Salt Lake City

Historic Preservation

Planning Division | (801) 535-7700 | historicpreservation@slcgov.com

U of U Circle

U of U Circle

The University of Utah was the first land grant college established west of the Mississippi. Under John Park’s leadership, it grew into a strong non-sectarian state school. In this role, it served the entire state as it grew from a close Mormon community into a diverse state. Dr. Park’s insistence on independent thinking and conclusions based on evidence, produced a high quality of students who went on to positions of leadership in the state, nation and Mormon Church.

At the present, the University of Utah has an excellent medical school serving the entire intermountain area. It has gained national recognition for its research on cancer and organ transplants. It also gives a high quality professional education in pharmacy, business, engineering, and social and behavioral sciences. Its law school is one of the two largest in the intermountain west. The University of Utah, placed at the center of Nevada, Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming, provides the entire area with superior state-supported professional education.

The architectural significance of the buildings in this district are twofold. The library, Normal and Physical Science buildings are noteworthy because they were done by Richard K. A. Kletting, the architect of the Utah State Capitol and other major buildings in Salt Lake City. S. C. Dallas, who designed Alfred W. McCune Mansion, a National Register property, did the museum and Park Buildings. Both architects were prominent turn-of-the-century Salt Lake City architects. The Park Building is also a good example of Neo-Classical Revival architecture.