United States · Utah · Salt Lake City
Central City, Salt Lake City — Area Guide & Where to Stay
A 97-foot water tower rises over Trolley Square in Central City, a core neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, east of downtown.
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Where to stay in Central City
The practical side of choosing where to sleep.
Central City runs east from the downtown grid, and the two ends of it suit different stays. The Library Square end sits on the TRAX Red Line, which runs down the median of 400 South, so the Salt Lake City Public Library stands a block off and downtown begins just west. Trolley Square anchors the other end.
Base yourself there for the shopping center built inside the 1908 streetcar barns, with Liberty Park a short walk south past 900 South.
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Library Square
The TRAX Red Line runs in the median of 400 South at this corner of Central City, so the downtown blocks are minutes away without a car.Find hotels in Library Squareshopping under the 97-foot water tower on the old streetcar blockTrolley Square
The 1908 car barns were rebuilt as a shopping center in 1972, and Liberty Park lies a short walk south past 900 South.Find hotels in Trolley SquareHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Salt Lake City
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Utah Museum of Fine Arts
- The Leonardo
- Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts
Churches & Religious Sites
3- Iglesia La Luz del Mundo Heritage
- Sugar House LDS Ward Building Heritage
- First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City
Castles & Historic Sites
2- Sugar House Monument Heritage
- Celebration of Life Monument
Landmarks & Notable Places
8- Beehive House Heritage
- Simon Bamberger House Heritage
- David Keith Mansion and Carriage House Heritage
- John B. Kelly House Heritage
- Nelson Wheeler Whipple House Heritage
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- William Culmer House Heritage
- Frederick A.E. Meyer House Heritage
- Albert H. Kelly House Heritage
worth knowingacross 4 categories in and around Salt Lake City
About Central City
What are the main landmarks in Central City?
Central City keeps its landmarks on the numbered grid, starting with Trolley Square at 600 South 700 East, where a 97-foot water tower stands above the old streetcar barns. St. Mark's Cathedral holds the northwest corner on 100 South, its cornerstone laid in 1870 and the building finished only in 1903. Two houses stand on 100 South.
The Royle House and the Simon Bamberger House sit a few doors apart, the second built for the man Utah elected as its fourth governor. Iglesia La Luz del Mundo, a Richardsonian Romanesque church on 300 South, opened in 1898 for the first Christian Science congregation in Utah.
What is the history of Central City?
Central City was settled soon after the Mormon pioneers arrived, the ground just east of Temple Square being close enough to build on early. Before that the Northwestern Shoshone, the Ute, and the Goshute used the Salt Lake Valley as seasonal hunting ground. The streetcar shaped what followed.
Salt Lake City put its main streetcar depot here in 1908, and after the system was dismantled in 1945 the barns sat unused for decades until a shopping center opened inside them in 1972.
Where is Central City?
Central City lies east of Downtown Salt Lake City, between South Temple and 900 South, with The Avenues above it and Liberty Park just past its southern edge.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Central City?
Library Square: morning reading at the Salt Lake City Public Library and a train west along the 400 South median. Trolley Square: shopping under the 97-foot water tower on the old streetcar block.
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Updated October 2026