Latinos/as and the West Side: Part Two

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Twenty-NineBy Brad Westwood, Cassandra Clark and Catherine Aviles The above photo is of four Mexican railroad workers, circa 1915-1920, presumably somewhere in Utah. Photo courtesy of the Helen Z. Papanikolas People of Utah (1976) Collection, Utah State Historical Society. Latinos/as who lived in twentieth century Utah faced discrimination and unstable employment options that negatively …

Brokers of Human Capital

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Nineteenby Brad Westwood Many early American immigrants first heard about Utah and the American West from steamship and labor agents whose work was similar to modern-day employment recruiters. The steamship and labor agents attracted laborers by offering to pay for their transportation costs. In return, laborers signed a contract that required that they pay …

The Progressive Era, the Making of a Proper Park, and the “Stockades”

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Fifteenby Brad Westwood and Cassandra Clark The Progressive Era spanned from 1890 to roughly 1920 and was a time of reform and social activism. Progressives were mainly white, Protestant, and members of a growing “new” middle class, who earned their wealth as a result of America’s rapid post-Civil War industrialization. By the end of the …

Continued Transformations: Industrialization and Salt Lake City’s West Side

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Thirteenby Brad Westwood Salt Lake’s west side underwent massive and constant changes during the last quarter of the nineteenth century.  What began as a fort where Mormon pioneers sought shelter, transformed into a transportation, industrial and manufacturing hub, and by the late nineteenth century experienced dramatic social and environmental consequences as a result. For …

Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Developments

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Twelveby Brad Westwood Salt Lake’s west side was the location of businesses, homes, tenement houses, hotels, transportation hubs, government buildings, schools, and early non-Mormon (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hereafter LDS Church) religious communities. The Salt Lake County Courthouse was built a block north of the park on 156 …

The Pioneer Park Neighborhood’s Warehouse District and a Visit From the Liberty Bell

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Elevenby Brad Westwood The Pioneer Park neighborhood underwent several changes related to post-Civil War industrialization. In the late nineteenth century, the Pioneer Park neighborhood became Salt Lake City’s first warehouse district. Today there are several warehouses that date back to the 1890s. For example, the W.S. Henderson Block spans from 379 West and 200 …

Salt Lake as an Early Industrial City and the Beginning of the Relief Society Halls

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Tenby Brad Westwood Not long after the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter LDS Church, also known as Mormons) entered the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles instructed Henry G. Sherwood and Orson Pratt, to design an ideal agrarian-based city. Young’s …

Overland Travelers, Early Visitors, and the Coming of the Railroad

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Eightby Brad Westwood Utah was never entirely isolated from the United States, Latin America, and the Pacific World. From the 1800s onward, the Great Basin was a point of intersection where people from many cultures interacted with one another in several ways. One of the most well-known events that drew people west of the …

Proposed Uses of the Park and Urban Renewal

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Sixteenby Brad Westwood Throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century, businesses and government entities targeted Pioneer Park for what they labeled as “public good” purposes. The park, of course, had many identities. It was the site of several public work projects, and it stood as a memorial to Utah’s Mormon (members of The …

The Pioneer Park Neighborhood’s Boundaries

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post TwoBy Brad Westwood This post clarifies the traditional boundaries of Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Park neighborhood or, the original west side. It also defines terms used throughout the series when discussing geographic locations.  When we discuss Salt Lake City’s original west side, we refer to a specific geographic area. The boundaries are as follows: …

Economic Immigrant Communities’ Impact on Salt Lake City

Salt Lake West Side Stories: Post Twenty-OneBy Brad Westwood The arrival of later economic immigrants, from across the United States and around the globe, to Utah and the Pioneer Park neighborhood, created conflicts with the Mormon Church’s (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormons) all-encompassing societal ideal. This post was updated in February 2023. Salt …