PI-60 Building Stones of Downtown Salt Lake City, A Walking Tour

300 North State Street

The Salt Lake Fire Crew lined up in front of City Hall (now Council Hall) in the 1880s at its original location on the southeast corner of 100 South and State Street. The octagonal clock tower contained a fire alarm bell. This building was constructed of Nugget Sandstone quarried in Red Butte Canyon, Salt Lake County and was moved to its present location in 1961-62.
Photo courtesy of Utah State Historical Society.

Formerly the old Salt Lake City Hall, this building was constructed in 1864-66 with the reddish-brown Nugget Sandstone. This sandstone was quarried in Red Butte Canyon located on the northeastern edge of the Salt Lake Valley and brought down on railroad flat cars (the railroad spur was removed years ago).

The Nugget Sandstone in northern Utah and the Navajo Sandstone of southern and eastern Utah were part of a large sand dune field that covered almost all of Utah during the Early Jurassic Period (208 to 187 million years ago).

This building housed offices of the Salt Lake City government and meetings of the Territorial Legislature for nearly 30 years. Initially located on the southeast corner of 100 South and State Street, it was dismantled stone by stone and reconstructed at its present site in 1961-62. The original octagonal clock tower contained a fire alarm bell.

Today, Council Hall is home to the Utah Travel Council and the Utah Tourism and Recreation Information Center which provide information on Utah's public lands and tourist attractions. Council Hall is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday, and holidays 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Stone (possibly Nugget Sandstone) being transported by Emigration Canyon Railway Company to the Salt Lake Valley, July 1909. Photo courtesy of Utah State Historical Society.

As you continue south down the east (left) side of State Street, notice the use of local Nugget Sandstone for steps, retaining walls, and basements built in the early 1890s to early 1900s (especially at 214, 204, and across the street at 225 North).

Tour Stops