Fun fact actually the streets he is walking on are narrower than they were in the past. Because due to the pollution from cars in the 1970s the federal government required the roads to be narrower to slow down cars. So as a result there are actually huge sidewalks by the street, which were part of the street originally. This was done originally to limit car speed, but now it gives room for bike and pedestrians so it's actually still more walkable than most, but still a bit too car centric especially State Street which is a Stroad.
@@Tindog81476Stroads and depressing concrete jungles. 💀 Even stores and shops look like they want you out asap. Like you’re not allowed to be outside, no benches(god forbid an unhoused person rests) for people with leg injuries to take a break. Just a societal failure from all angles. We cater to the car industry over everything. 🤡
as a mormon floridian, when I visited Utah as 17 year old (first I left the state of FL) it was by far the most walkable city I had ever been too. Kinda crazy to think about now, but it was surprisingly nice to walk around form what I remember.@@Tindog81476
In the past there was a decent trolley system on those wide downtown streets, but they were removed around the same time other systems around the country were. The wide streets have since proved beneficial to light rail installation, and not much street widening is required to put a line thru.
I don't think this was mentioned, but the blocks in SLC are 1/8 mile on each side, making them a perfect 10 acres. Living here, that makes it somewhat easier to quickly estimate distances and even lot sizes. If you are jogging, each lap around a full block is 1/2 mile.
@@GordonChil 1 Sq mile is 640 acres, and one eighth of a square mile is 80 acres, yes. But a square block that is 1/8 mile on each side is 1/64th of a square mile: 10 acres. In other words, it takes 8x8=64 such blocks to fill a square mile.
Utah native here, just wanted to say that this video was awesome! I learned some new things and I appreciated how unbiased and factual it felt! Nice job!
Utah resident here. Another thing is that this urban planning mindset did not just apply to Salt Lake City, but a variety of settlements that the Latter Day Saints set up across the Intermountain West. Provo, Ogden, Manti, Logan, St. George. Each have a temple built at the center and base their street names off of this. (Provo had a tabernacle that had an unfortunate fire break out, it was then rededicated as a temple). Wonderful video! Thoroughly impressed! 🙏🏻
I went to BYU, then lived in Orem when we got married. It was during this time that GPS navigation was just starting to become a thing, and I was always a little sad that, because of the layout of the cities I spent my time in, I never would need one. Pretty easy to know where to go when you just need to get to 4th South 312 East or whatever
Ogden is a bit of an outlier in that list. The city grew out of Fort Buenaventura and then the railroads. The Ogden temple wasn’t built until the late 1960’s.
It also extends to planning where the cities are! Even though they are all kinda squished together along the wasatch front, a drive down through central Utah along the highway makes it clear each city was purposefully placed along that route about one day's journey on horse or wagon away from each other. Lots of intentionality!
As an SLC native I actually learned a few things, didn’t know the horse carriage being able to make a U turn thing was a myth. Very well made video and underrated channel!
@@nicholasgermer5240I can’t imagine being such a victim wrapped in narcissism that someone like you can’t just enjoy a history video without letting everyone know about your opinion about the Church. The victimhood is strong with many Ex-Mormons.
Amazing video. I'm a transplant to SLC and have been for more than a few years. I'm moving back out soon, likely forever, and I think that the thing I will miss most about the city is its grid, its so unique to have such a perfectly sorted city, and it has made so many years of my life so much easier to be able to use the perfect grid. I believe that many people cant truly comprehend how much easier it can make travel to know exactly how far everything is from you at all times, and what direction anything is given its address, and knowing what streets you will take to get to anything, even if you have never been somewhere. The best I can do to explain it is telling people that its like finding people in any game by their coordinates; if someone tells you their coordinates in minecraft, you can easily point yourself towards them and just go until you get to them, discovering or even generating for the first time all the land in between.
This is true, but don't oversell it. Once you know the address you know where it is, but outside of the center of the city anyway that doesn't always translate into knowing how to get there. Maybe Salt Lake City is better about this - I've spent much more time in other Utah grid cities - but I've more than once found myself circling where I knew the address had to be but still having a hard time figuring out how to get there.
@@hkpew I’m an Utah native, I work doing GIS for the government of a county in northern Utah (not Salt Lake). I know that sometimes addresses be out of order or flat out in the wrong place in some one-off cases. This is especially the case in counties that are not Salt Lake county. Salt Lake county has one grid system for the whole county, but most others have multiple grids that butt up or overlap each other that cover 1-2 cities. Where it gets tricky is when the grids overlap or when there are old addresses that were made by folks who didn’t properly plan it out and now retain the address for the sake of historical consistency, and sometimes it’s just plain not wanting to change their address because it’s the one their family has had for generations. The center of each grid is different, so it’s hard (for me at least) to recognize where the center is in relation to me and also when I cross into a new grid. In my experience, getting around Salt Lake county is very intuitive-with some exceptions, but other counties are harder.
This is amazing. I work at the Salt Lake County Recorders and I am in love with everything “map.” I wish you had swung by our office so we could show you all sorts of Salt Lake City maps! But this was so well done! I’d love to show it to new employees for training purposes!
I did my thesis on Mormon community-building, so I can be a bit persnickety about how people talk about it, so it’s great to see such a well-put-together video for general audiences on the subject! I’ll definitely be sharing this around!
@alextrickier4613 I live in a grid city, traveling to non-grid cities is seriously frustrating. I’m also interested in reading your thesis if you care to share.
I don,t have any problem with any family concept…but I fear they won,t like my concept,,,,how is the acceptance of LGBTs there! What about a pack of women building a family….that might get some comments, hmm?
Very refreshing to watch an urban planning video in the US that isn’t just snarky complaining about transit, highways, cars and the suburbs. 19th century city planning is also very interesting too, it gives a lot of context to how cities are today.
@@DanielsimsSteinerHey Daniel, this videos are great, would love to see you outside the US as well! Can I ask where do you get the maps from? They look so coean
Thanks for this video. I have family in Salt Lake City, so I have visited a lot. One thing you didn’t talk about was how easy it is to find your way around. Not only is it based on a grid, with all the streets numbered from Temple Square, even named streets are also given the number they would have had if they were a numbered street. I never get lost there.
Must be easier when you grow up there. Living there for almost a year, the way streets and addresses have their naming convention was almost always complete gibberish to me. As they say, you either love it or you hate it.
@@SpudSpudoniit’s a Cartesian coordinate system where positive x is north, negative x is south, positive y is east and negative y is west. It only gets confusing when new developers throw in curved streets that are just named.
@@rebeccawebster646 Agree to disagree. The further you get out of downtown the harder it is to navigate and understand how to get around naturally, especially on the highways.
@@SpudSpudoni i believe that some of the perception of it being gibberish is you convincing yourself of it. I'm not originally from SLC, but i've spent a decent amount of time in SLC after my formative years, the amount of distance to the origin point of the grid doesnt factor in, even at 4000+ south someone can just tell me their address and i know their exact location, i know what roads i have to get on, and where i have to turn, even when ive never been there before at all.
@@lavantant2731 Idk, having someone tell me that their address is on "Brook Street" is much easier to google when spoken, versus hearing someone say they live on "3576 W 1765 S". I'm not a computer who can tell where every single road will lead to within the surrounding city and neighborhoods of Salt Lake City, but maybe mormons are programmed more for it.
Maybe they aren't as nice about it because the Mormon church has done scummy and deplorable actions, including S/A hush funds and religious based law making hmmm
I'm not LDS. The LDS church remains to have a huge influence in Salt Lake City and especially everywhere outside of the city in the state of Utah. They're a beautiful people and it is a beautiful city and state.
For real. I don't understand why they get such a bad rap. I'm a staunch atheist and got along swimmingly with all the LDS folks I met when I lived in SLC. More than any other religious group I've ever brushed shoulders with, they have an immaculate sense of self-awareness. And on the flip side, religious super majorities also give rise to interesting counter cultures. That city really is kind of the best of both worlds.
@@blakedegraw7958 I don’t think it’s the members that people take issue with, it’s the lack of transparency by the leadership which leads to members not having informed consent in their life choices. The people are lovely and so community and service oriented which is definitely admirable.
Long time subscriber and Utahn here, thank you for your outstanding journalism. I never knew about that 900 south boundary, so I learned something new!
Thank you for making a real effort to understand the history of Salt Lake City! Not a lot of people do. I've seen many a bad take over the years. (I've lost track of how many times I've heard the myth about the streets being wide to make it easy to turn wagons around.)
Wide streets as planned fire breaks is genius, but I would think it would also be helpful to have smaller blocks. The less stuff on a block the less stuff at risk in case of a fire.
For such a new channel this is really high quality work man. Very well done. I don’t typically watch these kinds of videos but being that I live in Utah, I had to see an outsiders perspective on it. Very well put together.
As a fellow geography nerd and map-enthusiast I recently found your channel and I love these videos! Only in the US you could do something that became the Salt Lake City of today! Keep up the great work!
Awesome video! One correction to the meeting of the transcontinental railroad. It took place at Promontory Summit. Promontory Point is the end of the peninsula jutting out into the lake.
One interesting thing not mentioned in the video is that each city block housed 8 families, each on 1 acre lots. Each block became a micro community unto itself, much like modern neighborhoods. But these families all knew, and relied on each other. This also ties in to how LDS congregations are designated. They are organized by geographical location. These congregations are called Wards, and are presided over by a volunteer Bishop. Several wards make up what’s called a Stake, which is presided over by a Stake President. Everything the LDS church does is done in order, as you have brilliantly illustrated in this video. Thank you!
Great video as always. One small correction. You mention a new “language”. Early LDS pioneers weren’t actually creating a new language, just a new alphabet (Deseret) that they envisioned would be used to write English (or any other language for that matter).
I know this is just a small detail I’m pointing out but as someone who was born into the LDS church and now lives in Utah, thank you for calling us the saints instead of the Mormons, considering we don’t even like being called that anymore. It’s just a small detail I know but being bullied for being LDS, I really appreciate the respect and unbiased opinions towards us and our history.
Hi, greetings from San Antonio, TX. I saw video, so cool. At 54 don't remember history very much. I loved this information. Talk about illiterate on my part for not doing more research on our country. What I've learned about Jesus. Freedom isn't free. God bless you and God bless Daniel Steiner
This was an EXCELLENT explanation of the city I have called home for most of the past 22 years! I have often tried to explain how easy it is to navigate the entire State of Utah if you understand how streets are named.... it amazes me how many people find it confusing
As an active Latter-Day Saint that has visited Utah many times I really liked what you did with this video. You mentioned religious symbolism in a neutral way and talked about my faith from a respectful secular standpoint. I learned a good bit and enjoyed the video. It was well made. Good job! There are two comments I want to make. I wish you'd mentioned that Brigham Young was leading the saints across the nation mostly to flee persecution. Joseph Smith was murdered and federal and state governments had failed to protect the Saints from mistreatment and massacre. The second thing, They weren't trying to create new language. The Deseret alphabet was simply an alphabet to help immigrants learn English.
Lets not kid ourselves and say the Mormon’s only motivation to move was because of “persecution” as much as this myth has been propagated, it’s just simply untrue. The LDS fled state after state because the consequences of their actions kept catching up to them. In particular the consequences of Joseph Smith’s actions. While yes, there were those out there that genuinely had an unjust hatred of Smith and his followers, most of the outrage came from unacceptable behavior from Joseph Smith and his church. I mean the LDS church was pushed out of Nauvoo (a city the Illinois government let them have) after Joseph Smith and his militia illegally stormed a local newspaper printing press and burned it to the ground because the paper publicized critiques of Smith and his church. Smith committed countless crimes and regularly harassed and provoked communities near his settlers every time they moved states. This is the primary reason the LDS and their followers fled. Brigham was as or more confrontational of a person as Smith was, and knew that with the (justified) reputation of behaving badly the Mormon’s had got, as well as the bad standing with the federal government, their only chance was to literally flee the country. (Hence why they chose Mexican territory to settle on) Brigham wanted to make his own laws and government to cater specifically to the church, so they could avoid being prosecuted or pushed out for their crimes once again. Persecution towards mormons was rarely from unjustified hatred.
@@tuckermiller9137 It might have been somewhat justified, but it still was persecution. Either way they were basically forced out to Utah (or at least towards the west) after making people upset in Missouri and Illinois. Also in Missouri in particular the governor literally made an extermination order that allowed people to legally kill Mormons (which seems pretty dang unconstitutional but nobody really contested it at the time). Illinois was kinda a different story though, the persecution wasnt from goverment, just from people they'd made angry.
This “Saint” thing is really forced and only present on the internet. Mormons call themselves mormon. You aren’t canonized and this directive was issued like 4 years ago stop with the 🧢
Great video - I saw a Mormon church the other day in Buenos Aires and have been thinking about Morman culture and religion since then - the video was released right on time
The preferred term is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Basically, there's been a lot of confusion over whether we worship Christ (which we do), and so we've changed from the old nickname Mormon, since it doesn't represent our church. For members, just call us Latter-Day Saints.
@@HeyItIsMichal born and raised in Utah county Utah with the most Mormon Mormons that ever Mormoned. When I grew up there were billboards all over for a church campaign that said “I’m a Mormon” that was maybe 15 years ago…
This is by far my favorite video I’ve seen all week. I’ve visited and loved Salt Lake City and wondered about the wide streets. I’ve credited it with Indianapolis and my hometown, Huntington, WV, as being the three best planned cities in America. Greet presentation and organisation of facts!
Awesome video! I have love in Utah most of my life and didn’t know a lot of the information. I love how factual, yet respectful you were in the way you referred to the history of the city, the Church, and the Saints.
As 1) a map enthusiast 2) a native Utahn and 3) a member of the LDS church, this video was very well done and well made. I learned a few things! I’ve always been a bit frustrated with BY for not making a walkable city, but they were trying to prevent problems (fires, getting lost, ect) of their day not knowing they’d cause problems for the future. Thank you sir. ❤
A note on the street numbers - the numbers we have today are not the numbers that were originally laid out. Originally it was 1st, 2nd, 3rd, not 100, 200, 300. And when you got to the Big Field, the distance between the major streets increased but the numbering didn't account for that. Today's 1300 S was 10th South, 1700 S was 11th, 2100 S was 12th, etc.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I thank you for respecting the church's roots and beliefs, while also being truthful and historically informative in the establishment and construction of Salt Lake City. I learned several things from your video and look forward to more videos.
@@parkerneilson6255if its Christian why do the members not follow the teachings of Christ? Friend of mine went to church 2 weeks ago and not once did they ever talk about the Bible
Loved the video. Thank you for coming to visit in the winter. I found it insulting that you would insinuate the freezing grey winter isn't as amazing as the green warm summer😄... Please help, I miss the sun. The video had me thinking about the culture here. It can be so conservative here, but there are deep ties to socialist ideology in the history of the church (Zion, common wealth, industry) It makes it more fun to engage in those ideas when I talk to members of the church, because it drops the guard a bit to get into the ideas, rather than keeping the crazy modern concepts of conservative vs liberal. I hope you had fun while you were here, and I'm so glad the algorithm sent me your way.
It is so interesting isn't it, that the political ideologies of the culture seemed to have flipped like that. It's refreshing to hear someone else say so, because I always thought so.
Salt Lake has made an initiative to make the city more safe for pedestrians. They recently lowered a lot of speed limits and the wide roads make it easy to add bike lanes on street parking and wider sidewalks. As someone who lives here its a night and day difference almost from 15 years ago.
Having grown up here and being well versed on the history and geography, lover of maps and historical geography, son of a land surveyor, I thought I had nothing to learn from this video, but I was wrong. I learned some new, interesting things I never knew before, and I am thoroughly impressed with the superbly written and crafted video; very well researched and careful to get the facts right without sensationalism or accepting and repeating common mythical lore as fact. Bravo, sir, well done. Perfect video, 11 out of 10.
I'm incredibly interested in city development, and this video kept me occupied the entire time. Very entertaining, and great quality, keep doing whatever your doing because its awesome!!
Your videos are always so informative! I've been to salt lake city and didn't know any of its history! I love learning stuff like this! Please keep going!
Thanks, great video! One point of clarification, the golden spike, that joined the 2 railroads, was actually driven at Promontory Summit. Promontory Point is directly south, at the end of the peninsula, jutting into the Great Salt Lake.
@@DanielsimsSteiner I came here to say that! It's honestly wild because it's such a huge misconception, but if you actually go there they make a whole deal about it lol
@@DanielsimsSteiner Honestly that part of Utah is really neat, there's lots of good fishing in the most remote springs in the middle of like pseudo wetlands
I think that overall, your analysis is correct, though viewers might draw some incorrect conclusions from word choice used (though that is no fault of yours). There is a popular mythos around the idea of the "Mormon theocracy" in Utah - a massive religious empire in the old west, isolated from everyone else. If you were less disposed towards the settlers there, you'd consider it Brigham Young's tyrannical kingdom, where he forced women and men as well to his will. They were in a state of rebellion to the US government, and had to be tamed or eliminated - and this sentiment is very pervasive in the literature of the time. From the Latter-day Saint perspective on the other hand - they believed that Christ had restored the true church on the Earth, and called a new prophet to lead them, Joseph Smith. In New York, they tried to begin building up this new church - but persecution from neighbors led them to gather in Ohio. Their small community there grew. People began gathering there from the Eastern US and Canada. Soon a settlement was established in Missouri as well. Persecution once again forced them to settle entirely in Missouri. The persecution became the fiercest here - the church, being mainly northerners, was opposed to slavery, and the saints voted as a block, changing political dynamics - people were driven from homes as they were set ablaze, women were assaulted, and a massacre of about 20 innocents occured. The state of Missouri signed into law that the Saints should be exterminated or driven from the state - and Joseph Smith and other church leaders were imprisoned during that winter. The church finally escaped to Illinois, and the church leaders were released. They tried once more, building a new city, Nauvoo. They struggled to build they temple, and sought aid from the government to repay their suffering in Missouri - but the president refused to help. Persecution rose again, and Joseph Smith and his brother were murdered by a mob. The church was driven finally to Utah. Now, I give all this background context, as I think it's very important to give an idea of why they did what they did in Utah. The government had forsaken them multiple times, and every time they lived around any other settlers, they were soon pushed out. They quite simply wanted to be left alone. Another important point of context is that this emigration to Utah was not a single journey, but a journey thousands undertook until the early 1890s. The church was now growing in the British Isles, and many converts there sacrificed to emigrate to Utah. They too suffered persecution, and longed to be where they could practice their religion in peace. I should further point out, that by the early 1850s, the members of the church all knew there was polygamy, or plural marriage as they preferred to call it, in the church. They believed God commanded followers to sometimes follow the practice - but it was completely voluntary. In my studies of the subject, I find far more instances of women and men choosing willingly to enter into the practice, than being coerced. One factor to attribute to this is the number of widows and other single women at the time, who benefited from being attached to larger families. Plural marriage however was not something everyone engaged in - to my recollection, at its height, only 1 in 5 saints were involved in a plural marriage, that being they were a husband, wife, or child in one. It's also worth noting that when there were strong anti bigamy laws enacted, a number of Utah women matched in protest, wrote books declaring their support of the practice, and more. All this that I've described took place from 1847 to the 1890s - and as said in the video, the railroad already came in 1869 - and even long before then, only two years after settling in Utah, hordes of potential miners passed through Utah on the way to the gold fields. All this is to say - Utah wasn't as isolated as people think, and the depiction of it as a veritable country fighting the US is laughable - despite their frustrations with the government, the saints still supported their country. Latter-day Saints served in the Mexican American war. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Utah did not take the opportunity fo defect from the Union. Quite simply, all they wanted was to practice their religion in peace, and as long as they were allowed that, they were fine with secular leaders outside the church. I feel like this very brief period of "the state of Deseret" has been dramatized far too much in pop culture. It's a favorite of alternate history fans, I've noticed. But the reality was much more boring than I bet some people would like. I see it as a brand of "Mormon exoticism", a trend that continues even today - a desire to view the church as "the tiny Mormon church living in a compound in Utah" and not "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that has 17 million members worldwide, most living outside the US." I apologize for my ramblings to anyone who read this long essay of a comment. Just realize we are not that different from you - we still live in modern society, we love many of the same movies and games as you do - we just have some different lifestyle choices. Hope this clears up confusion for anyone - and provides some interesting background to the video.
I lived in SLC for 9-10 months in 99-2000. . We had moved there as my parents hit their 30s and wanted a totally new start. But we had to move back to FL due to sickness in my mother's side of the family. I actually really loved it. Especially school. I got put in gifted classes the last few months once they diagnosed my behavioral issues. We had 4 recesses a day... Four. Morning before class, after first class, after lunch, and an hour before we got out of school. I feel like we learned so much more because of it. They would literally let us do whatever we wanted basically. We would grab a football and run 200 yards up to the raised football field and play for 20-30 minutes with no supervision. We would play football games and have the quarters between classes. Finish a game everyday. It was great. Every week a new class was assigned to serve lunch to the school every day. They just ate last. That was cool. It was an elementary/middle school in a U shape with a courtyard playground. And we had home room, and separate reading and math classes. My dad picked Utah at the time because it was far away and had a like 89-90% graduation rate compared to Florida like 70-75% at the time.
Very cool! Two things that may be of interest (and I apologize if others have already mentioned them): 1. A minor correction: Mormons weren’t inventing a language, but an *alphabet*. The idea was to smooth the transition to English for converts from foreign-speaking countries who were confused by the alternate sounds that each English letter can make. In the “Deseret alphabet”, each letter only makes one sound. 2. It is said that the troops at Fort Douglas took delight in making sure the locals knew that they were keeping their cannons aimed directly at Brigham Young’s house. The first detachment of federal troops that entered SLC in 1858 did so while singing a marching song called “One Eyed Riley”, a ballad that includes verses about a soldier who rapes a civilian girl and then object-rapes, kills, and skins the girl’s father who had come to rescue her.
The purpose of the Deseret alphabet was actually opposite of what you describe here. They started using an alternative alphabet to make it more difficult for outsiders to immigrate into their society.
It's interesting to hear about a detailed history of just why the streets here are so wide, and even more so the reason why the University area was so squiggly. Now my most pressing question is: since you were at the " This is the place" monument, DID YOU GO ACROSS THE STREET AND VISIT THE ZOO? YOU NEED TO VISIT THE ZOO
Another insanely well done video! Loved learning some new things about our own backyard. Would love some info on Ogden’s history (specifically during its boom due to the railroads) if you ever have the chance. I remember reading somewhere that at one point it was the same population as Chicago 🤘keep up the great work, bro!! #DT
We were just in the Salt Lake area, (Logan UT), driving around and I had mentioned out loud, at how crazy big the blocks were and low and behold, the TH-cam algorithm provided an explanation! Thanks for this information!
Logan is 10 blocks to the mile. A little smaller than Salt Lakes 8. But as a distance runner these blocks made it so easy to calculate distances. When I was young South Jordan was still kind of the big field set up. I would run around 2 "blocks", it was a 6 mile run. Just the main roads were developed between tracts of farms
I was born and raised in Utah as a young child and never new why the streets were so big and why the city blocks in Salt Lake City were so big but now it makes sense, I live in North Dakota now but the 12 years I lived there I never knew this, I’ve been on that very street next to the Plaza event center too
Salt Lake City resident. Love it here, it’s beautiful, and improving in so many ways I believe. Hope it continues to grow and evolve. Great video, I knew a decent amount already from my own reading but I sent this to a bunch of friends who I’ve explained this to before, but you do a better job.
Back in the 1990s I once saw a program on KUED TV that discussed this very topic. One thing that was said in the show was that a person could see how far development of Salt Lake City extended while Brigham Young was alive. After his death the streets became narrower.
Cool fact when he mentions they were making their own language. It was English, but using a different alphabet to be more phonetic. Partially help everyone learn to communicate and read easier, especially non English speaking immigrants. But it never really took off.
I'm really glad TH-cam suggested your Salt Lakes City Map video. It's my first time watching one of your videos and I loved it. I feel you did a tremendous job explaining how the city came to be. SUBSCRIBED
As a Utah native who is proud of her family roots going back to the pioneers who trekked across the United States plains, I learned a few things. I have been around Fort Douglas many times, yet did not know it is the only fort to face any US state capital. A fascinating video. Thank you for your research into this beautiful city. As a side note, you did visit in a colder month. April to November are much more enjoyable months for those who prefer warmer weather.
I’m on holidays in Utah at the moment, and this touches on some of the things we thought about while exploring downtown SLC: the wide streets, the location of the temple, the Capitol building visible from Temple Square- a fascinating history! Thank you Daniel!
Really excellent video, Daniel! I love the use of maps and visual aids that help tell your story. I’m sure they take a ton of work, but I could easily watch this for an hour or more! Bravo, and keep up the great work!
Man I love your videos. You bring my childhood obsession with maps back up to the surface. Keep making them & I'll keep watching them. Also I can't wait to see your video on Savannah Georgia. I know you haven't said you were going to make a video on Savannah Georgia. But I've requested it in several other video comments. So I'm really hoping you do make 1 on Savannah Georgia. Please make a video on Savannah Georgia. 😂
Very interesting! I always wondered about the named number streets there. Good to know the background on the city planning...now if we can just unearth those golden tablets....
It’s actually insane to think that before cars they made these streets so wide. Definitely went against the norm of building walkable cities.
Fun fact actually the streets he is walking on are narrower than they were in the past. Because due to the pollution from cars in the 1970s the federal government required the roads to be narrower to slow down cars. So as a result there are actually huge sidewalks by the street, which were part of the street originally. This was done originally to limit car speed, but now it gives room for bike and pedestrians so it's actually still more walkable than most, but still a bit too car centric especially State Street which is a Stroad.
@@Tindog81476Stroads and depressing concrete jungles. 💀 Even stores and shops look like they want you out asap. Like you’re not allowed to be outside, no benches(god forbid an unhoused person rests) for people with leg injuries to take a break. Just a societal failure from all angles. We cater to the car industry over everything. 🤡
as a mormon floridian, when I visited Utah as 17 year old (first I left the state of FL) it was by far the most walkable city I had ever been too. Kinda crazy to think about now, but it was surprisingly nice to walk around form what I remember.@@Tindog81476
Your city can still be walkable with big roads. The blocks just have to be the design level instead
In the past there was a decent trolley system on those wide downtown streets, but they were removed around the same time other systems around the country were. The wide streets have since proved beneficial to light rail installation, and not much street widening is required to put a line thru.
I don't think this was mentioned, but the blocks in SLC are 1/8 mile on each side, making them a perfect 10 acres. Living here, that makes it somewhat easier to quickly estimate distances and even lot sizes. If you are jogging, each lap around a full block is 1/2 mile.
1/8 mi sq is 80 acres.
@@GordonChil 1 Sq mile is 640 acres, and one eighth of a square mile is 80 acres, yes. But a square block that is 1/8 mile on each side is 1/64th of a square mile: 10 acres. In other words, it takes 8x8=64 such blocks to fill a square mile.
@@brycechristensen2296 You're right, my mistake. Should have known better. 😶
I too live in SLC and that is a good bit of additional info about the block size.
How does this make the SLC blocks so different. The whole midwest is setup on a 1 mile grid and there are 8 blocks per mile in places like Chicago
Utah native here, just wanted to say that this video was awesome! I learned some new things and I appreciated how unbiased and factual it felt! Nice job!
Utah resident here. Another thing is that this urban planning mindset did not just apply to Salt Lake City, but a variety of settlements that the Latter Day Saints set up across the Intermountain West. Provo, Ogden, Manti, Logan, St. George. Each have a temple built at the center and base their street names off of this. (Provo had a tabernacle that had an unfortunate fire break out, it was then rededicated as a temple).
Wonderful video! Thoroughly impressed! 🙏🏻
Logan also is centered around the tabernacle rather than the temple. The Temple is a couple blocks Northeast of
I went to BYU, then lived in Orem when we got married. It was during this time that GPS navigation was just starting to become a thing, and I was always a little sad that, because of the layout of the cities I spent my time in, I never would need one.
Pretty easy to know where to go when you just need to get to 4th South 312 East or whatever
Ogden is a bit of an outlier in that list. The city grew out of Fort Buenaventura and then the railroads. The Ogden temple wasn’t built until the late 1960’s.
That’s also why a lot of Mormon developed cities have a city center with a temple.
It also extends to planning where the cities are! Even though they are all kinda squished together along the wasatch front, a drive down through central Utah along the highway makes it clear each city was purposefully placed along that route about one day's journey on horse or wagon away from each other. Lots of intentionality!
As an SLC native I actually learned a few things, didn’t know the horse carriage being able to make a U turn thing was a myth. Very well made video and underrated channel!
Tack it up there as one more mormon thing taught to me as fact that I now discover is a myth. IYKYK
@@nicholasgermer5240I can’t imagine being such a victim wrapped in narcissism that someone like you can’t just enjoy a history video without letting everyone know about your opinion about the Church. The victimhood is strong with many Ex-Mormons.
Says who?
@@JoanCouncil Says I 🏴☠
@@JoanCouncil The literal expert in the video?
Amazing video.
I'm a transplant to SLC and have been for more than a few years. I'm moving back out soon, likely forever, and I think that the thing I will miss most about the city is its grid, its so unique to have such a perfectly sorted city, and it has made so many years of my life so much easier to be able to use the perfect grid. I believe that many people cant truly comprehend how much easier it can make travel to know exactly how far everything is from you at all times, and what direction anything is given its address, and knowing what streets you will take to get to anything, even if you have never been somewhere. The best I can do to explain it is telling people that its like finding people in any game by their coordinates; if someone tells you their coordinates in minecraft, you can easily point yourself towards them and just go until you get to them, discovering or even generating for the first time all the land in between.
This is true, but don't oversell it. Once you know the address you know where it is, but outside of the center of the city anyway that doesn't always translate into knowing how to get there. Maybe Salt Lake City is better about this - I've spent much more time in other Utah grid cities - but I've more than once found myself circling where I knew the address had to be but still having a hard time figuring out how to get there.
@@hkpew I’m an Utah native, I work doing GIS for the government of a county in northern Utah (not Salt Lake). I know that sometimes addresses be out of order or flat out in the wrong place in some one-off cases. This is especially the case in counties that are not Salt Lake county. Salt Lake county has one grid system for the whole county, but most others have multiple grids that butt up or overlap each other that cover 1-2 cities. Where it gets tricky is when the grids overlap or when there are old addresses that were made by folks who didn’t properly plan it out and now retain the address for the sake of historical consistency, and sometimes it’s just plain not wanting to change their address because it’s the one their family has had for generations. The center of each grid is different, so it’s hard (for me at least) to recognize where the center is in relation to me and also when I cross into a new grid.
In my experience, getting around Salt Lake county is very intuitive-with some exceptions, but other counties are harder.
This is amazing. I work at the Salt Lake County Recorders and I am in love with everything “map.” I wish you had swung by our office so we could show you all sorts of Salt Lake City maps! But this was so well done! I’d love to show it to new employees for training purposes!
I did my thesis on Mormon community-building, so I can be a bit persnickety about how people talk about it, so it’s great to see such a well-put-together video for general audiences on the subject! I’ll definitely be sharing this around!
Hey, that sounds interesting, care list your thesis?
Yeah, I'm interested as well
@alextrickier4613 I live in a grid city, traveling to non-grid cities is seriously frustrating. I’m also interested in reading your thesis if you care to share.
To bad no response, I've done a lot of research on the Whole thing.
I don,t have any problem with any family concept…but I fear they won,t like my concept,,,,how is the acceptance of LGBTs there! What about a pack of women building a family….that might get some comments, hmm?
Very refreshing to watch an urban planning video in the US that isn’t just snarky complaining about transit, highways, cars and the suburbs. 19th century city planning is also very interesting too, it gives a lot of context to how cities are today.
Honestly could not agree more!!
*superlike*
That’s because urban planning in the US really sucks
I enjoy watching the ones where they simply ride trains to enjoy them.
Huge fan of this video style! Some insight into European capitals and their layouts could also be very interesting to see for comparison.
I love an excuse to take a trip to Europe and I now have the perfect one 🙏🏻
@@DanielsimsSteinerHey Daniel, this videos are great, would love to see you outside the US as well! Can I ask where do you get the maps from? They look so coean
He would be discussing thousands of years of history for many of them, and the videos would be like an hour long lol
@@WimsicleStranger - Isn't that great though? Proper documentaries :D
If he can talk about SLC grid for 15 minutes then I imagine a video about Rome's "grid" would be feature length.
Probably my favorite series on TH-cam, its incredibly well made. You're very talented and I can't wait to see what city comes next.
Wow this means so much! Thank you. I’m really excited for the videos I have planned 🙏🏻 more on the way!
Thanks for this video. I have family in Salt Lake City, so I have visited a lot. One thing you didn’t talk about was how easy it is to find your way around. Not only is it based on a grid, with all the streets numbered from Temple Square, even named streets are also given the number they would have had if they were a numbered street. I never get lost there.
Must be easier when you grow up there. Living there for almost a year, the way streets and addresses have their naming convention was almost always complete gibberish to me. As they say, you either love it or you hate it.
@@SpudSpudoniit’s a Cartesian coordinate system where positive x is north, negative x is south, positive y is east and negative y is west. It only gets confusing when new developers throw in curved streets that are just named.
@@rebeccawebster646 Agree to disagree. The further you get out of downtown the harder it is to navigate and understand how to get around naturally, especially on the highways.
@@SpudSpudoni i believe that some of the perception of it being gibberish is you convincing yourself of it. I'm not originally from SLC, but i've spent a decent amount of time in SLC after my formative years, the amount of distance to the origin point of the grid doesnt factor in, even at 4000+ south someone can just tell me their address and i know their exact location, i know what roads i have to get on, and where i have to turn, even when ive never been there before at all.
@@lavantant2731 Idk, having someone tell me that their address is on "Brook Street" is much easier to google when spoken, versus hearing someone say they live on "3576 W 1765 S". I'm not a computer who can tell where every single road will lead to within the surrounding city and neighborhoods of Salt Lake City, but maybe mormons are programmed more for it.
Thank you for being so respectful to the church as many TH-camrs aren’t in regards to explaining stuff like this
Maybe they aren't as nice about it because the Mormon church has done scummy and deplorable actions, including S/A hush funds and religious based law making hmmm
I was thinking the same thing
I'm not LDS. The LDS church remains to have a huge influence in Salt Lake City and especially everywhere outside of the city in the state of Utah.
They're a beautiful people and it is a beautiful city and state.
For real. I don't understand why they get such a bad rap. I'm a staunch atheist and got along swimmingly with all the LDS folks I met when I lived in SLC. More than any other religious group I've ever brushed shoulders with, they have an immaculate sense of self-awareness.
And on the flip side, religious super majorities also give rise to interesting counter cultures. That city really is kind of the best of both worlds.
@@blakedegraw7958 I don’t think it’s the members that people take issue with, it’s the lack of transparency by the leadership which leads to members not having informed consent in their life choices. The people are lovely and so community and service oriented which is definitely admirable.
Long time subscriber and Utahn here, thank you for your outstanding journalism. I never knew about that 900 south boundary, so I learned something new!
“It’s cold” this winter has been the warmest it’s ever been. I’ve been wearing shorts and hoodies most of the year
Ditto. It's wild how warm it's getting. Weird not having snow in the valley.
The winter before this one was ridiculous though! Gas bill doubled last winter! 🥶
same
Thank you for making a real effort to understand the history of Salt Lake City! Not a lot of people do. I've seen many a bad take over the years. (I've lost track of how many times I've heard the myth about the streets being wide to make it easy to turn wagons around.)
Less a myth than a happy accident. The fire-break effect is underappreciated & an awesome purpose.
Wide streets as planned fire breaks is genius, but I would think it would also be helpful to have smaller blocks. The less stuff on a block the less stuff at risk in case of a fire.
For such a new channel this is really high quality work man. Very well done. I don’t typically watch these kinds of videos but being that I live in Utah, I had to see an outsiders perspective on it. Very well put together.
Great intro - I clicked on this video to just give a chance, and was immediately drawn in with that intro. Very compelling.
As a fellow geography nerd and map-enthusiast I recently found your channel and I love these videos! Only in the US you could do something that became the Salt Lake City of today! Keep up the great work!
Awesome video! One correction to the meeting of the transcontinental railroad. It took place at Promontory Summit. Promontory Point is the end of the peninsula jutting out into the lake.
Thank you for making such an accurate and respectful video about Salt Lake City and Latter-day Saint pioneer history.
Although I lived in SLC for only a short time, I have nothing but fond memories of the beautiful city and the wonderful friends I made!
Thank you Steven for bearing that cold, cold January day with Daniel to teach us about Salt Lake City!
One interesting thing not mentioned in the video is that each city block housed 8 families, each on 1 acre lots. Each block became a micro community unto itself, much like modern neighborhoods. But these families all knew, and relied on each other.
This also ties in to how LDS congregations are designated. They are organized by geographical location. These congregations are called Wards, and are presided over by a volunteer Bishop. Several wards make up what’s called a Stake, which is presided over by a Stake President. Everything the LDS church does is done in order, as you have brilliantly illustrated in this video. Thank you!
You know, I would genuinley watch and enjoy a video about the comparsions of these city blocks.
You make incredibly high quality videos. I'm going to love seeing this channel grow!
Great video as always. One small correction. You mention a new “language”. Early LDS pioneers weren’t actually creating a new language, just a new alphabet (Deseret) that they envisioned would be used to write English (or any other language for that matter).
Amazing Dan! We hope for more city maps explained, go for it! 🎉
Thank you!!!!
Appreciate your very fair and charitable recitation of the history and design. Kind of surprised actually. Thanks!
I know this is just a small detail I’m pointing out but as someone who was born into the LDS church and now lives in Utah, thank you for calling us the saints instead of the Mormons, considering we don’t even like being called that anymore. It’s just a small detail I know but being bullied for being LDS, I really appreciate the respect and unbiased opinions towards us and our history.
Hi, greetings from San Antonio, TX. I saw video, so cool. At 54 don't remember history very much. I loved this information. Talk about illiterate on my part for not doing more research on our country. What I've learned about Jesus. Freedom isn't free.
God bless you and God bless Daniel Steiner
This was an EXCELLENT explanation of the city I have called home for most of the past 22 years! I have often tried to explain how easy it is to navigate the entire State of Utah if you understand how streets are named.... it amazes me how many people find it confusing
As an active Latter-Day Saint that has visited Utah many times I really liked what you did with this video. You mentioned religious symbolism in a neutral way and talked about my faith from a respectful secular standpoint. I learned a good bit and enjoyed the video. It was well made. Good job!
There are two comments I want to make. I wish you'd mentioned that Brigham Young was leading the saints across the nation mostly to flee persecution. Joseph Smith was murdered and federal and state governments had failed to protect the Saints from mistreatment and massacre. The second thing, They weren't trying to create new language. The Deseret alphabet was simply an alphabet to help immigrants learn English.
Lets not kid ourselves and say the Mormon’s only motivation to move was because of “persecution” as much as this myth has been propagated, it’s just simply untrue.
The LDS fled state after state because the consequences of their actions kept catching up to them. In particular the consequences of Joseph Smith’s actions. While yes, there were those out there that genuinely had an unjust hatred of Smith and his followers, most of the outrage came from unacceptable behavior from Joseph Smith and his church.
I mean the LDS church was pushed out of Nauvoo (a city the Illinois government let them have) after Joseph Smith and his militia illegally stormed a local newspaper printing press and burned it to the ground because the paper publicized critiques of Smith and his church.
Smith committed countless crimes and regularly harassed and provoked communities near his settlers every time they moved states. This is the primary reason the LDS and their followers fled.
Brigham was as or more confrontational of a person as Smith was, and knew that with the (justified) reputation of behaving badly the Mormon’s had got, as well as the bad standing with the federal government, their only chance was to literally flee the country. (Hence why they chose Mexican territory to settle on) Brigham wanted to make his own laws and government to cater specifically to the church, so they could avoid being prosecuted or pushed out for their crimes once again.
Persecution towards mormons was rarely from unjustified hatred.
Freemasonic dog water
@@tuckermiller9137fr like they dont even know shit about their religion
@@tuckermiller9137 It might have been somewhat justified, but it still was persecution. Either way they were basically forced out to Utah (or at least towards the west) after making people upset in Missouri and Illinois.
Also in Missouri in particular the governor literally made an extermination order that allowed people to legally kill Mormons (which seems pretty dang unconstitutional but nobody really contested it at the time). Illinois was kinda a different story though, the persecution wasnt from goverment, just from people they'd made angry.
This “Saint” thing is really forced and only present on the internet. Mormons call themselves mormon. You aren’t canonized and this directive was issued like 4 years ago stop with the 🧢
I love that you picked SLC for your next video! Been waiting for new content, love it. Thanks for doing one of my home town.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙏🏻
Great video - I saw a Mormon church the other day in Buenos Aires and have been thinking about Morman culture and religion since then - the video was released right on time
The preferred term is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Basically, there's been a lot of confusion over whether we worship Christ (which we do), and so we've changed from the old nickname Mormon, since it doesn't represent our church.
For members, just call us Latter-Day Saints.
@@HeyItIsMichal born and raised in Utah county Utah with the most Mormon Mormons that ever Mormoned. When I grew up there were billboards all over for a church campaign that said “I’m a Mormon” that was maybe 15 years ago…
This is by far my favorite video I’ve seen all week. I’ve visited and loved Salt Lake City and wondered about the wide streets. I’ve credited it with Indianapolis and my hometown, Huntington, WV, as being the three best planned cities in America. Greet presentation and organisation of facts!
Wow thank you sm!
Been obsessed with American geography lately and I am loving your videos. Great stuff man!
Awesome video! I have love in Utah most of my life and didn’t know a lot of the information. I love how factual, yet respectful you were in the way you referred to the history of the city, the Church, and the Saints.
As 1) a map enthusiast 2) a native Utahn and 3) a member of the LDS church, this video was very well done and well made. I learned a few things!
I’ve always been a bit frustrated with BY for not making a walkable city, but they were trying to prevent problems (fires, getting lost, ect) of their day not knowing they’d cause problems for the future. Thank you sir. ❤
You should be frustrated with your own “religion” for lying to thousands of people, covering up sexual abuse, and stealing money
A note on the street numbers - the numbers we have today are not the numbers that were originally laid out. Originally it was 1st, 2nd, 3rd, not 100, 200, 300. And when you got to the Big Field, the distance between the major streets increased but the numbering didn't account for that. Today's 1300 S was 10th South, 1700 S was 11th, 2100 S was 12th, etc.
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I thank you for respecting the church's roots and beliefs, while also being truthful and historically informative in the establishment and construction of Salt Lake City. I learned several things from your video and look forward to more videos.
Youre in a cult that doesnt actually believe in Jesus
@@TheAnnoyingBoss what's the name of the church?
@@parkerneilson6255if its Christian why do the members not follow the teachings of Christ? Friend of mine went to church 2 weeks ago and not once did they ever talk about the Bible
@@EnsignFuntimes I've been more than once and heard them quote from it all the time.
@@TheAnnoyingBossUhh, we do. Go to one of our meetings.
Great work again! I’m glad the channel is growing so fast! Good luck to you from down under 🇦🇺
Thank you very much!
Loved the video. Thank you for coming to visit in the winter. I found it insulting that you would insinuate the freezing grey winter isn't as amazing as the green warm summer😄... Please help, I miss the sun. The video had me thinking about the culture here. It can be so conservative here, but there are deep ties to socialist ideology in the history of the church (Zion, common wealth, industry) It makes it more fun to engage in those ideas when I talk to members of the church, because it drops the guard a bit to get into the ideas, rather than keeping the crazy modern concepts of conservative vs liberal. I hope you had fun while you were here, and I'm so glad the algorithm sent me your way.
It is so interesting isn't it, that the political ideologies of the culture seemed to have flipped like that. It's refreshing to hear someone else say so, because I always thought so.
Earned my subscription for your thorough, engaging, and respectful coverage of the topic. I love my city. Thank you!
Thanks for the sub!
Salt Lake has made an initiative to make the city more safe for pedestrians. They recently lowered a lot of speed limits and the wide roads make it easy to add bike lanes on street parking and wider sidewalks. As someone who lives here its a night and day difference almost from 15 years ago.
Your voice is peak calm podcast vibe. Very nice
Having grown up here and being well versed on the history and geography, lover of maps and historical geography, son of a land surveyor, I thought I had nothing to learn from this video, but I was wrong. I learned some new, interesting things I never knew before, and I am thoroughly impressed with the superbly written and crafted video; very well researched and careful to get the facts right without sensationalism or accepting and repeating common mythical lore as fact. Bravo, sir, well done. Perfect video, 11 out of 10.
This was well written and animated! I loved the efforts you put into making this high quality. Great work
The respect I had for him when he said Palestine instead of is*real 4:00
I'm incredibly interested in city development, and this video kept me occupied the entire time. Very entertaining, and great quality, keep doing whatever your doing because its awesome!!
Wow thank you!
Didn’t know I like urban planning until Daniel came around
Here to recruit nerds 🤓
Phenomenal video and production, keep it up! Love this series.
Thanks a ton!
Your videos are always so informative! I've been to salt lake city and didn't know any of its history! I love learning stuff like this! Please keep going!
Thanks, great video! One point of clarification, the golden spike, that joined the 2 railroads, was actually driven at Promontory Summit. Promontory Point is directly south, at the end of the peninsula, jutting into the Great Salt Lake.
Thanks for the info! I should have double checked that!
@@DanielsimsSteiner I came here to say that! It's honestly wild because it's such a huge misconception, but if you actually go there they make a whole deal about it lol
@@ashlynnmcbride346 Sounds like I need to make a trip there! I want to learn more about it so thats for the info!
@@DanielsimsSteiner Honestly that part of Utah is really neat, there's lots of good fishing in the most remote springs in the middle of like pseudo wetlands
good thing I subscribed because the subscriber only part of the video changed my life and i am way smarter and cooler now!
I love looking at maps of cities in the world and this explains the numbered street names.
I think that overall, your analysis is correct, though viewers might draw some incorrect conclusions from word choice used (though that is no fault of yours).
There is a popular mythos around the idea of the "Mormon theocracy" in Utah - a massive religious empire in the old west, isolated from everyone else. If you were less disposed towards the settlers there, you'd consider it Brigham Young's tyrannical kingdom, where he forced women and men as well to his will. They were in a state of rebellion to the US government, and had to be tamed or eliminated - and this sentiment is very pervasive in the literature of the time.
From the Latter-day Saint perspective on the other hand - they believed that Christ had restored the true church on the Earth, and called a new prophet to lead them, Joseph Smith.
In New York, they tried to begin building up this new church - but persecution from neighbors led them to gather in Ohio. Their small community there grew. People began gathering there from the Eastern US and Canada. Soon a settlement was established in Missouri as well.
Persecution once again forced them to settle entirely in Missouri. The persecution became the fiercest here - the church, being mainly northerners, was opposed to slavery, and the saints voted as a block, changing political dynamics - people were driven from homes as they were set ablaze, women were assaulted, and a massacre of about 20 innocents occured. The state of Missouri signed into law that the Saints should be exterminated or driven from the state - and Joseph Smith and other church leaders were imprisoned during that winter.
The church finally escaped to Illinois, and the church leaders were released. They tried once more, building a new city, Nauvoo. They struggled to build they temple, and sought aid from the government to repay their suffering in Missouri - but the president refused to help.
Persecution rose again, and Joseph Smith and his brother were murdered by a mob. The church was driven finally to Utah.
Now, I give all this background context, as I think it's very important to give an idea of why they did what they did in Utah. The government had forsaken them multiple times, and every time they lived around any other settlers, they were soon pushed out. They quite simply wanted to be left alone.
Another important point of context is that this emigration to Utah was not a single journey, but a journey thousands undertook until the early 1890s. The church was now growing in the British Isles, and many converts there sacrificed to emigrate to Utah. They too suffered persecution, and longed to be where they could practice their religion in peace.
I should further point out, that by the early 1850s, the members of the church all knew there was polygamy, or plural marriage as they preferred to call it, in the church. They believed God commanded followers to sometimes follow the practice - but it was completely voluntary. In my studies of the subject, I find far more instances of women and men choosing willingly to enter into the practice, than being coerced. One factor to attribute to this is the number of widows and other single women at the time, who benefited from being attached to larger families. Plural marriage however was not something everyone engaged in - to my recollection, at its height, only 1 in 5 saints were involved in a plural marriage, that being they were a husband, wife, or child in one. It's also worth noting that when there were strong anti bigamy laws enacted, a number of Utah women matched in protest, wrote books declaring their support of the practice, and more.
All this that I've described took place from 1847 to the 1890s - and as said in the video, the railroad already came in 1869 - and even long before then, only two years after settling in Utah, hordes of potential miners passed through Utah on the way to the gold fields.
All this is to say - Utah wasn't as isolated as people think, and the depiction of it as a veritable country fighting the US is laughable - despite their frustrations with the government, the saints still supported their country. Latter-day Saints served in the Mexican American war. At the outbreak of the Civil war, Utah did not take the opportunity fo defect from the Union.
Quite simply, all they wanted was to practice their religion in peace, and as long as they were allowed that, they were fine with secular leaders outside the church.
I feel like this very brief period of "the state of Deseret" has been dramatized far too much in pop culture. It's a favorite of alternate history fans, I've noticed. But the reality was much more boring than I bet some people would like.
I see it as a brand of "Mormon exoticism", a trend that continues even today - a desire to view the church as "the tiny Mormon church living in a compound in Utah" and not "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that has 17 million members worldwide, most living outside the US."
I apologize for my ramblings to anyone who read this long essay of a comment. Just realize we are not that different from you - we still live in modern society, we love many of the same movies and games as you do - we just have some different lifestyle choices.
Hope this clears up confusion for anyone - and provides some interesting background to the video.
I lived in SLC for 9-10 months in 99-2000. . We had moved there as my parents hit their 30s and wanted a totally new start. But we had to move back to FL due to sickness in my mother's side of the family. I actually really loved it. Especially school. I got put in gifted classes the last few months once they diagnosed my behavioral issues. We had 4 recesses a day... Four. Morning before class, after first class, after lunch, and an hour before we got out of school. I feel like we learned so much more because of it. They would literally let us do whatever we wanted basically. We would grab a football and run 200 yards up to the raised football field and play for 20-30 minutes with no supervision. We would play football games and have the quarters between classes. Finish a game everyday. It was great. Every week a new class was assigned to serve lunch to the school every day. They just ate last. That was cool. It was an elementary/middle school in a U shape with a courtyard playground. And we had home room, and separate reading and math classes. My dad picked Utah at the time because it was far away and had a like 89-90% graduation rate compared to Florida like 70-75% at the time.
Another excellent video thank you brother.
Very interesting video! A big “Ciao” from Turin, the Italian sister city of Salt Lake City
Not sure where sister city Turin is but my Family is from Little Demark. Utah!
Very cool! Two things that may be of interest (and I apologize if others have already mentioned them):
1. A minor correction: Mormons weren’t inventing a language, but an *alphabet*. The idea was to smooth the transition to English for converts from foreign-speaking countries who were confused by the alternate sounds that each English letter can make. In the “Deseret alphabet”, each letter only makes one sound.
2. It is said that the troops at Fort Douglas took delight in making sure the locals knew that they were keeping their cannons aimed directly at Brigham Young’s house. The first detachment of federal troops that entered SLC in 1858 did so while singing a marching song called “One Eyed Riley”, a ballad that includes verses about a soldier who rapes a civilian girl and then object-rapes, kills, and skins the girl’s father who had come to rescue her.
The purpose of the Deseret alphabet was actually opposite of what you describe here. They started using an alternative alphabet to make it more difficult for outsiders to immigrate into their society.
Do you have a source?@@GhotiCan
@@GhotiCan This is not correct; the Deseret alphabet takes less than an hour to use well.
Fantastic video. Saw this and your channel and was kinda wondering why this city of all cities but it all makes sense having watched
Loved this! I lived in SLC for many years and learned a few things. Would love to see a similar video on San Antonio.
It's interesting to hear about a detailed history of just why the streets here are so wide, and even more so the reason why the University area was so squiggly.
Now my most pressing question is: since you were at the " This is the place" monument, DID YOU GO ACROSS THE STREET AND VISIT THE ZOO? YOU NEED TO VISIT THE ZOO
Your videos are so good, dude. Congratulations. Can't wait for more
Thanks a ton!
Another insanely well done video! Loved learning some new things about our own backyard. Would love some info on Ogden’s history (specifically during its boom due to the railroads) if you ever have the chance. I remember reading somewhere that at one point it was the same population as Chicago 🤘keep up the great work, bro!! #DT
Ogden has some wild history I wanna learn more about FOR SURE #DT
if you did this as a series i would watch every episode
Building it out rn 🫡
We were just in the Salt Lake area, (Logan UT), driving around and I had mentioned out loud, at how crazy big the blocks were and low and behold, the TH-cam algorithm provided an explanation! Thanks for this information!
Logan is 10 blocks to the mile. A little smaller than Salt Lakes 8. But as a distance runner these blocks made it so easy to calculate distances. When I was young South Jordan was still kind of the big field set up. I would run around 2 "blocks", it was a 6 mile run. Just the main roads were developed between tracts of farms
I was born and raised in Utah as a young child and never new why the streets were so big and why the city blocks in Salt Lake City were so big but now it makes sense, I live in North Dakota now but the 12 years I lived there I never knew this, I’ve been on that very street next to the Plaza event center too
Salt Lake City resident. Love it here, it’s beautiful, and improving in so many ways I believe. Hope it continues to grow and evolve.
Great video, I knew a decent amount already from my own reading but I sent this to a bunch of friends who I’ve explained this to before, but you do a better job.
Back in the 1990s I once saw a program on KUED TV that discussed this very topic. One thing that was said in the show was that a person could see how far development of Salt Lake City extended while Brigham Young was alive. After his death the streets became narrower.
U really appreciated how well researched, respectfully, and honestly this video was laid out.
Very entertaining video, well made.
Good stuff man. I just finished a rotation at the U and its amazing how different SL feels compared to Weber, Davis and Utah counties.
I enjoyed this video, it is hard to find someone that doesn't put a negative spin on the church of jesus christ of latter day saints.
With video quality like this, it won’t be long before you pass a million
Cool fact when he mentions they were making their own language.
It was English, but using a different alphabet to be more phonetic. Partially help everyone learn to communicate and read easier, especially non English speaking immigrants.
But it never really took off.
A custom set of characters for printing presses was expensive!
You deserve a million subs my man! Good luck on your journey, and fantastic videos.
I'm really glad TH-cam suggested your Salt Lakes City Map video. It's my first time watching one of your videos and I loved it. I feel you did a tremendous job explaining how the city came to be. SUBSCRIBED
Thank you so much!!
Favorite TH-cam channel rn
Whoa. Huge compliment. Thank you! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
As a Utah native who is proud of her family roots going back to the pioneers who trekked across the United States plains, I learned a few things. I have been around Fort Douglas many times, yet did not know it is the only fort to face any US state capital. A fascinating video. Thank you for your research into this beautiful city. As a side note, you did visit in a colder month. April to November are much more enjoyable months for those who prefer warmer weather.
Another fascinating video! Great work, already looking forward to what's next
Wow thank you so much! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
I’m on holidays in Utah at the moment, and this touches on some of the things we thought about while exploring downtown SLC: the wide streets, the location of the temple, the Capitol building visible from Temple Square- a fascinating history! Thank you Daniel!
A point for futures videos: put the measurements in both metric and imperial system. I think it will help for a larger audience.
This same play was used through out Utah and was used in San Bernardino , CA as well.
Yep, San Bernardino was the far end of the trail connecting Salt Lake to the settled part of southern California.
Really excellent video, Daniel! I love the use of maps and visual aids that help tell your story. I’m sure they take a ton of work, but I could easily watch this for an hour or more! Bravo, and keep up the great work!
Man I love your videos. You bring my childhood obsession with maps back up to the surface. Keep making them & I'll keep watching them. Also I can't wait to see your video on Savannah Georgia. I know you haven't said you were going to make a video on Savannah Georgia. But I've requested it in several other video comments. So I'm really hoping you do make 1 on Savannah Georgia. Please make a video on Savannah Georgia. 😂
Hahaha adding it to the list just for u. Thanks so much 🙏🏻🙏🏻
You always deliver such high quality, information dense pieces - thanks for being you & sharing it with us! ❤🎉
Wow! This is so thorough and educational. Loved it! Thanks Daniel and Steven for sharing your expertise.
Very interesting! I always wondered about the named number streets there. Good to know the background on the city planning...now if we can just unearth those golden tablets....
wow i’m so glad i found this channel definitely binging all your videos
Loved the video, but please add metric equivalents when citing things such as road width
Ps: Congratulations on the subscriber milestone!
Ohh this is a great reminder! Thank u! 🙏🏻
Sorry, in SLC it’s imperial or cubits, none of that French Revolution nonesense allowed.
Love your urban planning and urban design content ! And the quality of visual that you created definitely “Vox Standard or Johnny Harris”
Thank you so much!
So true I've been in the city for 2 weeks and the streets was the first thing I noticed
Great video, such high production value! And very timely for me, I’m heading to SLC next week - first time for me :)
Oh amazing!! Have a fun, safe trip!
This needs to be more popular😂 amazing video!
One of the coolest videos about Salt Lake and makes me appreciate it a lot more
Really glad I found this channel
I’m rly glad you did too. Thanks for being here!
Thanks for showing love to our beloved Salt Lake City
Awesome video. Very well researched and respectful. Learned lots. Thank you! Definitely sharing!!
This format is awesome, please do San Diego!
You might almost say that San Diego was also settled, (or at least built) by LDS members also. Read up on the Mormon Battalion.