Description
Great Salt Lake, UTAH - Saltair Pavilion & Restaurant - Lake Front: Saltair, also The SaltAir, Saltair Resort, or Saltair Pavilion, is the name that has been given to several resorts located on the southern shore of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, United States, about fifteen miles (25 km) from Salt Lake City. The first Saltair, completed in 1893, was jointly owned by a corporation associated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Salt Lake & Los Angeles Railway (later renamed as the Salt Lake, Garfield and Western Railway), which was constructed for the express purpose of serving the resort. Saltair was not the first resort built on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, but was the most successful ever built. It was designed by well-known Utah architect Richard K. A. Kletting and rested on over 2,000 posts and pilings, many of which remain and are still visible over 110 years later. Saltair was a family place, intended to provide a safe and wholesome atmosphere with the open supervision of Church leaders. While some of the other resorts in the area were seen as "spiritually bleak", a young courting Mormon couple could visit Saltair without worrying about gossip. Trains left from Salt Lake City every 45 minutes, and so long as the boy got the girl home at a reasonable time after the train arrived, parents weren't worried – in part because, from the moment of arriving at the station before the outing until they left the station coming home, they were usually never out of sight of trusted members of the community. More than once, a couple on the way home found themselves in the same car as their parents, who themselves had been dancing at Saltair. Intended from the beginning as the Western counterpart to Coney Island, Saltair was one of the first amusement parks, and for a time was the most popular family destination west of New York. Some criticism was pointed at the Church over the sale of coffee, tea or alcohol (all of which are prohibited by Mormon doctrine), as well as Saltair's being open on Sunday. The church finally sold the resort in 1906. This Divided Back Era (1907-15) postcard, is in good condition, but shows some edge wear. C.T. Photochrom No. A-56851. Published by Souvenir Novelty Co. Salt Lake City, Utah. No. 525.
