Photo credit: “Downtown Salt Lake City’s Second Century Plan.” Salt Lake City: Downtown Planning Association Inc., 1962. including Martin Brixen, John Sugden, Wm. Rowe Smith, George Cannon Young and R. Lloyd Snedaker. The impact these architects had on Salt Lake and, more broadly, Utah is still felt today. This diverse group of business owners, church leaders, architects, urban planners, politicians and philanthropists joined forces to produce the Second Century Plan, which laid bare the issues facing Salt Lake City right away in the preface: “Downtown is the ‘heart’ of the Intermountain empire, of our state, our county, our city. It is the center of business, financial, retail, cultural and religious activities. “Salt Lake City is one of the few cities in America built originally from a plan, thus having a better basis for our Second Century growth than is found in most cities. As our downtown enters its Second Century, however, problems common to most large cities have appeared — lack of general guidelines for growth, transportation and parking problems, a loss of much of its attractiveness, and an overall decrease in its position as the heart of the rapidly growing metropolitan area.” The meat of the Second Century Plan started with a topic that was particularly hot at the time: transportation. I-15 was under construction and presented a new frontier in personal travel along the Wasatch Front. The vast streetcar network that was housed at Trolley Square had been replaced by buses. Meanwhile, “Circulation within the downtown [was] difficult, especially for the pedestrian. The strung-out nature of the hardcore and the extremely wide streets [made] it virtually impossible for people to get everywhere they [wanted] within the core without driving.” The implemented solutions to some of these transportation-related issues are still evident in the city today: using 500 and 600 South as one-way “bypass routes” to get cars across town rapidly, mid-block crossings and development, and overhaul of Main Street. Some were proposed but not realized, including a free 8-15 passenger bus that would circuit between the Capitol, Sears, Farmers’ Market and large multifamily downtown developments (although UTA’s “free fare zone” comes close in spirit). With a strategy in place for getting people into and around downtown, the Second Century Plan — led by AIA Utah members — proposed a series of construction projects for these people to enjoy and help spur an economic revival. The main projects outlined in the report included: • Main Street Improvements: Limit automobile traffic and give pedestrians the right-of-way to promote retail businesses along the sidewalk. Largely implemented. • State Street Improvements: Install covered mid-block crossings and tree-lined boulevards. Crossings were built, although the project of beautifying State Street is currently an urban priority. • Block Interior: Create interior pedestrian plazas to capitalize on Salt Lake City’s large blocks. Realized over time, such as Regent Street. • Convention/Cultural Center: Centered around the Salt Palace. • Visitor Center: Meant to be close to all of the tourist-oriented developments, including the Convention Center, Temple Square and hotels. • Art Museum and Gallery: Architectural rendering depicted a Lincoln Center inspired New Formalist museum at the head of 200 East (longtime parking lot, current location of Brigham Apartments). • Memory Grove Cultural Area: Extending Memory Grove along City Creek to State Street (currently City Creek Park). • Farmers’ Market: This was meant to be a covered indoor/outdoor market 21
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==