Salt Lake City Sights

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• Church History Museum, (just west of Temple Square), www.lds.org/churchhistory/museum/0,16059,3991-1-2101,00.html. M-F 9AM-9PM, Sa-Su, Holidays 10AM-7PM. This free museum has a permanent display that outlines the history of the LDS church from Joseph Smith until the arrival in Salt Lake City. There is also a rotating display of different LDS themed artwork. The church history portion takes about 30 minutes to walk through if you read the descriptions of the museum pieces. Free.

• Salt Lake City Main Library, 210 East 400 South, www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/index.jsp. M-Th 9AM-9PM, F-Sa 9AM-6PM, Su 1PM-5PM. One of Salt Lake City's newest and most architecturally unique buildings. It includes unique uses of natural light, plenty of reading space and a rooftop garden. Free.

• Salt Lake City and County Building, 451 South State Street. Seat of city government since 1894. The building's central clock tower is topped with a statue of Columbia and rises 256 feet (78 m) from the ground. The building has four floors and over one hundred rooms. Onyx lines the hall of each lavishly decorated floor. The third floor houses the mayor's office in the south wing and the city council chamber in the north. Portraits of the city's past mayors up to and including Deedee Corradini line the corridor between these offices. The fourth floor features an exhibit commemorating the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.

• This Is The Place Heritage Park, 2601 East Sunnyside Avenue, ☎ +1 801 582-1847, thisistheplace.org. Daily 9AM-5PM. Marking a spot overlooking the valley, where city founder Brigham Young supposedly said "This is the Place," the park features a monument to the Mormon settlers of Utah as well as a recreation of a frontier Utah village with several historical buildings which were moved to the site. Demonstrations of frontier life frequently take place here. $5 adults, $3 children/seniors.

• Sugar House is one of Salt Lake City's oldest and most interesting neighborhoods. The center of the Sugar House neighborhood is located at 1100 East and 2100 South. In recent years it has become the home of hip shops and the fashionable youth of the city. Sugar House is a mixed-use commercial/residential region located approximately between State Street on the west, 2100 East on the east, 1700 South on the north and 2100 South on the south (2700 South east of 500 East). The area around between 1300 East and 1100 East, and down 1100 East for a short while was recently the location of many of the fashionable shops and youth culture of the region, however because of a major renovation project, many of the unique businesses have relocated to different parts of the city or have been forced to close.

• Grand America Hotel, 555 South Main Street, (801) 258-6000, www.grandamerica.com. A five star hotel on the south end of downtown. Often rated among the best hotels in america it is certainly one of the most beautiful city hotels in the world. Almost no cost was spared on building the hotel, which was built to be "the best hotel ever built". The hotel features some of the most expensive chandeliers and mirrors in the Western Hemisphere. The hotel has a million dollar mirror.

• Hogle Zoo, www.hoglezoo.org. The local zoo sits at the mouth of Emigration Canyon on the east side of the city. On 42 acres, the zoo's two largest exhibits include elephants and primates.

• Clark Planetarium, in the Gateway Mall, www.clarkplanetarium.org. Has free exhibits, and for a fee you can watch IMAX movies and laser shows.

• University of Utah, www.utah.edu.
  • Utah Museum of Natural History, umnh.utah.edu. On the University of Utah campus. Well known for its Jurassic-era dinosaur skeletons.
  • Utah Museum of Fine Art, umfa.utah.edu. The museum's standing collections are organized by world cultures. It is also the home of touring art exhibitions.
  • Rice Eccles Olympic Stadium, 451 South 1400 East, www.stadium.utah.edu. The site of the 2002 Winter Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The torch is on the south end of the stadium. Currently home to the University of Utah football team.