George L. Beam's Scenic Rails of the West

Towns

Denver Colorado was Beam's home for most of his life. He made pictures of many landmarks, special events, and railroad facilities in the Queen City of the Plains.

Shown above are the Saltair Resort and the Mormon Temple. Saltair, established by the Mormon Church, was located on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake. Built in 1893, it boasted the world's largest dance floor. The Moorish style pleasure palace was destroyed by fire in April, 1925.
The Romanesque/Gothic Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was also completed in 1893.

Beam took his camera with him everywhere, preserving images like those above of Palmer Lake, Colorado, and Kanab, Provo, and Helper, Utah. The "City of Moab," a steam powered paddle-wheel passenger boat, crosses the river at Green River, Utah sometime before 1910.

Grand Junction, the largest town between Denver and Salt Lake City, was a prominent Rio Grande Railroad stop.