This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ty Burrell loves Salt Lake City — and he doesn't care who knows it.
Burrell, the actor who stars on ABC's "Modern Family" and appeared in "Muppets Most Wanted," has penned an open love letter to his adopted hometown.
The letter was posted this morning on The Huffington Post, in a feature called "Love Letters" on the site's travel section.
Burrell, originally from Grants Pass, Ore., describes in the letter how he first came to Salt Lake City in 1999 — when he performed in a play at Pioneer Theatre Company. He did so because his girlfriend Holly (now his wife) lived here, and he wanted to be closer to her.
"Over the next 10 years my wife and I travelled back and forth to spend time with family and began to fall deeper in love with your incredibly affordable lifestyle and immediate access to the outdoors," Burrell wrote. "We fell so deeply that we didn't feel like we could be apart anymore and we moved from New York in 2008."
Burrell said he and his wife were affected by "the differing viewpoints of both the religious and secular populations of Utah."
"So many cities are actually mono-cultures and Salt Lake has an inherent diversity that's not always apparent," Burrell wrote.
The Burrell family has not only settled in Salt Lake City, but Burrell has invested in the community: He's part-owner of two downtown watering holes, Bar X and the just-opened Beer Bar (which The Cricket's colleague Kathy Stephenson wrote about in March).
Burrell expects the city to grow in the next decade, and be discovered by more people. He finished the love letter by offering a bargain to Salt Lake City: "If, as you grow, you pay attention with great detail to traffic, air quality, conservation, affordable housing, and social justice, then I will work hard to never get so weirdly possessive that you need to take out a restraining order."