Gateway District - Salt Lake City, Utah - Outdoor Mall, restaurants, Children's Museum, Planetarium

A mixture of entertainment, food and shopping, the Gateway District also has loft-style apartments and several business offices. You'll also find coffee shops, sports bars, bookstores, fine jewelry departments and an arcade. As Salt Lake City, Utah's only open-air contemporary destination you can shop and dine at over 130 stores and restaurants.

One of the features at the Gateway is the restored 1908 Union Pacific Depot featuring early French Renaissance architecture and original artwork. Another must see is the Olympic Legacy Plaza and its very popular fountain. This fountain features the "dancing waters" of the Olympic Snowflake Fountain, on a hot summer day the fountain is a favorite with local children.

At the Gateway you'll also find the Clark Planetarium, and Gateway Movie Theatres. There are seasonal downtown parades, festivals and other events held along the main thoroughfare of the Gateway.

Physical location is 400 West 200 South in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hours are from 10am to 9pm from Monday to Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 6pm.

One of the most popular venues at the Gateway is Discover Gateway Children's Museum. Discover Gateway Children's Museum - With a child-sized village with a farm, grocery store, playhouse and construction site, the Discover Gateway is full of hands on fun. There is a central 'hive'...a ball pit with chutes, slides and 'poppers.' It's difficult to get young children past this point. You can spend an entire day at this one and still not see it all. There are interactive weather and TV exhibits, physics and magnetic workshops, a seasonal area full of the sights, smells and sounds of the various seasons and a changing exhibit area.

The Boyer Company, one of the largest developers of commercial real estate in the Intermountain Region, sponsored and owns the Gateway District of Salt Lake City. This urban redevelopment project's first phase was completed prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics that were held in Utah and consisted of mixed-use development. This development housed the Gateway Mall, the Northgate Apartments, as well as including a renovation of the Depot Station. Today the Gateway District also houses the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, and a 12-story high-rise condominium tower. The Parc at The Gateway overlooks the Olympic Legacy Plaza, and are considered to be some of the highest cost housing in the city.

Additional stores within the Gateway District include Abercrombie & Fitch, J. Crew, the Virgin Megastore, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Barnes and Noble Booksellers, as well as Apple Computers. There is a Build a Bear workshop, Victoria's Secret, and Brighton Collectibles. Additional restaurants include California Pizza Kitchen, McGrath's Fishhouse, the Dodo, Fleming's Prime Steak House and Ruby's Diner, as well as the Happy Sumo sushi bar.

One online reviewer said, "How can you not love the Gateway? It is the best shopping place in SLC! I love going there and hitting all the stores, seeing a movie, and then getting some food. I am so excited for the holidays to come and have everything be decorated and festive!!''

Another online reviewer said, "Having lived in major cities worldwide, Salt Lake City has many positives on its side. One major positive is The Gateway District and it's ever expanding development. To the Boyer Company. First, thank you for your vision and addition to this ever expanding metropolis. Your architectural mix of building shapes and there arrangement is very attractive. In fact, I would say much more so than many outdoor malls I have visited, especially with the Union Pacific Depot added to the mix. Also the Olympic fountain is much nicer and more usable than many other fountains. If possible in the future as an update to your expansion plans, could you please fine- tune the exterior finish of some of the buildings. The stucco finish is great as a complement or break in patterns, such as your use of stucco with generous stone accents. However, in certain areas there is definitely too much stucco.''