Yet
through all of this, Salt Lake has never become a typical American city;
it remains unique. The Mormon Church is a dominant force, Mormonism is still its most conspicuous feature, and deep division between Mormons
and non-Mormons continues, particularly on the social and cultural levels.
There is still much to Nels Anderson's observation in 1927 that Salt
Lake is "a city of two selves," a city with a "double personality."
As Dale Morgan observed more than forty years ago, Salt Lake is a "a
strange town," a place "with an obstinant character all its own." That
continues to be true.
See:
Thomas G. Alexander and James B. Allen, Mormons and Gentiles: A History
of Salt Lake City (1984); Robert Gottlieb and Peter Wiley, Empires in
the Sun: The Rise of the New American West (1982); John S. McCormick,
The Historic Buildings of Downtown Salt Lake City (1982); John S. McCormick,
Salt Lake City, The Gathering Place: An Illustrated History (1980);
and Dale L. Morgan, "Salt Lake City, City of the Saints," in Ray B.
West, ed., Rocky Mountain Cities (1949).
John
S. McCormick
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