The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 93

-THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR- SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1990 PAGE G-2- Salt Lake City A place filled with peace, politeness and pedestrian right-of-way By RALPH VIGODA KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS Salt Lake City The Younger Daughter and I were standing at the curb in front of Temple Square, staring at our destination the Family History Library 132 feet across the roadway. "I don't think we're going to make it," I said, seeing a bus bearing down from the left and a cab coming from the right. Then something so miraculous occurred that, as I relate the story to disbelieving family and friends, I'm glad my child was there to verify it. First, the bus came to a complete stop a few feet in front of us. Then the cab did the same.

"It's a trick," I thought, having been stranded at intersections too many times. But it became apparent that the bus driver and cabbie were waiting for us to cross. I looked around, expecting to see Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, float down in a big bubble out of the Wasatch Range that glistened in the distance. "Rachel," I said to my kid, "I don't think we're in Philadelphia anymore." Welcome to Salt Lake City, a place of unrestrained well, unrestrained politeness. Admittedly, we did the city in high-tourist style, armed with the AAA guidebook, some library research and a half-dozen or so things Temple Square, the Beehive House, the Great Salt Lake on our "must do" list.

But even during our freestyle roaming, we found the place lacked the kind of "My goodness, it's the Liberty Bell!" excitement we've found in other metropolitan areas. (In fact. Older Daughter's strongest memory of Salt Lake City is the fabulous sale on socks in Crossroads Plaza, but that may be more of a comment on her age 13 than the city.) That isn't intended as a knock, however. After a few days marveling at nature's wonders along U.S. 40 through northern Colorado and eastern Utah, we were all ready for a dip in the motel pool and a little mellowing out.

Salt Lake City provided both. The city is pretty, the setting beautiful, the streets clean, the Mormon influence everywhere but never oppressive and just about every I attraction is free. It's astoundingly easy to get around, either by tion," say the brochures is the starting point for most visitors. It's open from 8 a.m. to 10 every day, and half-hour tours begin every Jew minutes.

There are two visitors centers, dozens of official guides wandering about to answer questions, and a huge monument to seagulls, flocks of which saved the early pioneers from starvation by devouring crop-destroying crickets. The seagull is landlocked Utah's state bird. The 10-acre square, surrounded by a 15-fopt wall, is dominated by the six-spired, granite Mormon Temple, which holds the sacred laws of the Mormon faith. Construction on the Temple began In 1853 and was interrupted four years later during the Utah War, a conflict between the Mormons and the U.S. government.

The capstone of the temple was put into place in 1893. A gqtd-leaf-covered statue of the Angel Moroni tops the 210-foot east tower. We were told politely that only "worthy Mormons" were allowed to enter. Not being either, we were forced to gawk and squint from outside The 130-year-old Tabernacle is open to anyone. Our first visit was just in time for an amazing acoustical demonstration.

Standing in front of the massive, 1 1 organ, a guide asked for silence and then dropped three pins. The sound from each could be heard" throughout the building. Our second visit was to hear one of the free daily organ concerts, a half-hour sound-and-light show that always includes a rendition of Come, Come Ye Saints, a hymn written as the Mormons trekked from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley. sl (The famed Mormon Tabernacle Choir has rehearsal at 8 p.m. each Thursday and a radio broadcast each Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Both are open to the public; the 90-minute rehearsal is informal, with people wandering in and out. The doors for the broadcast close at 9:1 5J Nearby are both old and new landmarks: the Hansen Planetarium, the Promised Valley Playhouse (a 1900s-era theater that has been remodeled and presents live productions), the Salt Palace Center (home of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association), the historic Zlons Cooperative Mercantile Institution (the first department store in the West), the newer Crossroads Plaza (140 stores on four levels) and Lamb's Restaurant. Complex of the Church of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) at Salt Lake City. hopping the trolley (a dollar buys a daylong unlimited pass), driving or, especially, on foot no holding the map upside down trying to figure out where a crooked alleyway leads. Those 19th-century Mormon city planners knew what they were doing.

Spreading out from the center of the city, blocks are arranged in grid patterns. Major streets are 132 feet wide enough room to turn around the four-oxen teams and covered wagons that transported people and goods in the mid-1800s and are identified by numbers and compass points. (The trendy Trolley Square shops, for instance, are at the corner of 600 South and 700 East.) Parking is hassle-free either that or we were blessed by Moroni, the Mormon angel. We drove to Temple Square twice and each time pulled immediately into a metered space, a perfect spot for strolling to the highlights. The square "Utah's No.

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