Bonneville Salt Flats

The Bonneville Salt Flats is an expanse of salt plan in Tooele County, west of the Great Salt Lake. This salt pan valley represents only one arm of the former Lake Bonneville that once covered a huge expanse in the intermountain west. The flats are public land managed by the bureau of Land Management and are open to the public. The Bonneville Salt Flats are well-known thanks to the “Bonneville Speedway,” a stretch of the Flats that have been used for land speed record attempts since 1912. The Flats gained notoriety in the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed to set land speed records. The speedway is used to this day for races, with courses set out in either a straight shot or an oval lap. In the last few years experts have warned that track conditions are deteriorating, with the exact cause unknown but signs pointing towards salt mining and shifts in the local climate.

Photo of black track lines on the empty track of Bonneville Salt Flats Raceway, circa 1920s-1930s. From the Shipler Studio Photograph Collection, Marriott Digital Library.

Click here for the full oral history with Matt Coolidge

In this interview, Matt Coolidge describes his early travels in and experiences of the west. He talks about becoming involved with art. Matt discusses founding the Center for Land Use Interpretation in Wendover. He lists the people involved in the beginning, as well as the process of starting the organization. He describes the Center and its environment. He also talks about some of the artists who have been residents, the work they’ve done, and describes the residency itself. Through CLUI, Matt is also involved with centers and programs across the country. He details the center’s exploration of the Great Salt Lake area. He describes the Great Salt Lake Land Scan and the process of creating it. Matt then discusses artists who have worked at and around Great Salt Lake, specifically Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt. At the end of the interview, hegives the interviewers a tour of CLUI while talking about land use issues relevant to the west.

Photo of John Cobb enclosed inside his racing vehicle, the "Railton Mobil Special," on the Bonneville Salt Flats Raceway in 1938. Caption states "John Cobb Inside His Railton Speed Car Bonneville Salt Flats'. From the Shipler Studio Photograph Collection, Marriott Digital Library

Click here for the full oral history with Matt Coolidge

In this clip, Matt Coolidge talks about Wendover and the surrounding Salt Flats.

Close-up photo of the cracked surface of Bonneville Salt Flats Raceway in Utah, circa 1940s-1950s. From the Shipler Studio Photograph Collection, Marriott Digital Library.

Photo of the Bonneville Salt Flats Raceway in Utah, with an unidentified piece of equipment, circa 1940s-1950s. From the Shipler Studio Photograph Collection, Marriott Digital Library