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Provo is a city in Utah and the county seat of Utah County, located about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. It lies between the cities of Orem to the north and Springville to the south. It is perhaps best-known as home to the main campus of Brigham Young University.

Settled in 1849 by 33 families from Salt Lake City, Provo has grown to a population of 105,166 (2000 Census). Its population was estimated to have increased to 113,459 by 2005, which would make it the second-largest city in Utah. The Provo-Orem Metropolitan Area has 412,361 residents.

The site was named Fort Utah by the Mormon settlers, but re-named Provo in 1850 for Étienne Provost, an early French-Canadian trapper who arrived in the region in 1825.

Every July, Provo hosts the Stadium of Fire at BYU. It is held in LaVell Edwards Stadium, home to Brigham Young University's NCAA American football team. The Independence Day festivites are quite popular among local residents and have featured such notable figures as Bob Hope, David Hasselhoff, Reba McEntire, Mandy Moore, Huey Lewis and the News, Toby Keith and Sean Hannity. The 2006 Stadium of Fire featured American Idol winner Taylor Hicks. *

Geography

Provo is located at (40.244421, -111.660804). It lies in the Utah Valley at an elevation of 4,549 feet (1,387 meters).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 108.2 km² (41.8 mi²). 102.7 km² (39.6 mi²) of it is land and 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²) of it (5.14%) is water. *

The Wasatch Range contains many peaks within Utah County along the east side of the Wasatch Front. One of these peaks, known as Y Mountain, towers over the city. There is a large "Y" made of whitewashed concrete half-way up the steep mountain, built in the early part of the 20th century to commemorate Brigham Young University (original plans included construction of all three letters: BYU). Wild deer (and less frequently, cougars and moose) still roam the mountains (and occasionally the city streets). The scenery is generally considered enjoyable and allows for hiking, skiing, fishing and other outdoor activities.

Transportation

Interstate 15 runs along the west edge of Provo, connecting it with the rest of the Wasatch Front and much of Utah. U.S. 89 runs northwest to southeast through the city as State Street, while U.S. 189 connects U.S. 89 with I-15, BYU, and Orem to the north. Near the northeast edge of the city, U.S. 189 heads northeast into Provo Canyon, where it connects with Heber. Amtrak the national passenger rail system, provides daily service to Provo, operating its California Zephyr between Chicago, Illinois and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco. Provo also can be accessed by Greyhound Bus Lines and the extensive Utah Transit Authority (UTA) bus system. A commuter rail line is planned to be extended to the city by 2015.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 105,166 people, 29,192 households, and 19,938 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,024.3/km² (2,653.2/mi²). There were 30,374 housing units at an average density of 295.8/km² (766.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.52% White, 0.46% Black or African American, 0.80% American Indian, 1.83% Asian, 0.84% Pacific Islander, 5.10% from other races, and 2.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.47% of the population.

There were 29,192 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 11.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.34 and the average family size was 3.40.

22.3% of residents are under the age of 18, 40.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 8.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,313, and the median income for a family was $36,393. Males had a median income of $32,010 versus $20,928 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,207. About 12.5% of families and 26.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.4% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

The population of Provo is heavily Mormon (LDS). According to data taken in 2000, 88% of the overall population and 98% of religious adherents in the Provo-Orem area are LDS.*

Companies in Provo

  • Software company Novell, Inc. was founded and originally headquartered in Orem but soon after developed and moved into a facility in Provo. Novell continues to operate and employ around 2000 at the Provo facility.
  • High quality skin care products marketing firm, Nu Skin Enterprises was founded in 1984. In 2005, some 82% of revenues for the $1B USD company were generated through markets in Asia.
  • Translation firm, MultiLing Corporation.
  • Genealogy and family networking company MyFamily.com, Inc.
  • Health and skin care manufacturer, Tahitian Noni International.

Politics

Provo tends to be a conservative city. Local discussion of national politics tends to fall within the spectrum of moderately conservative to arch-conservative thought, with a few leftists mostly represented by student groups or university professors. However, Utah's 3rd Congressional District, of which Provo is a part, elected Democrat Bill Orton to three consecutive terms during the 1990s. Oddly, although Provoans tend to have a keen interest in national politics, they tend to pick and choose local issues to follow. One of the hot-button topics in recent years has been scrutiny of the city's zoning laws.*

City Administration

The current Mayor of Provo is Lewis K. Billings, a lifelong Provo resident who is serving his third term as Mayor. Billings was originally elected Provo City Mayor in November 1997, after completing three years as Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Community and Government Relations for the City of Provo. Prior to his service to Provo City, Mayor Billings was President and Managing Partner of IDC, an investment partnership specializing in "turnkey" lease facilities for small to medium sized businesses. Before joining IDC in December of 1983, Mr. Billings was Senior Executive Vice President and General Manager of CalDisk, a manufacturer and worldwide supplier of rotating memory storage products for computer applications.

The current Police Chief of Provo is J. Craig Geslison, a 27-year veteran of the Provo Police Department. He was hired in April of 1978. Chief Geslison served four years as a patrolman and then spent two years as the Provo Police Department's first full-time Crime Prevention and Community Relations officer. Chief Geslison was promoted to Sergeant in 1984 where he served in detectives, patrol and dispatch divisions. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1988, where he served as a watch commander, and was appointed a Captain in 1994. Geslison became Provo's first Assistant Chief of Police in 1997 and was directly responsible for Support Services, the Patrol Division and had oversight of the Police Department's budget.

The current Provo Fire Chief is Coy D. Porter, a 28-year veteran who has risen through the ranks of his department. A Provo native, Chief Porter was hired as a Provo City Firefighter in 1977. He has served as a Firefighter, EMT, Paramedic, Captain, Battalion Chief, and Deputy Chief. Chief Porter graduated as a National Fire Academy (NFA) Executive Fire Officer in 1998 and has completed 23 NFA Courses. Among many other duties and responsibilities, Chief Porter served as the Fire Commander of the Peaks Ice Arena during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.

Brigham Young University

Perhaps the most notable thing about Provo is that it is the location of Brigham Young University, a private university operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the LDS Church or Mormon church). BYU is the second largest private university in the country, with more than 34,000 students. The large population of students makes Provo a "college town." Provo's ambiance differs from other college towns, however, since the majority of its students are LDS - the church strongly discourages the consumption of alcohol, and BYU is consistently rated the most "stone-cold sober" university in the United States. BYU's men's and women's basketball gym, the Marriott Center, is also being used for when the Utah Basketball League Provo Mirage play at home.

Most BYU students live near BYU's campus. BYU requires that single students live in approved, non-coed housing, and new rules will keep apartments from being "BYU-approved" if they are more than two miles from the center of campus. Many students live either in on-campus housing north of the University or just south of campus, in an area dedicated to student apartments and condos.

Notable Residents

Interesting facts

Points of interest

External links

Cities in Utah | Great Basin | University towns | Utah County, Utah | Wasatch Front | Provo, Utah

Provo (Utah) | Provo (Utah) | プロボ (ユタ州) | Provo | 普若佛

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Provo, Utah".

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