19 December 2018

James Jensen Granary

Jensen Granary at 626 S 400 East, Nov 2018.
Cat for scale.
The James Jensen Granary at 626 S 400 East is listed on the local Salt Lake City Historical Register, built ca. 1875. 

 Originally located on a 5-acre farm, James Jensen and his two wives occupied this plot until he and his first wife moved to the Old Brigham Young farm in Forest Dale leaving his second wife to live in this house in the SLC Second Ward.

04 November 2018

Robert Gardner Home in Millcreek


Robert Gardner, Jr built this adobe home for his family in the winter of 1848 with a foundation of river stones that he carried from the nearby creek and set with hand-mixed cement. 

Gardner built this home next to his sawmill along Mill Creek. The sawmill is now gone but the home remains. Located at 1475 E. Murphy's Lane in Millcreek, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has recently undergone a $1.5M renovation by the Gardner family. Interpretive signs are placed out front for visitors to learn more about the home. 

 Visit www.robertgardnerhome.com for more information.



15 September 2018

Officers Circle at Fort Douglas National Historic Landmark


Officers Circle at Fort Douglas National Historic Landmark on the University of Utah Campus.

These sandstone duplexes were built during the 1874–1876 construction phase to house officers of the Fourteenth Infantry and their families, hence the name of the street, Officers Circle. Like the other buildings built at this time, these were constructed using local sandstone from Red Butte Canyon.

All were originally T-shaped with a two-story main block and a one-story wing for the kitchen. In the 1880s, a second floor was added to the rear wing using the same red sandstone. A one-story red brick addition was added to the rear of each building in 1928.



01 September 2018

Great Western Match Factory, 615 S 300 East

First match factory in Utah. Frank Yeager pictured here worked
in the match factory. Courtesy Olive Burt. From UDSH.

Mr. Frank Yeager (1868-1950) standing in front of the adobe structure that housed the Great Western Match Factory, where he worked as a youth. 

 The Great Western Match Factory was the second match factory in Utah and was located at 615 South 300 East in downtown Salt Lake City, where the present-day Central City Recreation Center is situated. (The first match factory was a home manufacturing endeavor by Alexander Neibaur in 1851). 

The Great Western Match Factory was established about 1875 by Swen W. Anderson (although it wasn't named the Great Western Match Factory until 1881) and was closed around 1910. The adobe building stood until sometime after 1950 at which point it was described as vacant and dilapidated. The match factory burned a few times in its history, the most noteworthy on July 17, 1882, when it was a complete loss. It was soon rebuilt and stocked with new machinery. 

 The match factory used local Quaking Aspen for the boxes, Red Pine for the match sticks, and Sulphur from Cove Creek for the distinctive red cap tip.

Sources: Utah History Blazer Aug 1996; Deseret News 1883-06-20, SL Democrat 1885-06-19, SL Telegram 1950-12-14

Ancestral Puebloan Artifacts were Displayed at the 1893 World's Fair

Prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan bowl and
mug were on display at the LDS Church
History Museum, January 2016.
This prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan bowl and mug were on display in the Utah Pavilion at the Columbian Exposition (aka, the 1893 World’s Fair) in Chicago 1893. 

The booklet behind the pottery describes the exhibits of the Utah Pavilion. At the time, these two items were a part of the collections of the Deseret Museum of Salt Lake City.

The Deseret Museum was Utah’s first museum which opened in December 1869. The Utah Territorial Legislature declined to support the museum, so it was largely a private institution run at an economic loss of its founders and curators. It originally included a live animal menagerie and focused on taxidermized animals, geologic specimens, and archaeological materials.

The Deseret Museum originally occupied an adobe house located near the present-day site of Hotel Utah. The museum moved to several larger locations throughout downtown Salt Lake City until 1918 when the museum closed.

Following its closing, the collections of the Deseret Museum were divided among several museums and institutions of Utah including Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Daughters of Utah Pioneers, and the LDS Church History Museum.

The two Ancestral Puebloan artifacts shown here are in the collections of the LDS Church History Museum (as of Jan 2016).

Source of text: Eubanks, Lila Carpenter. "The Deseret Museum." Utah Historical Quarterly 50, no. 4 (Fall 1982): 361-76.

30 August 2018

Historic Clock from SLC's Main Street Now at Lagoon

This old street clock was relocated to Lagoon's Pioneer Village in 1977 from Main Street and 300 South in Salt Lake City.

Throughout much of the 1800s, street clocks were manufactured in the Eastern states and were costly to ship, making these clocks a sign of prestige in the West. By the turn of the century, however, street clocks could be found up and down Salt Lake City’s Main Street. 

The last clock from the 19th century still in operation in Salt Lake is the Old Zions Bank Clock at Main Street and 100 South. In its early days, water diverted from nearby City Creek drove an underground water wheel that powered the clock.

From the nameplate on one side of the base of Lagoon’s clock, it looks like the clock was constructed by a company in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s unknown how old the clock is or how long it stood at its former location.

In 1977 the old clock was removed from SLC and restored by Lagoon. Only one of the original clock faces remained and it was used as a pattern to etch three other faces in glass. The original motor, operated by 100-pound lead weights, was removed and is now displayed in the tool collection. The restored clock now runs on electricity.

Source of text: www.lagoonhistory.com

04 July 2018

Now & Then: Salt Lake County Fire Station at 4735 S State

Then and Now: The old Salt Lake County Fire Station at 4735 S State Street in Murray Utah. 

Part of this building was constructed in the 1890s by the J.A. Jones Planning Mill. Salt Lake County bought it in 1915 and converted it into a repair shop for county vehicles, a county fire station and Firemen's Hall. 

Now it is a BMW sales shop. 

The historic image is from Murray City Museum and is undated.

The modern images were taken June 29 2018.


22 June 2018

Now & Then: Monheim Farm in Sugar House

Then and Now. Believe it or not, these are the same two houses from 1910 and 2018.

Located at about 2100 S and 2500 E in Salt Lake City these two houses were built in 1905 (left) and 1902 (right) by the Monheim family. In 1910, real estate man H. E. Monheim divided his mother's 50-acre farm into a subdivision and called it Monheim Park. He planted an acre of strawberries and held a free strawberry picking festival in June 1910 to help sell the lots. These two homes are what remain of the original Monheim farm.

Sources: Salt Lake Tribune May 1910, SL 1910-05-20, Salt Lake Tribune 1910-04-24, Salt Lake Tribune 1910-05-29

Photo taken June 3 2018

Monheim Park, April 15 1910. From UDSH.

Salt Lake Tribune 1910-05-29