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Originally Posted by SLC Projects
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What an AWESOME site! Thanks for sharing!! I've honestly been on for hours now looking all over SLC. Downtown sadly lost many great structures just so ugly parking lots could be built over the years
I had no idea how many houses were demolished just for I-15 to be built. I guess I always thought that that land west of Downtown/train tracks, was undeveloped in 1958 but after looking at this site I can see that's not the case. Same for the east segment of I-80.
There were so many neighborhoods torn up for 1-15 and It makes you wonder why they chose the route they did in western SLC? I would've tried to put I-15 as close as I could to the Union Pacific building as possible.
I also wonder why I-15 and I-80 are elevated freeways or " Eastside Westside barricades" in the valley. Anyone know why UDOT decided to use a bunch of fill and build the freeway up on high land? It seems like much of I-15 and I-80 through the Salt Lake Valley is raised above ground like a wall spliting the valley in half. Any idea why this was done? You'd think it would be easier to build a freeway on the flat land that was already there... Then looking at the I-215 eastern base, it looks like the land was flat there in the beginning but eventually carved out for a sunken freeway.
This site does a great job showcasing what the valley looked like for us folks who weren't alive for much of the development of SLC. After looking at the multiple years on the site its easy to see how the SLC proper's population declined. Sprawl took over the Valley like wildfire. Suburban subdivisions popped up all over the county! No wonder SLC proper has never reached more than its 1960 pop. of 189,454. There are so many dang suburbs in Salt Lake county that they steal much of the population away from the City. I mean SLC's population was doubling,sometimes quadrupling every 10 years! Then came the 60's and all the Sprawl, and we've had a rollercoaster population ever since. Its like SLC had a mini Detroit situation on its hands with all the urban decay.
It bothers me that there is a judgement made by retailers and others who don't know our unique population ordeal, and look at the city propers population and say " this place is too small for us" when in fact 2.5 million live in the Urban area and over 1 million live in the county alone. Salt Lake City's numbers are very deceiving to the unfamiliar.
Luckily, the mid 90's-early 2000's put a dent in the sprawl (in addition to the valley running low on development space), and SLC'S population has risen from its grave. 50 or so years later, here we are in 2012 and we are yet to reach the highest population SLC's ever had (circa 1960) but we are real close!
Thank goodness for Downtown housing development, CCC, Trax, renewed intrest in Downtown living, and the economy, people are being lured back to the city. I think SLC's finally fixed their flat tire and we can begin going freeway speeds again!
Another thing I noticed was that today the viaducts into SLC have been shortened down to where they were in 1958. I had no idea they stretched into town as much as they did in the 70's. Just look at 4th south, that viaduct went all the way to 3rd west, right next to pioneer park. Its a good thing thats changed today. I think that would've only added to the shady business and drug deals happening in the park. I would love to see ground level pictures of the 4th, 5th, and 6th South neighborhoods in the 1970's if anyone has any?
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