City of Brigham Young

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This travelogue tours the area in and around Salt Lake City, Utah and touches upon the influence of the Mormon Church and its leader, Brigham Young. The tour begins at the Great Salt Lake, one of the largest inland lakes in the world, spotted by one of Young's scouts in 1847 as the place to set up the Mormon community, which Young coined the City of Zion. The industriousness of the Mormon peoples transformed the valley from a virtual wasteland into an agricultural and cultural oasis, the latter based on their faith. One of the earliest landmarks is Eagle Gate, erected in 1858 as an entrance to Young's ten acre estate. Temple Square and the Mormon Temple (one part of which is the Mormon Tabernacle, where the famed choir of the same name hosts its weekly radio program) serve as the center of the Mormon religion in the city. A monument to the seagull was erected in honor of their part in saving wheat crops from swarms of locusts. The Brigham Young Monument is located in the center of the city. Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, established in 1868, is thought to be the US's first cooperative department store. The grand Salt Lake City and County building, at the site of the Mormon pioneer's headquarters, replaced that headquarters' first structure, a threadbare tent. The Utah Capitol building is regarded as one of the finest in the country. The Mormon Battalion Monument is found in the shadows of the Capitol. What is now known as the University of Utah also grew out of the Mormon community. The tour concludes at the Central Warehouse and Grain Elevator, which highlights the continued role of agriculture in the region.