Capitol Hill (Salt Lake City) - Geography

Geography

The hill slopes down to the south so that it handsomely overlooks the Salt Lake City downtown area. The Utah State Capitol, which the hill is now named after, was built from 1912 to 1916 in the prime spot to overlook the city. State Street, a road which runs through the whole state as highway 89, leads up Capitol Hill toward the Capitol which can be seen from miles away as the symbolic end of State Street. Main Street also climbs Capitol Hill one block to the west. The entire Salt Lake City metro area is impressively seen from Capitol Hill, and the Great Salt Lake glistens miles to the west.

The hill is home to many historic buildings. The west sloping side of the hill is called "Marmalade Hill", since the streets are named after various fruits that are often used in making marmalade. It is renowned as a uniquely diverse neighborhood. The east slope descends sharply into City Creek Canyon. Over the small canyon is another Salt Lake City neighborhood called "the Avenues". Above and to the north of the Capitol building is the Wasatch Springs area named after nearby natural hot springs. The sloping south face of Capitol Hill is sometimes called "Heber's Bench" after Heber C. Kimball, former resident and Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Marmalade District's borders are generally considered to be a small triangular area bounded by 300 North on the south, 500 North on the north, Center Street on the east, and Quince Street, the district's "Main Street", on the west.

The Capitol Hill Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.