Park City Museum

LORE ART ADVENTURE

Adventures in Local History

 

This day of discovery introduces you to the rich history upon which this community was built, from pioneers and gritty miners, to ghosts, and the eventual transition to glamourous mountain destination! Here are some opportunities to explore the colorful stories of how things used to be.

 
 
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A Venerable Breakfast

A Park City original, owned and operated by locals since 1972, The Eating Establishment features breakfast all day (from steel cut oats to shakshuka to steak and eggs), plus a round selection of comfort foods. Also serving specialty cocktails, whiskey, and an impressive menu of craft beers after 11:30am.

Back story: The Eating Establishment is the oldest continuously-open restaurant in Park City. It most recently changed hands in 2016 when owner Rick Anderson decided to retire after more than 25 years of operations.  The restaurant was purchased by Edison Alley Group, a collection of extended family members with local roots, whose most notable partner is Ty Burrell, the Emmy award-winning actor who plays Phil Dunphy in the popular ABC sitcom "Modern Family". The group also owns several hospitality businesses in the Salt Lake valley.

Photo: Park City Mountain

Photo: Park City Mountain

History on the Mountain         

The discovery of silver ore in 1868 spurred a silver boom and the rapid development of Park City. Learn about the mining history of the area with Park City Mountain Resort’s free Guided History Tour offered daily at 10am and 1pm (for intermediate skiers/riders), or reserve a guided Historic Snowshoe Tour with White Pine Touring that takes you past historic mining sites, with remnants of old mine buildings and views of the entrances to closed mining tunnels (for all ability levels). The snowshoe tour concludes with full admission to Park City Museum.

Inside Scoop: In 1872 George Hearst, the father of William Randolph Hearst, bought the Ontario Mine in Park City with partners for $27,000. Although it was not profitable for the first three years and placed considerable financial strain on Hearst - causing him to sell his home and horses, dismiss his servants, and enroll his son, William, in public school - it eventually yielded dividends of over $12 million, and produced over $50 million in its lifetime.

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Locals’ Favorite Lunch

Ski or ride down the mountain or walk from Main Street to indulge in classic comfort food at Davanza’s, a cozy, family-owned local’s joint just off Main Street, where everything is made from scratch. Known for great pizza, Philly Cheesesteaks, and serving fries with Utah’s own “fry sauce” since 1979, the restaurant’s walls are lined with a captivating collection of world-wide beer memorabilia.

Only in Park City: A visitor was moved to write a letter to the editor of Park Record newspaper, expressing amazement and gratitude at her interaction with the Davanza’s team. The fellow who had delivered their pizza from Davanza’s contacted her the following day, concerned that the generous tip (there were two crisp $50 bills stuck together) may have been a mistake, and offering to return it if so.

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The Story of Snow Sports

Discover the fascinating history of skiing in the intermountain west at the Alf Engen Ski Museum and George Eccles 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum at the Utah Olympic Park. The 29,000 sq ft facility features numerous interactive exhibits that chronicle the stories of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah, the science of avalanches, the development of the snowboard, and the back stories of the greatest contributors in competition, innovation, development and promotion of skiing and snowboarding in the intermountain west.   The park offers guided tours of the 2002 Olympic competition sites, including the world's highest altitude ski jumps and the fastest bobsled, luge and skeleton track. Don’t miss the virtual reality ski theater experience.

If You Dare: While at the Utah Olympic Park, take a ride on the Olympic bobsled track. A bobsled pilot will take 3 passengers down the track in a modified bobsled to experience the thrill of pulling up to four G’s while flying through15 turns at speeds of up to 80 mph.

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Heritage of the Pioneers

Take a trip back to simpler times when hardy pioneers settled in Summit County. The Summit County History Museum in Coalville preserves their legacy of hard work and honesty with docent-guided tours of the Museum and the Summit County Courthouse.

Insider Tip: Download a copy of the Summit County Historic Driving Tour map to explore the rich history of the county from historic structures, to striking geologic formations, to the route of the Pony Express.

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From Silver Mines to Ski Destination

Explore Park City’s history - from its start as a silver mining town in the late 1800′s, to the international mountain destination that it is today – at Park City Museum, an interactive, family-friendly museum on historic Main Street. Locals’ favorite exhibits include the “Skier’s Subway”, and Park City’s original Territorial Jail, located in the basement of the museum. Children can complete a “Park City History Detectives” activity, which will guide them through the exhibits and provides the whole family with a way to dig deeper into Park City’s past.

Don’t Miss: America’s Road:  The Journey of Route 66, a history of and fascination with one of the world’s most famous highways. Nearly every aspect of 20th century United States history is reflected in the story of the people and events along the Mother Road that stretches 2,448 miles and crosses through eight states. This exhibit, featured through May 6, includes photographs, narrative, music, and objects from the Route 66 heyday and is appropriate for all ages.

Photo: The Viking Yurt

Photo: The Viking Yurt

A Lofty Dinner with Glogg

Open December through March, the Viking Yurt at Park City Mountain offers a Nordic dining experience in an authentic yurt, perched on the side of the mountain at 8700 feet, and accessed via sleigh. It starts with a 23-minute sleigh ride climbing 1800 vertical feet, and includes starlit skies and live music on a baby grand piano. This four hour, 6-course European dining experience opens with a steaming mug of Glogg - a hot, non-alcoholic berry based drink spiced with cardamon, nutmeg and cinnamon - and has only one seating of 40 guests per evening.

Backstory: Owners Joy and Geir Vik could not find a moving company willing to transport their antique baby grand piano up the mountain to the yurt. So Geir strapped a mattress to their snowmobile trailer, loaded Joy's heirloom piano on top, and carefully drove up the mountain on a bumpy ski maintenance road, pulling the entire contraption behind.

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Things that Go Bump in the Night

Join the Park City Ghost Tour on Main St. at 7pm nightly for a Park City history lesson with insights into the aspects that involve the paranormal.  Created by a pair of retired history teachers and a filmmaker who studied metaphysics, ESP and crop circles, the tour is based on 12 years of research, interviews and field recordings. Ranked #2 Haunted Tour in the US.  

Sneak Peek: One of the most famous ghosts in Park City is Edwina, the ghostly figure of an older woman who haunts the historic Egyptian Theatre on Main Street. The story passed down is that Edwina played the organ for the theater, and when it burned down in the great fire of 1898, the flames consumed her as well. Performers report seeing her in the dressing rooms on the lower level.

 

IF YOU DECIDE TO STAY

In addition to getting the guaranteed lowest rates, booking your lodging here is another way to help sustain art in our local community. A portion of your booking goes back to the Park City Summit County Arts Council.