We have been to Park City numerous times, so I'm including some historical pictures along with the pictures from our most recent trip.
Mormon Pioneers were the first settlers in the "Wasatch Back" and in 1849 Parley P. Pratt built a toll road through the canyon to reach Salt Lake City. The first settlement in the area was named "Parley's Park City," but the name was changed to "Park City" in the early 1900s.
In the 1860s gold, silver, and lead were discovered in the "Wasatch Back" and Park City went through a mining boom that brought large numbers of prospectors to the area. In 1892 the Silver King Mine became one of the most famous silver mines in the World and Park City became the largest silver-mining camp in the country. However, in 1898 a fire destroyed almost the entire town. The town was rebuilt, but then in 1902 an explosion in the Day West Mine killed 34 miners. After the Day West Mine explosion many people left the area and as the mines started to play out more miners continued to move out of Park City. By the 1950s Park City was nearly a ghost town.
In 1963 a few of the remaining Park City miners decided to give up their mining heritage and build a ski resort called "Treasure Mountain." As the ski industry expanded, Utah soon became a ski destination. In 2002, Park City hosted the Winter Olympics and in 2015 Park City Ski Resort merged with Canyons Ski Resort to become the largest ski resort in the United States. Park City is now home of the United States Ski Team and the training center for the Australian Freestyle Ski Team.
During the summer months, Park City is a popular destination for hiking, mountain biking, and water activities at the nearby reservoirs and hot springs. Rossignol USA, backcountry.com, and Skullcandy now have their corporate headquarters in Park City. Also during the summer months, the Sundance Film Festival is estimated to add $80 million to the local economy. One tourist brochure states that Park City (population 7,558 permanent residents) currently houses more tourist than residents, with over 600,000 tourist stays each year. Forbes Traveler Magazine named Park City one of the 20 "prettiest towns" in the United States.
The historic section of Park City has become a high-rent district for boutique shops, restaurants, bars, and night clubs. I was surprised when I parked in a public parking lot one afternoon -- parking was free, until 5 PM.
There are numerous sculptures and other works of art scattered through the historic district.
 |
| Historic Picture: "Franz The Bear" is still greeting people |
The Park City Museum is located in the historic City Hall building. Various exhibits are located on the main and second floors, but it is the Territorial Jail located in the basement that most people want to see. This is one place that you definitely would not have wanted to be incarcerated in for any length of time. It was reported that at least 11 people died in "The Dungeon" from alcohol poisoning or exposure.
There are also several mine exhibits located in the basement and one exhibit showing the working levels of a mine that extends for two floors. .
Also located in the basement is the "World's First Underground Ski Lift." In 1963 the United Park City Mines Company converted an electric miner's train into a ski lift by transporting skiers three miles into the mountain and then hoisted them 1,800 fee to the surface. It was reported that the Underground Ski Lift was warmer than sitting on a chair lift with wind and snow blowing around you at 40 miles per hour.
The Utah Olympic Park was constructed for the 2002 Winter Olympics and is still used today as a winter sports training facility and summer fun center. Although there is no snow on the ski runs and ski jump areas during the summer months, visitors can still watch the world's best aerial athletes perform aerial maneuvers with heights up to 60 feet and then land in the 1.2 million gallon Freestyle Pool of water. For those that want to feel what it is like to be an Olympian, the Bobsled Experience with a professional pilot will take you down one of the 2002 Olympic bobsled tracks in special equipped bobsleds with wheels! Also available during the summer months are Extreme and Freestyle Zip Lines, chairlift rides, Alpine Slide, Extreme Tubing, Drop Tower, Airbag Jump, Discovery Zone/Course, mountain biking, and nature trails for hiking.
 |
| Historic Picture |
When visiting the Olympic Park during the summer months, the Flying Ace All-Star Freestyle Team puts on a free aerobatic show; however, the skiers land in water rather than on snow. Unfortunately, this time I visited Olympic Park in the fall and the aerial team was not performing, so I included some pictures from a summer visit.
The ski jumps and skeleton tracks are closed during the summer, but it is awesome to look down the tracks from the top.
Several buildings in the Olympic Plaza are open all year, including the welcome center, Alf Engen Ski Museum, Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum, gift shop and cafe.
"Land of Enchantment" was the name of the 2002 Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony and some of the puppets that were used in the Ceremony are on display in the museum.
A number of years ago my first mountain biking experience on a ski slope was at Park City. Brent suggested we ride the chair lift to the top of the mountain and then follow some ski trails back to the bottom. Since I had never been biking on a ski slope I got off of the chair lift and decided to just go down the hill directly under the lift. I didn't realize that on a steep slope you can not stop using the bike's brakes, so even with the real wheel locked, I quickly gained way too much speed. All I could do was hang on to the handlebars and pray, which I did a lot of. Every time I hit a bump the bike went airborne. Somehow I managed to keep the bike upright until I reached the bottom of the hill, at which point I just fell off of the bike and hugged the ground. The rest of the day was spent on more moderate trails.
The skiing pictures were not taken at Park City or Alta, but I do not remember which ski resort we were at -- probably Snowbird or Sundance. Now the grandchildren only go snowboarding, but I still prefer skiing.
Located near Kimball Junction (Interstate 80 and Highway 40/189) is the historic Kimball Stage Station, which is now privately owned and used as a residence. Over the years several additions and modernization have been made to the original structure.
The Stage Stop was originally built in 1862 along the Overland Trail at the head of Parley's Canyon by William H. Kimballl. The two-story sandstone building included a hotel, dinning room, store, and post office. The dinning room was famous for its dinners, prepared and served by Kimball's wives, and notable guests included Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Horace Greeley. In later years the station was also part of the Holladay Stage Line and the Wells Fargo Express Company.
Although some tourist literature and web sites still list underground tours of the Ontario Silver mine as a Park City attraction, I was told that these tours have been discontinued; so I did not drive out to the mine site.
BONUS PICTURES (File pictures - Outdoor Chess Match in Park City)
No comments:
Post a Comment