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.

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.