After all, the bald summit is part of the Wasatch Range, which defines the Salt Lake Valley. And it was the touchstone that determined where Mormon pioneers would build their Salt Lake Temple.

The city says sights of such mountains and landmarks should be protected, which is why it forbids sky bridges on Main Street, along with State Street, South Temple, 200 South and 300 South.

The LDS Church and its mall-development partner, Michigan-based Taubman Centers Inc., soon will challenge that rule when they seek permission to span Main Street with a pedestrian bridge as part of the proposed City Creek Center. Their mixed-use project would replace the boxy Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center malls with an upscale development that combines housing and retail.

Their plan promises a $1 billion-plus investment on Main Street that will remake downtown - but apparently not without the skywalk. On the project Web site, the church says Taubman and anchors Nordstrom and Macy's "will not go forward as planned" without the bridge, calling it critical to the success of the stores - though in interviews the department stores aren't as adamant.

Elsewhere in the country, some skywalks are being dismantled because they kept pedestrians off the street, choking retail sales and stunting development. And that's the fear of some in Utah's capital - that not only would the bridge block the views from Main Street, it also would suck activity from the street and harm surrounding small businesses despite a design for City Creek Center that introduces new walkways.

Mayor Rocky Anderson opposes the bridge. But City Council members will decide, and some acknowledge they can't say no to a billion-dollar investment.

"Pragmatically, if Nordstorm and Macy's were to say, 'Hey, without this we're not there,' that would be pretty tough to say no to," acknowledged Council Chairman Dave Buhler. "I think [a sky bridge] could be kind of cool actually. I don't think it's a bad thing. A lot of major cities have things like that."

Said Councilman Eric Jergensen: "The size of the project and the benefits over time that the project will bring to the city really do say, at least to me, let's make this project work."

And Taubman insists it works with a bridge, which would link the two blocks divided by Main Street and allow customers to wander unfettered among the second-floor shops. Besides the Main Street skywalk, conceptual renderings show other bridges spanning new pedestrian-only paths. Because those bridges aren't over publicly owned thoroughfares, they don't require city approval.

"We really believe strongly the two retail blocks need to be linked," said William Taubman, the developer's chief operating officer.

However, Macy's spokeswoman Kimberly Reason said the bridge is not a deal breaker. "It is not. We are committed to this project. We're excited about what it will mean for Salt Lake City."

Nor is it for Nordstrom, which nevertheless hopes the city will approve it.

"The sky bridge is a vitally important element, but we would not characterize it as a deal breaker," spokeswoman Brooke White said. "Circulation is really important to a project this large, to make sure people keep moving."

To build the Main Street bridge, the church first must go to the Planning Commission, which will make a recommendation to the City Council on whether the 1995 downtown master plan should be amended.

Planning Commission Chairwoman Peggy McDonough said the church will need to show that the bridge won't affect the view. "Just as important is the discussion that comes with every bridge across every city street - it's liable to take pedestrians off of Main Street which is . . . what malls in the '70s and earlier did and why mall design is changing now. It needs to activate the street more."

Commissioner Tim Chambless said he has seen sky bridges that work - in Minnesota, for example, where shelter from freezing temperatures is a necessity.

"There are trade-offs in life," he added. "Here in Utah, with this beautiful mountainous valley we have and the tradition of maintaining view corridors, we have to be hyper-sensitive to what we have and try to preserve it."

Salt Lake City has had this debate before.

In 1978, when Crossroads Plaza was being built, its developer wanted a skyway across Main Street to the ZCMI Center. S.W. Foulger called it integral to his project and said it would help revitalize downtown. But the glass-enclosed walkway was panned as a "blow to the beauty of Main Street" and died.

Since then, the city has permitted pedestrian bridges to connect the Wells Fargo tower at 299 S. Main with a parking garage and at The Gateway; neither violated the city's master plan.

City Councilman Soren Simonsen, an architect by trade, said a bridge over Main Street could work depending on its - and the development's - design. The skywalk won't eliminate pedestrians from Main, he said, if the street has windows, entrances and shops to lure patrons.

And that's what the church's drawings show, notes Brenda Case Scheer, dean of the University of Utah College of Architecture and Planning.

"The way they've designed this whole project, which, by the way, I like a lot, almost negates the need for a sky bridge. They've really concentrated a lot of the fun of the project on the ground level," she said. "If they build it, people won't use it that much. They're going to want to be down there with the water and flowers."

Stephen Goldsmith, a former housing developer and city planner, is worried about the precedent a City Creek Center bridge would set. How can the city turn down the next developer who wants to span Main Street?

"The last thing we want to have is a rabbit warren of gerbil mazes running through the heart of the Central Business District," he said. "What the developer wants to do is . . . control people's arrivals and departures. They're not going to wander off to the competitor. They're going to stay internal to the project. This project [with a sky bridge] is not going to promote the walkability of downtown. Nobody should kid themselves about that."

Officials in Bellevue, Wash., had similar fears with a bridge that opened last year. But their concerns were allayed and the developer hopes to build a second, according to The Seattle Times.

But other cities are tearing them down, including Cincinnati in anticipation of major redevelopment in its downtown at Fountain Square.

"It has just opened up the area. It looks more wide open. Light comes through better," said David Ginsburg, president of Downtown Cincinnati Inc. "As we begin to open restaurants and retail, the expectation is that it's going to be a much more vibrant street-level scene."

hmay@sltrib.com