The Social Hall

The Social Hall was the first place in the Intermountain West built purely for a good time. Dedicated on New Year's Day 1853, this plastered-adobe building — a 350-seat auditorium with a real stage and a banquet hall in the basement — was raised by the Latter-day Saint church under Brigham Young as the region's first recreation center. The Deseret Dramatic Association staged home-talent plays and musicales here; the territorial legislature met here; the town danced, dined, and gathered here for seventy years. The hall was razed in 1922, and this monument keeps its place.

What the plaque says

This monument marks the site of the Social Hall, the first recreation center in the intermountain west. Built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the direction of Brigham Young. Made of plastered adobe walls with native wood floors and roof. Auditorium 40 by 60 feet, seating 350 persons, stage 20 by 40 feet, dressing rooms and banquet hall in basement. Dedicated January 1, 1853. Here the Deseret Dramatic Association conducted many home talent theatricals, musicales and other festivities. Sessions of the Legislature, official meetings, receptions, banquets and other social functions were held here. It was used as theater, library and gymnasium by the Mutual Improvement Associations. In 1922 the building was razed.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — 0.2 mi
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — 0.3 mi
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Ensign Peak — 1.5 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 1.8 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• Gardo House — steps away
• Federal Reserve Bank — steps away
• A Private School House — steps away
• City Creek — steps away