If you're already familiar with Salt Lake City, you'll note a few changes during your next visit. The enormous ZCMI and Crossroads Plaza shopping centers, which anchored downtown shopping and fronted Temple Square, have been demolished. In their place, the City Creek Center development is scheduled for completion in 2013.

As in most large U.S. cities, shoppers in Salt Lake take much of their business to suburban malls. Cottonwood Mall, at Highland and Murray Holiday Roads, south of the city, and Valley Fair Mall, at I-215 Exit 18, southwest of the city, are two popular malls, each containing more than 100 stores. Salt Lake City also boasts several unique shopping areas and unusual stores, including some excellent boutique centers and one large downtown mall. Remember that many shops are closed on Sunday.

Shopping Malls

Gardner Village

This attractive shopping village (1100 West 7800 South, 801/566-8903) in West Jordan, 12 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City, offers a restaurant and crafts shops in the refurbished Gardner Mill, built in 1877. Old houses and cabins have been moved to the grounds and restored as additional shops. Step into the silo to dine at Archibald's Restaurant (801/566-6940, lunch and dinner daily, breakfast Sat.-Sun.) for American and continental food. The village also has a small museum of historic exhibits. Take I-15 Midvale Exit 301 (7200 South), turn west, and follow signs to the Gardner Mill.

The Gateway

Just west of downtown, on the site of the former rail yards, The Gateway (between 400 and 600 West and between 200 South and North Temple St., 801/456-0000) was built in the run-up to the 2002 Winter Olympics as a destination boutique shopping mall, entertainment center, and condo development. The shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues line a winding pedestrian street that represents a developer's idea of Ye Olde Worlde. Here you'll find chain stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch, J. Crew, Barnes and Noble, and Virgin Megastore, plus the Megaplex 12 cinema (801/325-7500) and an impressive selection of restaurants and bars.

Trolley Square

Salt Lake City's most unusual shopping center came about when developers cleverly converted the city's old trolley barn. Railroad magnate E. H. Harriman built the barn in 1908 as a center for the city's extensive trolley system. The vehicles stopped rolling in 1945, but their memory lives on in Trolley Square (corner of 500 South and 700 East, 801/521-9877, open daily, including Sun. afternoons). Inside, you'll see several trolleys, a large stained-glass dome, salvaged sections of old mansions and churches, and many antiques. More than 100 shops and restaurants call this gigantic barn home. Watch movies at Cineplex-Odeon Theatres (four screens, 801/363-1183) and Flick 2 (two screens, 801/521-6113). Trolley Corners (515 South 700 East), across the street, is a smaller shopping area with stores, restaurants, and Trolley Corners Theatres (801/364-6183).

Arts and Crafts

Crafts and art by Native Americans are featured at TP Gallery (252 S. Main St., 801/364-2961, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Sat.). Look for beadwork and leather items (Utes), jewelry (Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni tribes), pottery (Hopi and New Mexico Pueblo tribes), kachina dolls (Hopi), baskets (Papago), sand paintings, books, and cassettes.

Books

Sam Weller's Zion Book Store (254 S. Main St., 801/328-2586, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.) claims to be one of the West's largest, with more than half a million new and used books covering many topics. If you're a book lover, you'll want to check out the impressive selection of quality used books. The University of Utah's bookstore (270 South 1500 East, 801/581-6326, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat.) has a varied selection on many subjects.

Outdoors Equipment

If you suddenly realize you need a new tent pole, some zip-off pants, or any other gear for hiking, camping, bicycling, skiing, river-running, rock climbing, or travel, swing by REI (3285 East 3300 South, 801/486-2100, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.). Gear can be rented, too. The book section is a good place to look for regional outdoor guides. Topo maps cover the most popular hiking areas of Utah.

Utah Ski and Golf (134 West 600 South, 801/355-9088) rents golf clubs in summer and ski equipment when the snow falls. Another all-sport rental outfit is Wasatch Touring (702 East 100 South, 801/359-9361).