Sights to See: Salt Lake City’s Most Unique Buildings

Looking for the best sights to see in Salt Lake City? You may want to consider visiting these Instagram worthy spectacular buildings. There are many unique structures found throughout the city, many of which have ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which is a trademark the state of Utah is known for. Whether you are religious or not, there is not doubt these are some of the most beautiful, fascinating architectural designs in the state. Let’s take a tour of the most notable buildings in Salt Lake City.

1. The Salt Lake City LDS Temple

The best known attraction would arguably the most visited location in Utah, the Salt Lake LDS Temple located at the heart and center of Salt Lake City in Temple Square at 50 N West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150. This temple is so significant to the Salt Lake area that the city’s streets are measured and named by distance from the temple going north, south, east or west. The Salt Lake Temple is the tallest and largest temple of the Church of Latter Day Saints at 253,000 square feet.

SLC Temple during the Holiday Season

Thousands make their way to this temple to walk through the gardens, take in the scenery and snap photos all year long. The Salt Lake Temple is at its busiest during the holiday season from mid November to early January when all of Temple Square is highlighted and decorated with an enormous amount of Christmas lights. For more on Temple Square visit Relax at Temple Square.

2. Utah State Capitol Building

Not only is the Utah State Capitol Building the home of the Utah state government, it is also one of the most beautiful buildings in the state inside and out. The capital is located just above Temple Square at 350 State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84111.The Utah State Capitol was built in 1916 using materials found right in the state of Utah, including granite and copper from Little Cottonwood Canyon. Along with the beautiful interior, the exterior of the building has a lot to offer. There is a large lawn, flower gardens and statues surrounding the buildings making this a perfect place to take pictures. You can even drive up or take a short hike to Ensign Peak, above the capital to see one of the best overlook views of the Salt Lake Valley.

For more information on this view sport visit Ensign Peak Hike. If you would like to learn more about hikes with great views of the city please visit Salt Lake’s best hikes with a view.

3. The Cathedral of the Madeleine

The Cathedral of the Madeleine is a Roman Catholic inspired cathedral with mesmerizing interior and exterior. This building is found just a couple blocks down from the LDS Temple and the Utah State Capitol Building, located at 331 E S Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. It took nine years to fully build this enormous cathedral, it can be noted that the outside of the building was created with Romanesque influences whereas the inside is a representation of Gothic style. Although this is one of Utah’s most Iconic buildings, it is still an actual running Catholic cathedral including full religious mass services, wedding services, choir and organ recitals and more.

Outside View of
The Cathedral of Madeleine
Inside of the Cathedral of Madeleine

4. Natural History Museum of Utah

Natural History Museum of Utah is known for actively having great exhibits throughout the year enjoyable for both adults and children. Along with great activities going on inside of the building, the outside also has lot to offer. The Natural History Museum of Utah sits right next to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, a very popular hiking and running destination. Due to its location, it has gorgeous scenery by the mountains, especially in the winter when there is snow covering its’ surroundings. The building itself has a very modern look and feel to it with the incorporation of glass walls and many horizontal mismatched bands to illustrate rock formations seen throughout the state of Utah. The copper used to define these layered textured walls was all mined from Utah’s own Kennecott Copper Canyon Mine.