Base and Meridian
- This monument is currently inaccessible due to the Salt Lake Temple Renovation project.
Physical Address
- 10 South Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 View Map
The Base and Meridian is located on the southeast corner of Temple Square and marks the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an affixed point from which the city streets were named and numbered. The original survey point was selected shortly after the first Latter-day Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in August 1847.
Salt Lake City is laid out as a grid system starting at the intersection of the base line (running east to west) and the meridian (running north to south). Many other cities and towns in Utah follow a similar grid pattern based on this approach. This marker also functions as a point of reference for many cities in the western United States. In 1855, a sandstone marker was placed to mark the spot.
After years of weather deterioration, the original Base and Meridian marker was removed, and a replica made of the same sandstone was put in its place in 1989. The original marker is currently on display in the Conference Center.
Due to the seismic renovation of the Salt Lake Temple which began in 2019 and is expected to take about four years to complete, the historic location and survey point is protected behind fencing and is not currently visible.