How the 1970s reshaped Utah: New documentary looks back

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah came of age in the 1970s, from growth to arts and culture to politics. Now, a new documentary highlights some of the trends that helped shape our state. “Utah in the 70s” transports us back to that formative time, a new downtown, a major freeway, the Salt Palace and malls. The growth that ushered in a new era.

Reminiscing on the past

Con Psarras reported on the cultural and political changes of the 1970s as a reporter for KSL. "It was heavy rock and roll, and the sexual revolution and drugs, and you know those kind of things that were out there tempting people, especially younger people. And you saw this disruption where college kids are protesting and having long hair and it was shocking to a lot of people,” Psarras said.He was a reporter during the later part of the decade, and said that while some things seemed normal, they were huge at the time.  “I started to see stories I wrote, and I realized at the time, nobody really sees the bigger picture,” Psarras said. “To me, it was sort of striking to think that some of the things that were happening then, that we lived through, but didn't really, you know, see as monumental, were indeed monumental.” Beginning in the early 1970s, protests against the Vietnam War helped energize growing movements for women’s rights, civil rights and environmental protection. “I remember as a rewrite reporter at the Tribune, our reporters in the field were sending back stories about damage being done by nice rural Utah housewives who were tearing down displays of the Salt Palace because they were so opposed to the Equal Rights Amendment, that was shocking,” he said. 

A cultural shift

This was the time of ‘dragging state,’ or cruising along State Street. “We were no longer quirky little weird Utah. We were the ski mecca. We were mountain biking country. We were a place people wanted to come and spend their money on the weekends,” Psarras said. Utah quickly emerged as an unexpected sports hotspot in 1979. The New Orleans Jazz stunned fans by relocating to Salt Lake City that year, marking a major shift in the state’s sports landscape. “Salt Lake City became a big league city when the Jazz moved here, period, you know? And that was just the fact of it. People were surprised, but it worked, and it continues to work,” Psarras said. “Now we’re talking about [how the] NHL is here, and Major League Baseball is around the corner. And I think it's important that we all take assessment of what we are learning and where that's going to take us on the next, you know, the next level.” One thing we should learn from the 1970s? Pay attention. “I think a lesson is to pay more attention to what's happening at the moment. Because you look back at any period of time, and some periods of time, much more than others, will be momentous. There will be things happening that we probably ought to think about. Where we're going in this direction,” Psarras said. “I think we're in one of those now, absolutely.” “Utah in the 70s” shows the choices, conflicts and cultural shifts of that era still echo today, offering a reminder that the forces shaping the state’s future are often easiest to see only in hindsight.

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