History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

SALT LAKE CITY. 695
merce, arts, industries, and interests of the territory
are mainly centred. In 1883 the capital contained
a fixed population of about 25,000, its corporate limits
divided into five
including; about fifty square miles, 7
municipal and twenty-one ecclesiastical wards. The
city was well supplied with all modern comforts and
conveniences, including gas and electric lights, 8 street-
railroads, 9 hotels, 10 markets, libraries, theatres, 11 clubs,
and saloons, where men might drink, smoke, and discuss
politics and religion. Through all the streets,
which were about double the usual width, ran the
limpid waters of City Creek, the Jordan, Red Butte,
7 Ten from east to west, and five from north to south, allowing for two
square miles occupied by the Fort Douglas reservation. By act of Jan. 18,
1867, the western boundary was removed from the banks of the Jordan to a
line running due north and south about two miles west of the river. By act
of 1S72 the south line was removed to Tenth South street.
8 In 1877 George Erb organized the Rocky Mountain Electric Light Co. at
Salt Lake City, afterward extending his operations to Ogden, Albuquerque,
Cheyenne, Silver City, and Tucson, where, in 1884, all the works were in successful
operation. Erb's Electric Lights, MS. Erb, a native of Penn., enlisted
as a volunteer in the union army in 1861, being then 18 years of age. After
serving for three years he removed to southern Utah, and in 1S77 to S. L
City. For account of city gas-works, see Deseret News, Aug. 27, 1873. The
city was first lighted by gas July 7, 1S73.
9 In 1872 the S. L. C. Street Railroad Co. was organized. It was in running
order in June of the same year, its length being about seven miles. R.
R. Anderson, in Utah Jottings, MS. In 18S3 horse-cai s ran every half-hour
in eight different directions. Graham's Utah Direct., LS83-1, 184.
10 Among the principal hotels in S. L. City in 1S83 were the Walker House
and the Continental, formerly the Townsend House. The former was built
in 1872, at a cost of $140,000. Walker's Merchants and Miners of Utah,
MS. For description, see Deseret News, Sept. 4, 1872; S. L. C. Tribune, Sept.
7, 1872; gala's America Revisited, 290-4; for mention of the Gardo House,
sometimes nicknamed the Amelia Palace, see Dall's First Holiday, 101-3;
Duffus-Hardfs Through Cities and Prairie, 113.
11 An account of the various libraries is given later in this chapter. The
theatre at the corner of First South and First East streets was 175 by 80 ft,
with a stage 62 by 32 ft. It was of rock and adobe, with granite finish, fluted
pillars, and massive cornices, cost $'200,000, and had a seating capacity of at
least 1,500. In 18S2 the Walker Bros built the opera-house, at a cost of
$136,000, within a few yards of their bank. Its dimensions were 1G7 by 07
feet, with a height of 60 feet. The interior was tastefully decorated and upholstered,
and the stage well supplied with scenery and appointments, the
drop-scene being remarkably handsome. Walker's Merchants and Miners of
Utah, MS.; Graham's Utah Direct., 1883-4, 193. For further mention of
theatres and theatricals, see p. 584-5, this vol. ; Cooke's Theatr. andSoc. Affairs
in Utah, MS.; Ward's Lectures, 40; Hub tier's Round the World, 80; Bowles'
Our New West, 229-31; Richardson's Beyond the, Mississippi, 358-9; Rusling's
Across Amer., 178-81; Beadle's Life in Utah, 245-6; Ludlow's Heart of the
Continent, 334-7, 365-7; Rae's Westwardby Rail, 10S-10; Millennial Star, xxix.
70-3; Deseret News, March 27, 1867; Overland Monthly, v. 276-9.