Podcast: Park City: From Mines to Slopes, 1960’s – 2023

Unloading Park City’s “Skier Subway” ca. 1965-1969
Park City Museum, Pop Jenks Collection – Reproduced with permission from Dalton Gackle

As tourism continues to boom in Utah and the western states, “America’s Ski Town” has attracted millions of skiers yearly. Yet the resort wasn’t always like this. This ski town was once home to one of the biggest mining industries in the world. As the industry lost value, a shift of focus toward tourism led to the ski town we know and love today. The Utah Government, along with Park City as a town, established various efforts to boost tourism for the ski industry and outdoor recreation in general for the state. According to Liftopia, Park City Resort is the biggest ski resort in the US after acquiring Canyons. Park City has embraced the mining history while developing the resort. For example, as you ski the mountain, you can still see structures from the mines connecting you to the past. The mining history of Park City remains an integral part of shaping the resort and its continued success.

View of Park City ca. January 2023 (photo by author)

Acknowledgments:

I want to thank my family, classmates, Dalton Gackle, Park City Museum, and especially Dr. Miller in helping me pursue this project. I also want to thank “Seth_Makes_Sounds”, “zagi2”, and “Humanoisemaker” on freesound.org for their sounds used in this podcast.

Bibliography:

Bagley, Judd. “Yes, Park City Is Still ‘America’s Ski Town.’” Utah Business. February 2, 2023. https://www.utahbusiness.com/yes-park-city-is-still-americas-ski-town/.

Coleman, Annie Gilbert. Ski Style. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004. 

Kelly, Tom. 2021. “Sandy Melville: Silver to Slopes.” Ski Utah! March 10, 2021. https://www.skiutah.com/blog/authors/tom-kelly/sandy-melville-silver-to-slopes.

Lopez, Beth. 2019. “From Mining Town to Ski Town: The Great Transformation of Park City.” 

Campman. November 5, 2019. https://www.campman.com/blog/from-mining-town-to-ski-town-the-great-transformation-of-park-city/.

Oliver, Anne, and Kate Hovanes. 2017. “From Silver to Snow: Preserving Park City’s Mountain 

Treasures.” SWCA. July 17, 2017. https://www.swca.com/news/2017/07/from-silver-to-snow-preserving-park-citys-mountain-treasures.

“Park City Historic Timeline.” Park City Museum. https://parkcityhistory.org/park-city-historic-timeline/

Park City Museum. “From Silver to Snow: History of Skiing in Park City.” Given by Tom Kelly. April 27, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQA_6v7bNCw.

Rogers, Kristen. “‘We Didn’t Think He Was Gonna Build It’: Skiing Hits a Mining Town.” Issuu. November 4, 2001. https://issuu.com/utah10/docs/uhq_volume69_2001_number4/s/10191696.

Rugh, Susan Sessions. 2006. “Branding Utah: Industrial Tourism in the Postwar American 

West.” The Western Historical Quarterly 37, no. 4 (Winter, 2006): 445-472. https://www-jstor-org.proxy.library.emory.edu/stable/25443416?seq=3

Thompson, George A, and Fraser Buck. Treasure Mountain Home: Park City Revisited. Salt Lake City: Dream Garden Press, 1993. 

Thorne, Patrick. 2015. “Top 10 Largest Ski Resorts in North America.” Liftopia (blog). December 11, 2015. https://blog.liftopia.com/top-10-biggest-ski-resorts/.

Warren, Larry. Park City: Mountain of Treasure. Missoula: Mountain Press, 2004

Wyckoff, William. How to Read the American West: A Field Guide. Seattle: University Of Washington Press, 2014. 

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