Provo, Utah
Provo (pronounced /ˈproʊvoʊ/) is the third largest city in the state of Utah, located about 43 miles (69 km) south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the county seat of Utah County and lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. With a population of 112,488, Provo is also the principal city in the Provo-Orem metropolitan area, which has an estimated population of 555,551 residents. It is the second largest metro area in the state behind Salt Lake City.The city is home to Brigham Young University, one of the largest private higher education institutions in the United States, which is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Provo is also home to the largest Missionary Training Center for the LDS church. The city is a key operational center for Novell and has been a focus area for technology development in Utah. The city is also home to the Peaks Ice Arena, which served as a venue for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002. Sundance Resort is located 13 miles northeast at Provo Canyon.In 2009, Provo was listed in 'Where to Retire' magazine as an 'enticing city for new careers.' Provo was also listed in National Geographic Adventure Magazine's 'where to live and play' as a cultural hub. In 2010 Forbes rated Provo one of the top 10 places to raise a family.
History
Provo was originally called Fort Utah when it was settled in 1849 by 33 Mormon families from Salt Lake City, but was renamed Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825. Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a Spanish Franciscan missionary-explorer, is considered the first European explorer to have visited the area, in 1776. Escalante chronicled this first European exploration across the Great Basin desert.
Geography
Provo is located at 40°14′40″N 111°39′39″W / 40.24444°N 111.66083°W / 40.24444; -111.66083. It lies in the Utah Valley at an elevation of 4,549 feet (1,387 m). According to the Telecom Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.8 square miles (108.2 km²), of which, 39.6 square miles (102.7 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.6 km²) of it (5.14%) is water.The Wasatch Range contains many peaks within Utah County along the east side of the Wasatch Front. One of these peaks, known as Y Mountain, towers over the city. There is a large 'Y' made of whitewashed concrete half-way up the steep mountain, built in the early part of the 20th century to commemorate Brigham Young University (original plans included construction of all three letters: BYU). Wild deer (and less frequently, cougars and moose) still roam the mountains (and occasionally the city streets). The scenery is generally considered enjoyable and allows for hiking, skiing, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Politics
According to a study released by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, Provo is the most conservative city in the United States with a population over 100,000. Local discussion of national politics tends to fall within the spectrum of moderately conservative to arch-conservative thought. However, Utah's 3rd Congressional District, of which Provo is a part, elected Democrat Bill Orton to three consecutive terms during the 1990s.Federally, Provo is part of Utah's 3rd congressional district, represented by Republican Jason Chaffetz, elected in 2008.The state's senior member of the United States Senate is Republican Orrin Hatch, elected in 1976. The state's junior member of the United States Senate is Republican Mike Lee, elected in 2010. The Governor of Utah is Republican Gary Herbert, who took office in 2009 following the resignation of Republican Jon Huntsman to be US Ambassador to China and was re-elected in 2010.
City administration
Provo city is administered by a council of seven and a single mayor. Five of the council seats are elected by individual districts of the city while two of the seats are elected by the city as a whole. These elected officials serve a term of four years, with elections alternating every two years. The seats of Council Members Midge Johnson, Cynthia Dayton, Steve Turley, and Sherrie Hall Everett are up for election in 2011. Everett is the only one seeking re-election. The current Mayor of Provo is John Curtis. Mayor Curtis was voted in as the new Mayor of Provo on November 3, 2009 and sworn in on January 5, 2010. In addition, Laura Cabanilla, Rick Healey, and Sterling Beck were elected to the council. Shortly after being elected, Council Member Cabanilla was deployed to active duty, leaving the council operating with six members.Mayor John Curtis was a partner and the COO of Action Target, a Provo based company which provides firearm training and products to police departments and military bases throughout the United States. His previous employers include OC Tanner and the Citizen Watch Company. He has also served on a number of community and advisory boards including the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce (now Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce), the Mountain Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Utah National Parks Council of the Boys Scouts of America, and the Utah Valley Healthcare Foundation.Former police chief J. Craig Geslison, a 31-year veteran of the Provo Police Department, announced during an external investigation of the Provo Police Department, that he would be retiring effective January 3, 2011. Currently David Bolda is serving as interim police chief.The City has its own School District with a school board composed of seven members each representing a different district of the city.
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU is the third largest private university in the United States with more than 32000 students. It is the flagship of the LDS Church Educational System of higher education. The campus is home to the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, the tallest building in Provo.
Covey Center for the Arts
The Covey Center for the Arts, a performing arts center, is located on 425 West Center Street. It features plays, art showcases, and musical performances throughout the year.
LDS Missionary Training Center
Provo is home to the LDS Church's largest Missionary Training Center. Each week some 475 LDS missionaries enter for 3 – 12 weeks of training before they depart for the mission field becoming part of more than 52000 in more than 120 countries. Currently about 1100 instructors (many returned missionaries) teach 62 languages. The center in Provo began construction in July 1974 and completed in July 1976. The MTC was expanded in the early 1990s to become the largest of 17 such centers in the world.
Provo City Library at Academy Square
The Provo City Library is a public library which occupies the building of the former Brigham Young Academy built in 1892. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Its collection contains over 277000 media. The library is located on University Avenue and 550 North.
LDS Temple of Provo, Utah
The Provo Utah Temple is located at the base of Rock Canyon in Provo. This temple is among the busiest the LDS Church operates due to its proximity to Brigham Young University and the Missionary Training Center.
Utah County Convention Center
The Utah County Convention Center's groundbreaking occurred on June 15, 2010. The convention center is located at Center Street and 200 West. It will play host to conventions, meetings, parties, and other social events. It is scheduled to open spring of 2012.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, 105,166 people, 29,192 households, and 19,938 families resided in the city. The population density was 2,653.2 people per square mile (1,024.3/km²). There were 30,374 housing units at an average density of 766.3 per square mile (295.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.52% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.80% American Indian, 1.83% Asian, 0.84% Pacific Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.47% of the population.There were 29,192 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 11.8% of all households were made up of a single individual, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.34 and the average family size was 3.40.22.3% of residents are under the age of 18, 40.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 8.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.The median income for a household in the city was $34,313, and the median income for a family was $36,393. Males had a median income of $32,010 versus $20,928 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,207. About 12.5% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.The residents of Provo are predominantly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS. According to data taken in 2000 by the ARDA, 88% of the overall population, and 98% of religious adherents in the Provo-Orem area are LDS.
Transportation
Interstate 15 runs along the west edge of Provo, connecting it with the rest of the Wasatch Front and much of Utah. US-89 runs northwest to southeast through the city as State Street, while US-189 connects US-89 with I-15, BYU, and Orem to the north. At the north edge of the city, US-189 heads northeast into Provo Canyon, where it connects with Heber. Amtrak the national passenger rail system, provides service to Provo station, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago, Illinois and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco. Provo also can be accessed by Greyhound Bus Lines and the extensive Utah Transit Authority (UTA) bus system. UTA's commuter rail service, FrontRunner, is expected to be extended to Provo from Salt Lake City by 2012.The Provo Municipal Airport is Utah's second busiest airport in terms of the number of aircraft take-offs and landings. Starting in June of 2011, the airport will offer its first commercial service to Denver, Colorado from Frontier Airlines. Salt Lake City International Airport is the closest airport with commercial airline services to multiple cities.
Local companies
Provo is home to more than three dozen restaurants, and a couple of shopping centers. The Shops at Riverwoods and The Provo Towne Centre, both shopping malls, operate in Provo. Within the past two years, a number of small shops, music venues, and boutiques have popped up in downtown, along Center Street and University Avenue. Downtown has also begun regularly hosting 'gallery strolls,' held every first Friday of the month, featuring local artists. There are many different dining establishments in and around downtown Provo. A few exclusively downtown Provo examples include: A Beuford Giffords, aka ABGs, one of only 3 bars in all of Provo and the only bar to host live music every weekend. Sammy's, a popular local cafe among BYU and UVU students renown for their sweet potato fries and shakes, and Tommy Burger, a world famous burger stand noted for burgers and Chicago-style hot dogs.Five Provo companies are listed on Inc.com's Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in the United States. The largest, DieCuts With a View, is ranked number 1403 and has revenues of $26.2 million. Other companies on the list are VitalSmarts (ranked 1501, with $17.9 million in revenue), Heritage Web Solutions (ranked 22, with $8.2 million in revenue), and Connect Public Relations (ranked 3694, with $6.1 million in revenue).MediaWorks Inc., one of Utah's premiere film and video production companies, was founded in Provo in 1998 and continues to provide production services to companies throughout the United States.The Food & Care Coalition is a local organization providing services to the homeless and low-income citizens of Provo and Utah county. They also provide volunteer opportunities.
International companies
Action Target, a shooting range manufacturer.
Ancestry.comis agenealogyand family networking company.
APX Alarm Security Solutionsis a full-service residential security company with customers throughout the United States and Canada. The company is an active sponsor of many local establishments and provides jobs to thousands of Provo residents.
Nature's Sunshine Products, a direct-selling company, manufactures and markets tablets and encapsulated herbal products, high-quality natural vitamins, food supplements, and skin care and other complementary products. The company has operations in the United States, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the United Kingdom, Israel and Chile. The company also exports its products to several other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, and the Russian Federation.
Novellis a software corporation specializing in network operating systems such as Novell NetWare and SUSE Linux, secure identity management products, and application integration and collaboration solutions. Together with WordPerfect, Novell was instrumental in making Utah Valley a focus for high-technology software development. Today this area has many small companies whose employees have previously worked at Novell. Novell continues to operate and employ around 2,000 people at its Provo facility.
Nu Skin Enterprises, a multilevel marketing firm for skin care products, was founded in 1984. In 2005, some 82 percent of revenues for the $1B USD company were generated through markets in Asia.
Qualtrics
Tahitian Noni Internationalis a health and skin care manufacturer whose products are based on the Tahitian fruit callednoni.
Special events
Every July, Provo hosts America's Freedom Festival at Provo which includes the Stadium of Fire at BYU. It is held in LaVell Edwards Stadium, home to Brigham Young University's NCAA football team. The Independence Day festivities are quite popular among local residents and have featured such notable figures as Bob Hope, David Hasselhoff, Reba McEntire, Mandy Moore, Huey Lewis and the News, Toby Keith, Sean Hannity, Fred Willard, Taylor Hicks In 2008 the Blue Man Group, Glenn Beck, and Miley Cyrus performed. The Jonas Brothers and Glenn Beck appeared in 2009.Provo is also home to two other large festivals each fall. Festival Latinoamericano is an annual family oriented Labor Day weekend event in downtown Provo that offers the community a taste of the region's Hispanic culture through ethnic food, vendors, and performances. The Sego Festival, highlights musicians, artists, and filmmakers based in Utah County.
National attention
Provo was city-ranked 1st for volunteerism (2008), 2nd for business/careers (2010), and 4th in health/well-being (2010); and its metro area is projected to have the greatest population increase in the 2010 United States Census (47%).
Notable residents
Kurt Bestor- award-winning composer, performer and host of morning radio/talk showKUTR820 AM
Robbie Bosco- Former BYU Football player
Stephen Covey- author ofThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
LaVell Edwards- Former BYU, and NCAA Football Hall of Fame Coach
Tom Holmoe- Former BYU football and San Francisco 49er player. Won 4 super bowl rings, 2 as a player and 2 as a coach for the Niners. Also coached at Stanford and was the Head Coach at Cal for a few years. Current BYU Athletic Director.
Julianne Hough- professionalballroom danceronDancing with the Stars (U.S. TV series)andsinger
Vernon LawandVance Law- bothMajor League Baseballplayers
Bert McCracken- lead singer of Utah based band The Used, was born in Provo.
Neon Trees- New Wave, Synthpop-Rock Band
The Osmond Family- raised all nine children in Provo, and continue to live there.Donny Osmond- singer/musician/actor
Marie Osmond- singer/author/actress
Osmond Brothers- vocal group/band
Jack Paepke- baseball player, coach, manager and scout.
Janice Kapp Perry- songwriter/composer/LDS musician
Fred Roberts-NBAplayer for theSan Antonio Spurs,Utah Jazz,Boston Celtics,Milwaukee Bucks,Cleveland Cavaliers,Los Angeles Lakers, and theDallas Mavericks.
Josh Rohatinsky- Former BYU Cross Country national champion, professional runner.
Brandon Sanderson- award-winning author
Ryan Shupe & the Rubberband- musicians/band/songwriter;'Dream Big'
Beatrice Sparks- psychologist and author
Branden Steineckert- former drummer of Utah based band The Used; current drummer for the band Rancid, was born in Provo.
Will Swenson- Tony-nominated actor
Steve Young-MVPofSuper Bowl XXIX, and Inductee ofPro Football Hall of Fame,College Football Hall of Fame,record-breaking quarterback for BYU & San Francisco 49ers.
Points of interest
Brigham Young University Arboretum
Peaks Ice Arena, hockey venue for the2002 Winter Olympic Games
Provo River, a river known for fishing and the Provo River Parkway, a paved bicycle and walking trail adjacent to the river.
Reed O. Smoot House, aNational Historic Landmark, located at 183 East 100 South.
Seven Peaks Water Park, the largest water park in Utah.
The Shops At Riverwoods, a center of residences, retails, and entertainment located at the mouth ofProvo Canyon.
Uinta National Forest, a national forest on theWasatch Frontbordering the east edge of Provo and Utah valley.
Utah Lake, a fresh-water lake popular for fishing, boating, and other recreational activities.