Were it not for the quaintness of the architecture, the lazy trees that line the streets, the proximity to downtown Salt Lake City and the University of Utah, or the historic undertones that ooze from every crack in the sidewalk, the Avenues might be just another place to call one’s home. But, the fact remains, the Avenues possess all this and more, which is why, in large part, property values in the area continue to rise like houses up the hillside.

By definition, the avenues begin at the very place quality residential living in Salt Lake City took off some 100 years ago. By the late 1800’s, South Temple had evolved into the first respected residential neighborhood in the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young, whose grid blueprint gave Salt Lake City its relatively simple and logical design, designated South Temple as the dividing line separating the residential area from the merchant district.

Aside from Young’s residence, the stately Beehive House, and the Lion House, where Young’s wives and children lived, South Temple was also the prime residential area for many influential citizens of the era, most of whom achieved their riches from the mining boom that hit the region between 1870 and 1880.

Property that had originally been earmarked for modest homes with large gardens, ultimately evolved into haven for the well-to-do. One of the more prominent residents of South Temple in the early years was Thomas Kearns, who achieved his wealth from the Park City Silver mines.

With the inherent growth Salt Lake City has experienced, it’s surprising the Avenues have managed to retain the charm and simplicity of that bygone era. Restoration of historic homes has become increasingly popular, and tax incentives have been established to help encourage such activity.

In the Lower Avenues, expect to see pedestrians walking their furry companions, sipping lattes and sucking down freshly ground wheatgrass shots. Their environmentally conscious neighbor will cruise by on his gently used mountain bike, and all is good in this ‘hood. Dave Van Langeveld, the chair of the Greater Avenues Community Council, says, “There’s such a nice mix of young and old, families with children, professional people and blue-collar laborers. [The variety] really enhances the whole area.” And, Langeveld points out, the neighbors tend to work together to better their community despite their differences. Look for the vibrantly renovated Memory Grove Park for great views of the Utah Capitol and even a meditation chapel.?

The upper echelon of the Greater Avenues community ascends from 11th Avenue and Virginia Street onward. Here, you’ll find McMansions (built before the zoning regulations forbade an extra two stories) neighbored by humble view-seeking bungalows made popular in the 1930s. Aside from a few tennis courts and parked Range Rovers, landscapers and lawn-care crews provide the only signs of life on weekdays.

The Avenues: North of South Temple, extending to city limits; east of State Street, extending to city limits.

Pioneers came into the Sandy area in the 1860s. It was a farming community with few people and widely spaced homes. When mining began in the nearby canyons and the railroad arrived in 1877, Sandy changed from a quiet agricultural village to a booming mining town. There were three smelters and two sampling mills here for testing the ores brought down from the mines. The railroad station was located almost directly across the street from where the Sandy Museum is now. In those days the museum building was a ZCMI Co-op store where the farmers, miners and even local Native Americans came to buy or trade items. It is said that Sandy got it’s name from the nickname of the red-headed train engineer called ” Sandy” Kinghorn.

In 1893 Sandy’s population was over 1000 and Sandy incorporated and passed its first ordinances. The first Mayor was Arthur J. Cushing and Sandy was a one-mile square town containing many thriving businesses including 17 saloons. The rich ores brought to the smelters provided jobs for hundreds of men and made Sandy a major hub of society and business. Today Sandy has grown to be large suburban community with a population of over 100,000 citizens.

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On July 29, 1847 a group of pioneers known as the Mississippi Company, led by John Holladay, entered the Salt Lake Valley. Within weeks after their arrival, they discovered a free flowing, spring fed stream, which they called Spring Creek (near Kentucky Avenue). While most of the group returned to the Fort in Great Salt Lake for the winter, two or three men built dugouts along this stream and wintered over. Thus, this became the first village established away from Great Salt Lake City itself. In the spring, a number of families hurried out to build homes and tame the land. There were numerous springs and ponds here and grasses and wild flowers were abundant, making this a most desirable area for settlement. When John Holladay was named as the branch president of the Church, the village took upon itself the name of Holladay¹s Settlement or Holladay¹s Burgh.

As homes were built, commercial ventures developed, first at the intersection of Highland Drive and Murray-Holladay Road, with David Brinton¹s Mercantile Co-op and Brinton-Gunderson Blacksmith Shop. As the community grew, businesses tended to move east of the intersection of Holladay Boulevard and Murray-Holladay Road, where more of the residents lived. Neilson¹s Store and Harper-Bowthorpe Blacksmith Shop were popular and well-frequented businesses for many years. Favorable conditions for agriculture, orchards and businesses allowed for continued growth over the years.

The Holladay and Cottonwood communities were unincorporated areas of Salt Lake County and 15 years ago efforts were made by a dedicated group of citizens to incorporate as a separate entity, but area citizens voted against incorporation by a narrow margin. Salt Lake County, the Utah Supreme Court and/or the Utah State Legislature frustrated subsequent efforts and citizens weren¹t allowed another incorporation vote until May 4, 1999. On that day, a better-informed citizenry voted by over 83% to approve incorporation and the City of Holladay was officially incorporated on November 30, 1999.

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Cottonwood Heights is located on a large sandbar left over from the ancient Lake Bonneville that filled the Salt Lake Valley centuries ago. It is located between the two most majestic features along the Wasatch Front ­ Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. This sandbar rises hundreds of feet above the valley floor. On the North it tapers gently to the valley floor allowing a gradual, nearly nondescript access from the lower to the higher ground.

Because it was high and very dry, the earliest settlements in the area were located along the Little Cottonwood Creek, which lay will below the South and West bluff sides. It was along this creek that the old Union Fort was built (the first settlement in the area ­ behind the Wal Mart Store) to accommodate the first day’s travel for wagons carrying block from the quarry in Little Cottonwood Canyon to build the Salt Lake Temple.

Since water is always critical to the development of an area, the top flatland of the sandbar was too dry and desolate to attract settlers. And while the Little Cottonwood creek was the closest, it was also the least available because of the high bluff. It was apparently this problem that earned this particular portion of Cottonwood Heights its first name Poverty Flats. Water was then brought from the Big Cottonwood creek down from the mouth of the canyon to enable farms and orchards to be established where we now live. Early settlers established small farms producing hay, wheat and a variety of vegetable crops. Yet, the area was most widely known for its fruit production: even to the marketing of the fruit out-of-state.

While the name Poverty Flats continues, the undaunted families who settled here went on to produce an inordinate number of college graduates in law, business, medicine, engineering and education. The name was changed from Poverty Flats to Butlerville and then changed when the area became a part of a larger community now known as Cottonwood Heights.

In 2007, Money magazine rated Cottonwood Heights at #100 on their Best Places to Live list.

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