Jump to content

Provo, Utah: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m add nation
G4grichie (talk | contribs)
22 edits
Line 195: Line 195:
===LDS Missionary Training Center===
===LDS Missionary Training Center===


Provo is also home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' largest [[Missionary Training Center]] (MTC). Each week some 475 [[LDS missionaries]] enter for 3 – 12 weeks of training before they depart for the mission field; becoming part of over 50,000 in more than 120 countries. Presently, about 1,100 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, becoming the largest of 17 such centers in the world.<ref>{{cite news |author=Robb Hicken |title=BYU helps push language learning for missionaries |url=http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/57697 |publisher=BYU NewsNet |date=2005-12-01 |accessdate=2006-11-09 }}</ref><ref> [http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=37bc12fccd78f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=3e0511154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD LDS Newsroom - Statistics of LDS Church]</ref>
Provo is also home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' largest [[Missionary Training Center]] (MTC). Each week some 475 [[LDS missionaries]] enter for 3 – 12 weeks of training before they depart for the mission field; becoming part of over 52,000 in more than 120 countries. Presently, about 1,100 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, becoming the largest of 17 such centers in the world.<ref>{{cite news |author=Robb Hicken |title=BYU helps push language learning for missionaries |url=http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/57697 |publisher=BYU NewsNet |date=2005-12-01 |accessdate=2006-11-09 }}</ref><ref> [http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=37bc12fccd78f010VgnVCM100000176f620aRCRD&vgnextchannel=3e0511154963d010VgnVCM1000004e94610aRCRD LDS Newsroom - Statistics of LDS Church]</ref>


==Transportation==
==Transportation==

Revision as of 16:46, 12 August 2009

Provo, Utah
City
Provo courthouse garden, Spring 2008
Provo courthouse garden, Spring 2008
Flag of Provo, Utah
Flag
Nickname: 
P-town
CountryUnited States
StateUtah
CountyUtah
Founded1849
IncorporatedApril 1850
Named forÉtienne Provost
Area
 • City41.8 sq mi (108.2 km2)
 • Land39.6 sq mi (102.7 km2)
 • Water2.1 sq mi (5.6 km2)
Elevation
4,551 ft (1,387 m)
Population
 (2007)[1]
 • City117,592
 • Density2,653.2/sq mi (1,024.4/km2)
 • Metro
493,306
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes
84601-84606
Area code(s)385, 801
FIPS code49-62470Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1444661Template:GR

Provo is a city located within the US state of Utah. Currently estimated at 117,592 people, [1] it is the third largest city in Utah and is 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. Provo is also the principle City in the Provo-Orem metropolitan area, with an estimated population of 540,820 residents.[2] It is the second largest metro area in the State behind Salt Lake City's.

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. The largest Missionary Training Center for the Church is also located in Provo. 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.

History

Provo was originally called Fort Utah when it was settled in 1849 by 33 Mormon families from Salt Lake City, but was re-named 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 visit the area in 1776, but only came as far north as the Provo Utah Valley, some 30 miles (48 km) south of the Salt Lake City area. Escalante chronicled this first European exploration across the Great Basin desert.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18602,501—
18702,384−4.7%
18803,43244.0%
18905,15950.3%
19006,18519.9%
19108,92544.3%
192010,30315.4%
193014,76643.3%
194018,07122.4%
195028,93760.1%
196036,04724.6%
197053,13147.4%
198074,10839.5%
199086,83517.2%
2000105,16621.1%
2007 (est.)117,592

As of the 2000 censusTemplate:GR, there were 105,166 people, 29,192 households, and 19,938 families residing 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/sq mi (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 individuals 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 predominately 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.[3]

Geography

Rock Canyon in Provo

Provo is located at 40°14′40″N 111°39′39″W / 40.24444°N 111.66083°W / 40.24444; -111.66083Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} functionTemplate:GR. 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.

Climate data for Provo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
[citation needed]

[citation needed]

Landmarks

Provo Utah LDS Temple

The Provo Utah Temple is located at the base of Rock Canyon in Provo. Due to its proximity to Brigham Young University and the Missionary Training Center (MTC), just across the street, this temple is among the busiest the LDS Church operates.[4]

Brigham Young University

Provo is home to Brigham Young University, a private university operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU (occasionally referred to as "BYU-Provo" after Ricks College became BYU-Idaho in 2001) is the second largest private university in the country, with more than 34,000 students. It is the flagship of the Church Educational System of higher education. The large population of students makes Provo a "college town". Provo's ambiance differs from other college towns, however, since the majority of its students are LDS - the Church does ban the consumption of alcohol at BYU resulting in BYU being consistently rated the number-one "stone-cold sober" university in the United States, by The Princeton Review.[5] The campus also is home to the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, the tallest building in Provo.[6][7]

Most BYU students live near BYU's campus. BYU requires that single students live in approved, non-coed housing, with BYU-approved standards that include the prohibition of smoking, alcohol, pre-marital sex, and other regulations as well. New rules keep apartments from being "BYU-approved" if they are more than two miles (3 km) from the eastern corner of campus. There are currently more student housing apartments under re-construction.

LDS Missionary Training Center

Provo is also home to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' largest Missionary Training Center (MTC). Each week some 475 LDS missionaries enter for 3 – 12 weeks of training before they depart for the mission field; becoming part of over 52,000 in more than 120 countries. Presently, about 1,100 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, becoming the largest of 17 such centers in the world.[8][9]

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.[10]

Politics

Further information: List of Utah State Legislatures, List of United States Senators from Utah, Utah's 3rd congressional district, 15th Utah Senate District, and 16th Utah Senate District

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.[11][12] Local discussion of national politics tends to fall within the spectrum of moderately conservative to arch-conservative thought. Utah's 3rd Congressional District, of which Provo is a part, elected Democrat Bill Orton to three consecutive terms during the 1990s, however.

City administration

The current Mayor of Provo is Lewis K. Billings, a lifelong Provo resident who is serving his third term as Mayor. Billings was originally elected Provo City Mayor in November 1997, after completing three years as Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Community and Government Relations for the City of Provo. Never having earned a college degree, and prior to his service to Provo City, Mayor Billings was President and Managing Partner of IDC, an investment partnership specializing in "turnkey" lease facilities for small to medium sized businesses. Before joining IDC in December 1983, Mr. Billings was Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of CalDisk, a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of rotating memory storage products for computer applications.

The current Police Chief of Provo is J. Craig Geslison, a 31-year veteran of the Provo Police Department. He was hired in April 1978. Chief Geslison served four years as a patrolman and then spent two years as the Provo Police Department's first full-time Crime Prevention and Community Relations officer. Chief Geslison was promoted to Sergeant in 1984 where he served in detectives, patrol and dispatch divisions. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1988, where he served as a watch commander, and was appointed a Captain in 1994. Geslison became Provo's first Assistant Chief of Police in 1997 and was directly responsible for Support Services, the Patrol Division and had oversight of the Police Department's budget.

Companies in Provo

Local Companies of Interest

Provo is home to more than three dozen[13] restaurants, and a couple of shopping centers. The Provo Towne Centre, a shopping mall, operates 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.

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.[14] Other companies on the list are Atlas Marketing Group (ranked 1035, with $19.6 million of revenue),[15] VitalSmarts (ranked 1501, with $17.9 million in revenue),[16] Heritage Web Solutions (ranked 22, with $8.2 million in revenue),[17] and Connect Public Relations (ranked 3694, with $6.1 million in revenue).[18]

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.

International Companies

File:ProvoUtahUniversityAve.jpg
View of Downtown and the NuSkin building
  • The Generations Network is a genealogy and family networking company, whose holdings include ancestry.com.
  • Nature's Sunshine Products, a direct-selling company, manufactures and markets tablets and encapsulated herbal products, high-quality natural vitamins, food supplements, 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.
  • Novell is 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 the 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 2000 people at the Provo facility.
  • Nu Skin Enterprises, a multi-level marketing firm for skin care products, was founded in 1984. In 2005, some 82% of revenues for the $1B USD company were generated through markets in Asia.
  • Tahitian Noni International is a health and skin care manufacturer whose products are based on the Tahitian fruit called noni.

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[19] In 2008 the Blue Man Group, Glenn Beck and Miley Cyrus performed. The Jonas Brothers and Glenn Beck are scheduled to appear in 2009. [20].

Provo also hosts the Sego Festival each fall, highlighting musicians, artists, and filmmakers based in Utah County.

Notable Residents

Points of interest

Notes

  1. ^ a b U.S. Census Bureau 2007 Population Estimates
  2. ^ "Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008 (CBSA-EST2008-01)" (CSV). 2008 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2009-03-19. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  3. ^ Religious adherents in Provo-Orem, Utah
  4. ^ "Utah Valley/Provo Area Mormon History Sites". Utah.com. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  5. ^ "End Of Top Party School's Ranking?". CBS News. 2002-08-27. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  6. ^ Emporis. [Unknown last update]. Kimball Tower. Retrieved April 07, 2007, from http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=kimballtower-provo-ut-usa
  7. ^ Brigham Young University. [Unknown last update]. Campus Information. Retrieved April 07, 2007, from http://unicomm.byu.edu/directories/bldg.aspx?id=SWKT
  8. ^ Robb Hicken (2005-12-01). "BYU helps push language learning for missionaries". BYU NewsNet. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
  9. ^ LDS Newsroom - Statistics of LDS Church
  10. ^ "UTA sets tentative 2012 date for Provo-Salt Lake commuter rail" http://www.rideuta.com/mediaRoom/projects/airportLR/newsArticles.aspx?pressReleaseID=591
  11. ^ "Top 10 Conservative Cities". bNet. 2006-05-01. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  12. ^ The Bay Area Center for Voting Research (2005-08-11). "The Most Conservative and Liberal Cities in the United States". Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite news}}: line feed character in |author= at position 32 (help)
  13. ^ http://chefmoz.org/United_States/UT/Provo/ Provo Dining Guide
  14. ^ "DieCuts With a View". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  15. ^ "Atlas Marketing Group". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  16. ^ "VitalSmarts". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  17. ^ "Heritage Web Solutions – IT Services, inc5000 Article - Inc. Article". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2007-09-11.
  18. ^ "Connect Public Relations". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  19. ^ Taylor Hicks at Stadium of Fire 2006
  20. ^ Daily Herald - Miley Cyrus coming to Stadium of Fire
  21. ^ Jones, Del (2004-11-09). "Covey takes a lesson from himself, releases '8th Habit'". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  22. ^ "Meet the Writers: Stephen R. Covey". Barnes and Noble. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  23. ^ "The Osmonds (The Osmond Family) Biography". Biography.com. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  24. ^ "Class Acts". ESPN.com. 2005. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  25. ^ "Steve Young". College Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  26. ^ Robinson, Doug (2006-08-13). "Steve Young: A new chapter". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  27. ^ Robinson, Doug (2006-11-22). "The unique sounds of Ryan Shupe". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  28. ^ http://basketballreference.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ROBERFR01
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Provo, Utah.

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Provo,_Utah&oldid=307584500"