Archives News

October marked the 20th anniversary of the formal opening of the current home of the Utah State Archives and Records Service at 346 S. Rio Grande Street. The anniversary gives us at the Archives the opportunity to reflect on how past visions of a purpose-built facility for the Archives brought us to where we are today. The Archives first became

In September 1996, President Bill Clinton made the controversial decision to draw on powers reserved to him by the 1906 Antiquities Act, and designate 1,880,461 aces of land in southern Utah as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. But did you know that sixty years earlier federal officials were pondering the designation of a similar monument that would have dwarfed the area

The Superconducting Super Collider The history of human activity in Utah’s Great Salt Lake Desert suggests that it is a place where the biggest of human ideas can take root. During the 1980’s this tendency took the shape of a detailed proposal to turn a section of Great Basin desert into the world’s most cutting edge science and research destination.

The MX Missile The MX Missile was an intercontinental ballistic missile utilized by the United States between 1985 and 2005. Development began on the MX missile (which stood for “Missile Experimental”) in 1971 and in 1979 U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced that 200 MX missiles would be deployed throughout western Utah and eastern Nevada. This proposed basing system was immediately

Every year in April, 4th through 12th grade students from across the state embark on a research project for Utah History Day, part of the larger National History Day (NHD) contest. Students choose a historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct primary and secondary research in libraries, archives, and museums. The final projects are presented in one of five ways: an

After the Salt Lake High School was established in 1890, it operated in a number of different locations before settling into the former home of the University of Deseret, located on the present-day site of West High School. In 1912, a building was completed on the west side of the same block to house the companion Technical High School, which

The recent successful landing of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at the Utah Test and Training Range[efn_note]Hill Airforce Base, Utah Test and Training Range, https://www.hill.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/672497/utah-test-and-training-range/.[/efn_note] in the West Desert near Dugway created a lot of excitement! But did you know that spacecraft landings in Utah’s deserts could have been a regular occurrence had history played out just a little differently? In 1971, Utah

This is what the Utah State Government looked like just one year after the end of World War II. The population of the state was roughly 638,000 and the State Capitol was still the primary office building for state government. Governor Herbert Maw stands at the front of the crowd on the steps of the Utah State Capitol. Along with

Long-time Provo residents may have felt a certain sense of loss several months ago as they watched the demolition of the familiar Provo City Center that housed city government for over 50 years. Completed in 1972, the complex was Provo’s first purpose-built city hall since the city government was formed in 1851. As with many city halls, the building was

Every year in April, 4th through 12th grade students from across the state embark on a research project for Utah History Day, part of the larger National History Day contest. Students choose a historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct primary and secondary research in libraries, archives, and museums. The final projects are presented in one of five