Pioneer History Walking Tour
Pioneer History Walking Tour
Duration: 3 - 6 hours
Download PDF map and tour info
Highlights: Visitor Information Center, Deuel Pioneer Log Cabin, Museum of Church History & Art, Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, Salt Lake Temple, Pioneer Memorial Museum, Daughters of Utah Pioneers Historical Markers, Council Hall, White Memorial Chapel, Pioneer Memorial Monument/Brigham Young Grave site, Eagle Gate Monument, Beehive House, Lion House, Brigham Young Monument
1. Visitor Information Center
90 S. West Temple
Located inside the Salt Palace Convention Center, the Visitor Information Center is the ideal place to begin a visit to the Salt Lake area. Information Specialists are available to assist with lodging, sightseeing, current events, parking, and transportation questions.
2. Deuel Pioneer Log Cabin
35 N. West Temple
When the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847, they immediately began constructing simple homes in their new surroundings. Today, more than a century and a half later, only two of these original structures remain intact. One of them, the Deuel Pioneer Log Home, is on display and open to the public on West Temple Street across from Temple Square. The cabin was home to the William Henry Deuel family for less than two years following their arrival in the valley. Today it has been fully restored and furnished with authentic pioneer artifacts, including a cast-iron stove. It offers excellent insight into the lifestyle of the Mormon pioneers and others who settled parts of the American West.
3. Museum of Church History & Art
45 N. West Temple
The Church History Museum tells the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through educational exhibits and programs. The museum collects and displays Latter-day Saint art and artifacts from around the world in a way that offers an educational experience for the whole family.
4. Tabernacle on Temple Square
50 W. North Temple
Come see the home of the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Visit the dome shaped auditorium which is so acoustically sensitive that a pin dropped at the pulpit can be clearly heard at the back of the hall, 170 feet away. Listen to the symphony of sound from one of the world’s great musical instruments, a magnificent pipe organ with 11,623 pipes. Construction on the Tabernacle began in 1863 and ended in 1875. The exterior of the completed building is 150 feet wide, 250 feet long, and 80 feet high. This unique Tabernacle was a marvel of its time. Through the bridge-building technique of Henry Grow, the Tabernacle roof was able to span its 150-foot width without center supports–an amazing achievement in both engineering and acoustics. Meetings and concerts are still held in this historic building. The impressive Tabernacle organ was built by Joseph Harris Ridges. Suitable timber was brought by volunteers from the Parowan and Pine Valley Mountains, three hundred miles south of Salt Lake City. In later years the organ has been rebuilt, electrified, and enlarged to house its current 11,623 pipes.
5. Assembly Hall on Temple Square
50 W. North Temple
On the southwest corner of Temple Square is the Assembly Hall, a charming Gothic-style building with lovely stained-glass windows. This jewel of a building was constructed by Latter-day Saint pioneers in 1877. Today in this historic setting, the Temple Square Concert Series presents complimentary hour-long concerts featuring local and international artists every Friday and Saturday evening. Tickets are not required, but admittance is for those eight years of age and older. During the summer months (June through August), the Temple Square Concert Series presents Concerts in the Park held in the Brigham Young Historic Park on the southeast corner of State Street and Second Avenue. They begin at 8:00 P.M. during June and July and 7:30 P.M. during August. During the Christmas season, concerts are held Tuesday through Saturday with outstanding performers to delight audiences.
6. Salt Lake Temple
50 W. North Temple
Wander through Temple Square, a 10-acre refuge with magnificently landscaped grounds surrounding the Salt Lake Temple. Experienced representatives will take you on a complimentary tour of Temple Square (available in 40 languages), including the Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall, two visitors’ centers, and the beautiful flower gardens and statuary. Four days after entering the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, Brigham Young designated where the temple would be built, and on April 6, 1853, he laid the cornerstone of the temple foundation. That event marked the beginning of a long construction process. Many difficulties slowed the building of the temple. Granite was quarried in Little Cottonwood Canyon, 20 miles southeast of Temple Square, and transported to the site by teams of oxen. A single wagon-load required four days of travel to reach the temple site. Work on the temple stretched from years to decades until finally, 40 years after it was begun, the temple was completed and dedicated on April 6, 1893 by Wilford Woodruff, the fourth President of the Church. Today, Latter-day Saints continue to gather in temples throughout the world to worship and participate in religious ceremonies. There are no tours inside the temple.
7. Pioneer Memorial Museum
300 N. Main Street
The Pioneer Memorial Museum will be closed to the public beginning May 3, 2010 for interior and exterior renovation. The Pioneer Memorial Museum (also known as DUP Museum) houses the world’s largest collection of artifacts on pioneer history, including excellent displays about the lives of Brigham Young and Heber Kimball. Explore 6 floors of displays featuring a large collection of artifacts, manuscripts, and paintings. Upper floors feature exhibits of dolls, handwork, clocks, weaponry and art. The Carriage House, a separate structure reached by underground walkway, is home to a variety of transportation devices ranging from an original pioneer wagon to a mule-powered streetcar. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
While in the area you can head north a couple of block to tour the Historic Capitol Hill Ward. Located at 413 W. Capitol Street this beautiful chapel still stands, and is in full use, as a monument to the men and women who so lovingly worked to complete it.
8. Daughters of Utah Pioneers Historical Markers
The Daughters of Utah Pioneers maintain historical markers in numerous states and countries.
9. Council Hall
300 N. State Street
This impressive building has seen many changes in the 130-plus years since it was constructed. Once home to the Territorial Legislature and the seat of Salt Lake City government, Council Hall today is headquarters of the Utah Office of Tourism. A hybrid of Federal and Greek Revival styles, the hall was built of Utah sandstone, most of which was quarried in nearby Red Butte Canyon. The building was moved to its current location in 1968.
10. White Memorial Chapel
300 N. State Street
The White Memorial Chapel is a reproduction of an earlier chapel belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The original was constructed in 1883 and stood on the site for ninety years. The reproduction is in the original Gothic revival style and incorporates a number of artifacts from the original chapel: the steeple, cornerstone, leaded glass windows and frames, doors, benches, pulpit, and interior woodwork were all preserved from the 1973 demolition and became part of the new building. The White Chapel is now used for non-denominational weddings and private gatherings.
11. Pioneer Memorial Monument/ Brigham Young Gravesite
140 E. First Avenue
In a grassy plot near downtown Salt Lake City are the grave sites of Brigham Young and others, including Eliza R. Snow, pioneer poetess and early women’s leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. The centerpiece of this area is a monument honoring the 6,000 pioneers who lost their lives crossing the plains between 1847 and the advent of the railroad in 1869. This historic site is open daily to the public.
12. Eagle Gate Monument
Intersection of State Street and South Temple
The Eagle Gate, which spans State Street at South Temple, was erected in 1859 to mark the entrance to Brigham Young’s property at the mouth of City Creek Canyon. Replaced several times over the years, the present gate has a 76-foot span, topped by a 4,000-pound, bronze eagle, with a wingspan of 20 feet.
13. Beehive House
67 E. South Temple
Discover how Brigham Young and his family lived in the 1800s, during a free 30-minute tour of the Beehive House. Now a National Historic Landmark, this home has been beautifully restored with furnishings of the period. The Beehive House was built in 1854 and served as home to Brigham Young when he was President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and governor of the Utah Territory. Room by room, the story of family life in the 1800s unfolds. Rooms include the playroom, the family store, the fairy castle, and the gracious sitting room, where each evening the Young family sang and prayed together. A beehive, which is a symbol of industry, sits atop this charming home and reflects Brigham Young’s belief in a strong work ethic.
14. Lion House
63 E. South Temple
The Lion House is one of Salt Lake City’s most famous and enduring landmarks. A truly elegant mansion, the Lion House is decorated with countless antique pieces from a bygone era. Built in 1856 by Brigham Young, the home derives its name from the stone statue of the reclining lion over the front entrance. Once home to Young and his family, today the Lion House is open social center. It features a restaurant on the street level, The Lion House Pantry, with additional rooms for banquets and receptions.
15. Brigham Young Monument
Intersection of Main Street and South Temple
An impressive bronzed monument, just north of the intersection at Main and South Temple Streets, honors Church leader and pioneer colonizer Brigham Young, who led the first company of Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. This monument also pays tribute to the Utah Indians and fur trappers who preceded the Mormon settlers. The statue of President Brigham Young was first displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. It stood briefly on Temple Square and was then transferred to the intersection of Main and South Temple streets in 1897, where it stood until 1993, when it was moved north to its present location.