Place · United States
The history of Salt Lake City, one place at a time
Assembled from 3 dug tiles · 26 sourced records · last reviewed 12 September 2026
Salt Lake City's ground holds a war ended by a handshake, a fortune's ambition stalled mid-build, and a killing on the Jordan River decades before any street existed. From an 1857 mansion to an abandoned 1980s megaproject, the record here moves between peace-making, unfinished grandeur and old violence.
These are the individual spots Strata has dug in Salt Lake City — not a guide to the town, but a record of what happened on particular ground.
Digs in Salt Lake City
The towers that never got their steel above the groundA billionaire's 26-acre dream stalled thirty paces from where you stand. Salt Lake Hardware Building
1823–2024 The mansion where Utah made peace with the army sent to crush it
A short walk from where you stand, a wood-and-brick house once hosted the meeting that ended a war without a shot. Devereaux House
1857–2024 The trap on the Jordan River
Fifteen men died here decades before any street had a name. 9661 South 2810 West
1877–1994
Salt Lake City in layers
Triad Center, Salt Lake City
Planned as a sprawling complex that would have included Utah's tallest buildings, Triad Center was canceled after only two phases and now houses BYU-Pathway Worldwide and Ensign College. Wikipedia: Triad Center
Salt Lake City
William Jennings, mayor of Salt Lake City from 1882 to 1885 and the man who enlarged the Devereaux House, died in the city in 1886. Wikidata / Wikipedia: William Jennings (mayor)
Block 49, Salt Lake City
The valley's first burials, beginning eighteen days after the 1847 pioneer arrival, filled a small cemetery on Block 49 that was built over and forgotten until construction workers found it again in 1986. University of Utah Press: At Rest in Zion
Union Square, Salt Lake City
Set aside as a public square in the original 1847 survey of Salt Lake City, the block was used through the 1850s as a campground for newly arrived Mormon pioneers before becoming home to the University of Utah and West High School. Wikipedia: Union Square (Salt Lake City)
95 meters south
The Devereaux House, built in 1857 for William Staines and later expanded by mayor William Jennings, became a social center that hosted Brigham Young and other prominent visitors. Wikipedia
Devereaux House, Salt Lake City
Built in 1857 for William Staines and later expanded by mayor William Jennings, the Devereaux House became the social center of Salt Lake City, hosting distinguished visitors, with Brigham Young's son Joseph Angell Young briefly its owner. Wikipedia: Devereaux House (Salt Lake City)
Salt Lake City Cemetery, plot D-7-1
Between 1863 and 1867 at least 80 indigent or unidentified people were laid in blankets or cheap coffins in plot D-7-1 of Salt Lake City Cemetery, with no markers to say exactly where. Meridian Magazine: Lest We Forget
near this spot
Thomas Coleman, a Black man formerly enslaved in Salt Lake City, was found beaten and with his throat cut about 200 meters from here on December 11, 1866. Wikipedia
Salt Lake City, roughly half a kilometer south-southwest
Thomas Coleman, a Black man formerly enslaved by Mormons, was bludgeoned and had his throat cut in a 1866 lynching south-southwest of here. Wikipedia: Murder of Thomas Coleman
Salt Lake City
Brigham Young, the LDS Church president who directed the 1847 settlement of the Salt Lake Valley and served as Utah's first territorial governor, died in the city in 1877. Wikidata
Deseret Hospital, Salt Lake City
Founded in 1882 by the LDS Relief Society, Deseret Hospital gave pioneer women doctors including Romania B. Pratt, Ellis Reynolds Shipp, and Martha Hughes Cannon a place to practice medicine before it closed in 1893 for lack of money. Wikipedia: Deseret Hospital
State Street and 100 South, Salt Lake City
William Harvey, a 35-year-old Black army veteran, was hanged by a mob at State Street and 100 South after being accused of killing the city's police chief. Wikipedia: Lynching of William Harvey
161 meters away
The Salt Lake Stake Academy, founded in 1886, grew over more than a century into Ensign College, run by the LDS Church a short walk from here. Wikipedia
Church University, Salt Lake City
Church University, meant to be the flagship of the LDS education system, opened in Salt Lake City in 1893 but closed after just a few years. Wikipedia: Church University (Salt Lake City)
Salt Lake City
Karl G. Maeser, the Utah educator who shaped Brigham Young Academy into what became Brigham Young University, died in Salt Lake City in 1901. Wikidata
214 meters southwest
Built in 1908-09 on the edge of downtown, the Union Pacific Depot served the city's railroad era before being repurposed in 2024 as the Asher Adams hotel. Wikipedia
Salt Lake City Union Pacific Depot
Built in 1908-09 during the peak of American railroad travel, the Union Pacific Depot was reborn in 2024 as the lobby and restaurants of the Asher Adams hotel. Wikipedia: Salt Lake City Union Pacific Depot
155 N 400 West, Salt Lake City
Built in 1909 as a hardware warehouse, the building was converted to offices for Albertsons in 1996 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Wikipedia: Salt Lake Hardware Building
Salt Lake City
Joe Hill, the Swedish-American songwriter and Industrial Workers of the World organizer, was executed by firing squad in Salt Lake City in 1915 after a controversial murder conviction. Wikidata
Salt Lake City
Simon Bamberger, elected Utah's governor in 1916 and the first Jewish governor of any U.S. state, died in Salt Lake City in 1926. Wikidata
South Jordan, Utah, roughly 1.5 km north-northeast
In dense fog on December 1, 1938, a freight train called The Flying Ute struck a school bus at a South Jordan rail crossing, killing 23 students and the driver. Wikipedia
at this location
Planned in the 1980s as a sprawling complex meant to include Utah's tallest towers, the Triad Center was built out to only two of its intended phases before the project was abandoned. Wikipedia
on this parcel
County records show the commercial building on this parcel, spanning more than two acres, went up in 1983. Utah county assessor via UGRC parcel layer
Delta Center, Salt Lake City
Opened in 1991, the arena now called Delta Center seats over 18,000 for basketball and has hosted the Utah Jazz and, later, the Utah Mammoth. Wikipedia: Delta Center
Questions about Salt Lake City
What is Salt Lake City known for historically?
Among the recorded ground here, Salt Lake City is known for the Devereaux House, built in 1857, where Brigham Young and territorial governor Alfred Cumming met in 1858 to end the standoff between federal troops and Mormon settlers without a battle.
What happened at Devereaux House?
Devereaux House was built in 1857 for William Staines and hosted the 1858 meeting between Brigham Young and Alfred Cumming that ended the military standoff peacefully. It was later owned by millionaire William Jennings, survived a fire in 1979, and was restored in the early 1980s.
What was the Triad Center and why did it stall?
The Triad Center was a 1982 megaproject near the Salt Lake Hardware Building meant to bring towers, hotels and an ice rink to 26 acres of ground. It was abandoned after just two phases, leaving its ambitions unfinished a block from the 1909 hardware warehouse.
What happened near 9661 South 2810 West in South Jordan?
In October 1824, fifteen men from Étienne Provost's fur-trading party were killed in an ambush along the Jordan River on this ground. Provost himself escaped, and the site remained unsettled for another 35 years until farmers arrived in 1859.
What is the Salt Lake Hardware Building used for now?
Built in 1909 as a hardware warehouse at 155 N 400 West, the building was converted to offices for Albertsons in 1996 and now stands on the National Register of Historic Places.