Utah

Overlooking Salt Lake City with the Wasatch Mountains in the distance, the Utah State Capitol is a grand and spacious building. There is a lot to see inside and on the surrounding Capitol Grounds, so allow ample time to get the full experience.

The Utah State Capitol is open seven days a week, but most services are open Monday through Friday, including the visitor center near the East Entrance where you can get the State Capitols Passport stamp. Learn more about Utah State Capitol history or plan a visit.

The capitol has an extensive collection of Capitol Art that includes paintings and busts of historically significant Utahns and Americans. The Capitol Exhibits and Art Map (PDF) is a downloadable resource that will help you find them on all four floors.

The Utah State Capitol is an artistic masterpiece throughout. The rotunda on the second floor is massive and close to the Utah Governor’s office. Within view of the rotunda, grand staircases rise to the third floor, where the Utah Supreme Court and Utah State Legislature meet. The Senate and House of Representatives chambers have beautiful murals along their ceilings, though I found the Senate chamber’s design especially impressive.

The Capitol Grounds are stunning with interesting statues and monuments along a tree-lined memorial pathway. Along with its beauty and amazing views of Salt Lake City and the mountains, this would be a great place to rest and reflect on a good weather day.

Though we don’t normally associate Utah with the Civil War, the Utah and the Civil War monument honors 130 Utahns who guarded mail and communications routes at the request of President Abraham Lincoln. It also honors Utah’s lone Civil War death, Lieutenant Henry Wells Jackson, who enlisted with the Union army and died in Virginia during battle.

Some of my favorite pictures of this capitol were of the Capitol Lions, which majestically guard the East and West Entrances. An exhibit on the fourth floor provides more information about the lions. They were given the names of honorable virtues and depict different stages of life:

• Honor: Young Lion

• Patience: Young Adult

• Integrity: Middle-Age

• Fortitude: Eldest

Next to the capitol is Memory Grove Park, which is accessible from the capitol grounds on the Capitol Boulevard side. Built in 1924 to honor America’s fallen military men, it includes a hiking trail, meditation chapel, amazing memorials, and the Harbor of Beauty, a reflecting pool dedicated to fallen American sailors.

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