The original Salt Palace contained a dance hall, theatre, and racing track. It was destroyed by fire on August 29, 1910, and was replaced by Majestic Hall.
The new Salt Palace was an indoor arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was built on land that was once the "Little Tokyo" area of the city. Originally completed in 1969 the arena was the home of the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1975 the Salt Lake Golden Eagles hockey club from 1969 to 1991 and the Utah Jazz from 1979 to 1991. In 1994, three years after the Jazz moved into the Delta Center, the Salt Palace was demolished. A convention center of the same name stands on the site today.
On Jan. 18, 1991, three teenagers were killed at an AC/DC concert in the old Salt Palace. Those three were Jimmie Boyd, Curtis Child, and Elizabeth Glausi. The concert was general admission only and when AC/DC took the stage, the crowd rushed towards the stage, trampling the three. Security tried to get the band to stop playing but failed to tell the band that people were being trampled, so the band played on. Several minutes had passed before security personal were able to get to the victims. Many Utahns feel the band is to blame for this incident while others blame the promoters for over-crowding the stadium.
In honor of the "founding father" of Salt Lake's convention and tourism business, as well as Utah's proactive economic development efforts, the Utah State Legislature overwhelmingly voted to officially change the name of the Salt Palace Convention Center to the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in the fall of 2007.
[edit] Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center
The current convention center boasts 515,000 square feet (47,800 m²) of exhibit space, 164,000 square feet (15,200 m²) of meeting space including a 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m²) grand ballroom, and 66 meeting rooms. The Salt Palace served as the Olympic Media Center during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
[edit] Architecture
The Salt Palace Convention Center is an architectural wonder. The trusses which support the roof were designed by one of the world's foremost roller-coaster designers, Kent Seko. Many of the convention center’s most striking visual features were obtained through the creative use of HSS (Hollow Structural Steel) in exposed applications by its architect, Atlanta-based Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates working with a local firm, Gillies Stransky Brems Smith Architects.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Louisiana Superdome |
Home of the Utah Jazz 1979 – 1991 |
Succeeded by Delta Center |
| Preceded by Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena |
Home of the Utah Stars 1970 – 1975 |
Succeeded by defunct |
