Capitol Hill (Salt Lake City)

Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City gets its name from the Utah State Capitol prominently overlooking downtown. In addition, Capitol Hill can be considered a neighborhood of Salt Lake City.

Contents

Geography

The hill slopes down to the south so that it handsomely overlooks the Salt Lake City downtown area. The Utah State Capitol, which the hill is now named after, was built from 1912 to 1916 in the prime spot to overlook the city. State Street, a road which runs through the whole state as highway 89, leads up Capitol Hill toward the Capitol which can be seen from miles away as the symbolic end of State Street. Main Street also climbs Capitol Hill one block to the west. The entire Salt Lake City metro area is impressively seen from Capitol Hill, and the Great Salt Lake glistens miles to the west.

The hill is home to many historic buildings. The west sloping side of the hill is called "Marmalade Hill", since the streets are named after various fruits that are often used in making marmalade. It is renowned as a uniquely diverse neighborhood. The east slope descends sharply into City Creek Canyon. Over the small canyon is another Salt Lake City neighborhood called "the Avenues". Above and to the north of the Capitol building is the Wasatch Springs area named after nearby natural hot springs. The sloping south face of Capitol Hill is sometimes called "Heber's Bench" after Heber C. Kimball, former resident and Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Marmalade District's borders are generally considered to be a small triangular area bounded by 300 North on the south, 500 North on the north, Center Street on the east, and Quince Street, the district's "Main Street", on the west. [1]

Demographics

Marmalade District

The western slope of Capitol Hill is called the "Marmalade District" after marmalade fruit jam because of the streets named after fruit trees imported and planted there such as apricot, quince and almond. Most of the original streets of Salt Lake City are aligned to and named after cardinal directions, and exceptions to this rule are often named. The Avenues are one example. The irregular, narrow, and steep roads of the Marmalade District are another.

The district is often considered among the most architecturally diverse in Utah residential neighborhoods. Early examples of Utah vernacular architecture sit alongside diverse turn-of-the-century styles such as a Russian-influenced LDS meeting house, Gothic revival homes, Victorian mansions, and eclectic houses of various combinations of adobe, brick, and carpentry.

Notable buildings and sites on Capitol Hill

In the Marmalade District

Also of note

Capitol Hill Today

Events

Throughout the summer, the Capitol Preservation Board offers "Movie Under the Stars." This is an outdoor movie series that shows different types of movies. This summer, there has been Kung Fu Panda, My Big, Fat, Greek Wedding, Shrek the Third and Ant Bully. The last two are Iron Man on August 12, and Bedtime Stories on August 29. The movies are shown on a blowup screen on the south lawn of Capitol Building.

Also, during the summer, the Capitol Preservation Board hosts Capitol Discovery Day. It is a day to come up and see the Capitol Building and enjoy fun games and activities. Throughout the day there is bands playing and choirs singing inside. This year, it is on August 29 and starts at noon and ends with "Movie Under the Stars."

Crime

The Capitol Hill District has a low crime rate and is patrolled often by the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The future

Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council

Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council website

Famous people from Capitol Hill

References

  1. ^ Utah.com. "Utah .". utah.com. Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. http://www.utah.com/culture/marmalade_district.htm. 

External links