From Deseret News archives:
6 east-side attractions rekindle old alliance
The Foothill Cultural District is a revamping of the 30-year-old Emigration Visitors District, which has become less active since its peak in 1980. With its slogan "Culture, with some altitude" and 21 new direction signs to be placed on major roads including Foothill Boulevard and Sunnyside Avenue, the district will pool its resources to advertise as a group, with the help of such entities as the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"Collectively, we are very strong," said Sarah George, director of the Utah Museum of Natural History.
The museum joins Hogle Zoo, Red Butte Garden, This Is the Place Heritage Park, the Fort Douglas Military Museum and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts to form the district. They have also teamed up with the University Guest House to encourage visitors to stay in the district's heart.
District executive director Linda Hunt said the group is an "informal alliance" that seeks to encourage residents and tourists alike to view the 2-square-mile area around the University of Utah as a cultural block rather than seeing the zoo as wholly unconnected to Red Butte Garden, for example.
"As we look ahead, I firmly believe the Foothill Cultural District will become the focal point for our communities," Hogle Zoo director Craig Dinsmore said.
The district is not a governmental entity — it is not even an officially organized nonprofit organization, though one day it may be. But its members, except for the Guest House, are all nonprofits that receive money from donations and grants, including Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Parks tax.
Collectively, the groups making up the Foothill Cultural District drew 1.5 million visitors in 2005, and 500,000 of them were tourists, according to the district. Hunt said the district especially sees potential in developing out-of-town business.
The district is offering discounts during the holiday season, including a 10 percent-off sale at member groups' gift shops Saturday and free admission at any of the attractions with the purchase of another admission through the end of January. Coupons for those deals are available at www.foothillcd.com.
The Guest House is also offering $59 nightly rates for visitors who mention the district through January.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com
