Salt Palace

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 Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah and is named after Utah's 11th Governor, Calvin L. Rampton. The name "Salt Palace" has been the name of two other buildings in that city.

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.

Arena

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. Construction was pushed by Salt Lake's bid committee for the 1972 Winter Olympics, Gen. Maxwell E. Rich, president of the Greater Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Calvin L. Rampton, and Salt Lake Tribune publisher John W. Gallivan.^[1] The Salt Palace was completed in 1969 at the cost of $17 million,^[1] the 10,725 seat^[1] arena, later expanded to 12,666 seats,^[2] 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 January 18, 1991, three teenagers were killed at an AC/DC concert at the Salt Palace. 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 for nearly twenty minutes, although the band stopped playing as soon as they discovered what had happened.^[3] Blame was pointed at several different groups, including the fans, the band, the security personnel, and the Salt Palace's festival seating arrangement.^[4] The families of the victims sued AC/DC, as well as other groups associated with the concert, in connection with the deaths, although eventually settled out of court.^[5]

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.

In honor of the "founding father" of Salt Lake's convention and tourism business, as well as Utah's proactive economic development efforts, the Salt Lake County Council 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.^[6]

Architecture

The Salt Palace Convention Center is an architectural wonder. The trusses that 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.

Notes

External links

• Official Salt Palace Web Site
• Utah State Historical Society