OSHER 337 - West Side Stories: Utah History through Salt Lake City's Oldest International Neighborhood

One of a three-part series, this course will tell the story, with your help, of one of Salt Lake Valley's most unique neighborhoods, a microcosm of Utah's not-so-often-told history, from its beginnings to the present. Fall term will cover up to the 1880s, winter term will cover up to World War I, and spring term will cover to the present. Through presentations, guest lecturers, readings, and recommended sites to visit independently, this course will delve into the history of Salt Lake City's oldest international, transportation, and industrial district. Inhabited first by Utah's ancient and Native peoples, the area served as a base camp or distribution hub for nearly every immigrant group that settled in Utah or the Intermountain West, up until the 1970s. In 1847, Mormon settlers laid claim to the region by first camping on Salt Lake City's original west side. Thereafter, other immigrants joined, including Jews from Germany and Russia, Chinese, Africans, Italians, Greeks, Eastern Europeans, Japanese, Syrians and other refugees from the crumbling Ottoman Empire, Mexicans, and Latinx peoples. All made, or were pressured to make, the original west side their home. The area became a bastion of other religionists, mutual aid societies, and counterculture groups and a gathering place for LGBTQ+ communities. It has also served as a place for beleaguered travelers and the homeless, ever since the first train entered the city.