Bojana Lakic

HIST 1510
Professor: Michael Stone
April 27 2016
As I thought about my community connection assignment I contemplated what historical site I could visit. When I
looked at Utah state map, and I thought about the history of the American Wild West, I decided to read about the
certain events that modernized the West. The expansion of the railroad from East Coast to West Coast had made a
major mark on the history of United States. I visited the Salt Lake City Union Pacific Rail Station, now located in
the downtown area, currently serves as part of a venue area. The Union Pacific Depot was built in 1909 and it served
as a railroad station for rail lines connecting to San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Oregon.
As I walked thru the building I can see that the there are still some french victorian
charm left. The painted murals on the walls, stained glass, off white paint with
golden accent, cherry wood doors, and frames, tiled floors, they all remind me of an
era in which men dreamed and believed anything was possible. The architecture of
this building is appealing to me because of reddish facade and roof, it reminds me
http://www.roadarch.com/sign
of the motherland "Europe", where I lived until my family decided to move to
s/utslc.html
United States. Looking at the pictures of the station that were taken in 1910 it looks
as if it was the prize of the town. It was the Salt Lake City's connection to the
outside world, welcoming passengers into the Mormon country, and now it serves
as an entrance to the Gateway shopping center. The rail station was in business
from 1909 until 1986 and then replaced by the Denver Rio Grande Western Depot
that was built a few street block south. At the time there was continued competition
between Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroad company. Union Pacific was
building their railroad in New England and by 1860 they expanded the rail track to
Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad was under construction of a railroad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
track in Sacramento, California, each were competing for the win of who will build
Salt_Lake_City_Union_Pacifi
thru the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, and in 1869 by the power of Utah government c_Depot
they made an agreement to meet at the Promontory Summit, today is also a historical
landmark called The Golden Spike currently located near Brigham City.
While I visited The Golden Spike historical site, I was taken back in time with the view
of the locomotive and its memorable sounds of the bell and its high pitched whistle. The
colors of locomotive are patriotic and signifies the colonial era. In celebrating their success
four spikes were hammered into the track by the railroad workers of each crew. Two spikes
were of gold, silver, and the other two of mixture of metals in signifying the gold and silver
rush and connecting the East Coast and the West Coast. The information that I thought was
http://www.wired.com/ most impressive is that the majority of laborers were Chinese Immigrants and minority
2010/05/0510transcont Caucasian and Black. As I read more about the Central Pacific Railroad I learned that
during the 1860s California was dealing with the Gold Rush and the large numbers of
inental-railroad-Chinese Immigrant left their homelands to escape poverty and overpopulation in search for
completed/...
a better life, they traveled across the Pacific Ocean and found work in California. Even
though they lived with much segregation from the opposing race they proved themselves
to be reliable, organized, hardworking individuals. Brigham Young's decision to allow
his followers to assist the Union Pacific to build the rail tracks and the station in Salt
Lake City changed Utah's relationship to the outside states. By connecting of the rail
lines Utah's economy was able to continue to grow due to expansion of mines and coal
usage, in addition many Mormon's found work by contributing their share of the physical
.http://www.destination36 labor in constructing of the railroad tracks by expanding the lines to Ogden, Utah. It's
interesting how transportation industry has changed so much so quickly, while the use of
0.com/north-america/us/utah/golden-- train for traveling from one state to the other is not as popular today as is the use of a
private automobile or an airplane, but the expansion of the Union Pacific Railroad was a
spike
starting point for pioneers, settlers, and immigrants to find a new home in the west.