Avenues

   Were it not for the quaintness of the architecture, the graceful trees that line the streets, the proximity to downtown Salt Lake City and the University of Utah, or the historic undertones that come from every crack in the sidewalk, the lower Avenues might be just another place to call one's home.
   But the fact remains, the lower Avenues possess all this and more, which is why, in large part, property values in the area continue to rise like houses up the hillside.
   By definition, the Avenues began at the very place quality residential living in Salt Lake City took off some 100 years ago --South Temple.  They extend northward, up the hill, culminating above 18th Avenue on Edgehill Drive.
   But back to the beginning.  By the late 1800's, South Temple had evolved into the first respected residential neighborhood in the Salt Lake Valley.  Brigham Young, whose grid blueprint gave Salt Lake City its relatively simple and logical design, designated South Temple as the dividing line separating the residential area from the merchant district.
   As a result, the Avenues possess narrow streets, suitable for horse-drawn carriages, while the roads located south of South Temple are uncommonly wide, whereby oxen teams delivering merchants' goods could easily be turned around.
   Aside from Young's residence, the stately Beehive house, and the Lion House, where Young's wives and children lived, South Temple was also the prime residential area for many influential citizens of the time, most of whom achieved their riches from the mining boom that hit the region between 1870 and 1890.