Great Salt Lake Base and Meridian

Nearly every street address in Salt Lake City — and much of Utah — is measured from this one corner. On August 3, 1847, days after the pioneers arrived, Orson Pratt and Henry Sherwood fixed the point at the southeast corner of the temple block Brigham Young had just chosen, and numbered the new city's streets outward from it. In 1855 the U.S. surveyor-general made it the initial point for all public-land surveys in Utah, setting a stone monument still in place. That grid still orders how Utahns find their way.

What the plaque says

Latitude 40°46'04" - Longitude 111°54'00" Altitude (sidewalk) 4327.27 Ft.Fixed by Orson Pratt assisted by Henry G. Sherwood, August 3, 1847, when beginning the original survey of “Great Salt Lake City,” around the “Mormon” Temple site designated by Brigham Young July 23, 1847. The city streets were named and numbered from this point. David H. Burr, first U.S. Surveyor-General of Utah, located here in August 1855, the initial point of public land surveys in Utah, and set the stone monument, still preserved in position. An astronomical station, its stone base still standing 100 ft. N. and 50 ft. W. of this corner was established by George W. Dean, U.S.C.&G. survey, September 30, 1869, to determine the true latitude and longitude; it was used to obtain correct time at this point until December 30, 1897.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — steps away
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — steps away
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Ensign Peak — 1.4 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 1.9 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Old Folks Day — steps away
• Desert News Building — steps away
• Zions First National Bank — steps away
• Joseph Smith — steps away