The Mormons: Early Urban Architects

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the design and establishment of Salt Lake City, Utah and places the Mormons' city plans into the broader context of mid-19th century city planning. The paper explains how, in many ways, Mormon cities can be seen as the first true "American cities," as the sprawl and suburbs that have come to characterize urban America actually have their origins in early Mormon cities.

Table of Contents
Early Mormon History
Joseph Smith and the Plat of the City of Zion
City of Zion and 19th Century American Cities
Brigham Young and the Establishment of Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City Comes into Its Own
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Salt Lake City today is one of the major urban centers of the Rocky Mountains. Home to universities, professional sports franchises, ski resorts, and soon, the Winter Olympic Games, Salt Lake has a distinctly cosmopolitan feel in the midst of the towering Wasatch Mountains. However, Salt Lake City is a relative newcomer to the American urban scene; indeed, Middlebury College was nearly half a century old before the settlers of the Great Salt Lake Valley had planted their first crops. Moreover, the scope of the city's functions and the nature of its inhabitants have changed radically. Founded by Mormons seeking an escape from the persecution they faced in the East, and as the Zion, or gathering place, for their growing religion, Salt Lake City grew into a distinctive grid pattern still used today. Based on certain tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, Joseph Smith, the first Mormon leader, designed a Mormon city to fulfill the religious, social, and economic needs of his followers."

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