Why go
The grid explains addresses, but the landscape explains distance. Downtown streets run broadly north to south and east to west; the east-side foothills rise away from that simple pattern. Capitol Hill, the university area and the western neighborhoods each sit in a different part of the valley, so grouping nearby stops saves travel time.
The full story
Salt Lake City occupies the northeastern Salt Lake Valley. The Wasatch Range rises to the east, while the Oquirrh Mountains mark the valley's southwestern edge. The Great Salt Lake lies to the northwest beyond marshlands and mudflats; it is not a waterfront at the end of a downtown street. The valley floor was once beneath ancient Lake Bonneville, and old shorelines can still be seen on some foothill slopes. Within the city, the southeast corner of Temple Square sets the zero point for numbered addresses. Main Street and South Temple Street form the central axes. This helps with downtown directions, although streets become less regular near the East Bench as terrain takes over. Capitol Hill rises north of Temple Square. West-side neighborhoods such as Rose Park, Poplar Grove and Glendale add a different residential perspective to the central sightseeing district.
Useful to know
- Read a numbered address as a position relative to Temple Square's southeast corner.
- Treat a foothill destination as a separate trip from a short downtown walk.