Midwest Casket Company Building at 440 W 600 South SLC

Midwest Casket Co Building, September 2024.
Note the recently demolished buildings to the east (right). 

Midwest Casket Co Building, September 2024.

The old Midwest Casket Company building at 440 W 600 South is one that you have likely passed by on numerous occasions. It is representative of the transition to modern funeral services, especially among the middle class.

The building was constructed in 1912 (although the Salt Lake County Assessor states 1905) for the Utah Casket Company for the manufacture of caskets, undertaker’s supplies, and a dressmaking department for burial dresses, shrouds, and robes.

The early 1900s was a busy time for the casket industry in SLC. Prior to about 1880, SLC had one primary undertaker – Joseph Edward Taylor (often referred to as the Pioneer Undertaker) and his family. He was appointed by Brigham Young to be the SLC Cemetery Sextant, undertaker, and provide coffins (through his father-in-law, William Capener, who was a cabinet maker).

Slowly, things changed around 1880. In James Farrell’s book “Inventing the American Way of Death 1830-1920” (so interesting!), he indicates the growth of the middle class demanded attention to the deceased “more in accordance with their surroundings,” meaning something more elaborate than a simple box lined with linen. At this same time in SLC, a greater influx of non-Mormons demanded a greater variety of services, commodities, and cemeteries.

Utah Casket Company advertisement showing an elaborate casket, 1913.
Clip from Salt Lake Herald 1913-04-04 Page14

 
At the end of the 1800s, there were a variety of funerary start-up businesses. Most only lasted a few years but several have endured to the modern time (some names you may recognize Evans, O’Donnell, or Larkin). Often, when one of these businesses ended, another would purchase their real estate and equipment, often at auction.

This is what happened with the original occupant of this building; in 1910 a newly incorporated Utah Casket Company acquired the equipment of the Crescent Manufacturing Company. 

Crescent manufactured caskets and its establishment in SLC was a bit of weird situation. Through my reading of the old newspapers articles, it seems that Mr. Edward H. Sherman re-established Crescent Manufacturing Company in SLC in 1908 from Butte, Montana and it seems he did so in order to escape a significant judgement against the company in Butte. In 1910 Sherman sold the equipment and supplies of Crescent in exchange for stock in the Utah Casket Company. At the time, Utah Casket Company was located at 32-36 E 800 South.

A year later, in December 1911, The Utah Casket Company announced it would build a new modern facility to manufacture caskets, undertaker’s supplies, and couches at 440 W 600 South. The two-story building is constructed of brick and cement and was constructed so that a third story could be added if needed. The building was “modern in every detail…with rest and lunchrooms for the employees, which will include a large number of women” who worked in the sewing department creating burial clothing, shrouds, and linings for the caskets. The building formally opened in October 1912.

Utah Casket Factory announcement illustration, January 1912.
Clip from the The Salt Lake Tribune 1912-01-28 Page 11

Utah Casket Company building completion, December 1912
Clip from the Deseret News 1912-12-21 Page 97

 
Two workplace accidents at 440 W 600 South were reported in the newspapers in January 1919. Sixteen year old Rulon Hanson lost his little finger of his left hand while working with the buzz saw and another employee lost four fingers of his right hand while using the same saw.

The Utah Casket Company occupied the building for about 8 years. They exhibited their caskets at the Utah State Fair and won a blue ribbon, which they proudly advertised. Around 1920, Utah Casket Company was defunct.

Around the same time period, there were competing casket business. The Salt Lake Casket Company was incorporated in 1910; this company was associated with Joseph E. Taylor (“Pioneer Undertaker”) and his son Alma O. Taylor and was the successor and outgrowth of Joseph E. Taylor’s operation. 

In 1919, Alma O. Taylor split from Salt Lake Casket Company (run by his brothers Samuel and Joseph Taylor) to form the Intermountain Casket company with Lafayette Holbrook. In 1920 the Intermountain Casket Company opened a new three-story building at 276 W 100 South and is still standing in SLC’s Japantown.

In 1920, it was the Salt Lake Casket Company that acquired the building at 440 W 600 South including the real estate, building, and equipment of the defunct Utah Casket Company. They occupied the building for several years. In 1937 the company was bankrupt and the building, real estate, machinery, fixtures, and equipment were sold at public auction.

Around 1938 the Midwest Casket Company moved into the building. Midwest Casket was associated with brothers Curt and Henry Skola. Midwest Casket occupied the building for decades. It became known for its custom caskets and interiors, including caskets for pets. They provided custom options in an ever-growing market of mass production with limited choices.

A 1991 article from the Salt Lake Tribune interviewed three women who worked as seamstresses at Midwest Casket. They worked in a sunny room on the top floor that was filled with bolts of fabric and antique sewing machines. (The casket production area was on the main floor.)

As an example of how the workplace environment has changed since 1991, there were posters of Chippendale dancers in thong bathing suites covering holes in the walls on one side of the room. In 1968 they provided 35 caskets for an airplane crash at the SLC Airport. They provided caskets for LDS church presidents, local politicians and in 1985 they sent a champagne velvet lined casket for actor Rock Hudson as one of the options for his burial. They are still in business and have relocated to South Salt Lake.

Recently the building and surrounding parcels are undergoing redevelopment as part of the Silos Block project in the Granary District. Many buildings on the block have been or will be demolished, the most notable being the Cereal Foods Silos.

The Midwest Casket building is to be preserved and adaptively reused as a commercial space. The adjacent building to the west (Euro Treasures) will also be preserved and adaptively reused (plans indicate a garage for 117 parking stalls). Rimini Coffee at 532 S 400 West will also remain.

Also of note, the old Portland Cement art-dec style building (554 S 400 West) will be demolished.


Sources

• Sanborn Maps for Salt Lake City, 1898,1911,1926,1950,1969
• Salt Lake Herald Sat, Sep 03, 1910 ·Page 15
• Salt Lake Telegram Thu, Dec 08, 1910 ·Page 10
• Salt Lake Herald Wed, Dec 13, 1911 ·Page 4
• The Salt Lake Tribune Sun, Jan 28, 1912 ·Page 11
• The Salt Lake Tribune Mon, Jul 08, 1912 ·Page 10
• Salt Lake Herald Fri, Oct 04, 1912 ·Page 12
• Deseret News Sat, Dec 21, 1912 ·Page 97
• Deseret News Sat, Apr 05, 1913 ·Page 38
• Salt Lake Herald Fri, Apr 04, 1913 ·Page 14
• Salt Lake Herald Tue, Nov 16, 1915 ·Page 8
• Salt Lake Telegram Fri, Jan 31, 1919 ·Page 13
• Salt Lake Tribune Oct 7 1919 Page 20
• Deseret News 1930-10-26 Page 32
• The Salt Lake Tribune Thu, Dec 31, 1936 ·Page 20
• Salt Lake Telegram Jan 6 1939 Page 16
• Deseret News 1939/05/17 Page 11
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1955-06-24 Page 54
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1980-07-17 Page 103
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1988-03-27 Page 41
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1991-03-11 Page 12
• The Salt Lake Tribune 1943-03-05
• Biennial Report by Utah Secretary of State 1913
• Kate B. Carter, Heart Throbs of the West, 1945, Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. 
• James J. Farrell, Inventing the American Way of Death, 1830-1920. 1980. 
• USHS Files for Midwestern Casket Co Building
• USHS Files for Intermountain Casket Co Building
• Salt Lake City, Silo Phase 2 Staff Report - Final, 2023

Exposed Cobblestones Under Asphalt

Exposed sandstone paving blocks on 400 West, after a rainstorm.

Exposed sandstone paving blocks on 400 West, a day after a rainstorm.

You might be an archaeologist if you make your family go with you to take pictures of exposed stone paving block remnants in SLC’s warehouse district.

I noticed these sandstone paving blocks eroding from under a layer of asphalt in the Warehouse District while I was walking the area near the Pickle Co and the Bissinger Hide buildings between 700-800 South and 400 West.

These stones were once located throughout downtown SLC and on South Temple and were used as paving blocks for streets, driveways, curbs, and sidewalks.

They were a beatification effort by SLC and were installed between the 1890s through the 1910s. They were first installed in the downtown business district of SLC and then in other areas as time and resources allowed.

In some areas of downtown the paving stones were torn up from the street and repurposed for crosswalks, which is what I think is happening in image 6.

I’m a bit surprised to see this beatification effort in the Warehouse District of SLC. But because it is located outside the main area of downtown is probably why it still exists (albeit under asphalt) as it has not been subject to extensive road rebuilding projects.

If I recall correctly, the sandstone paving stones on South Temple that were under the asphalt were all removed about 20 years ago when that road was rebuilt and modernized as a concrete road.

I did not find out specifically when these particular paving blocks were installed. They parallel a curving sidewalk that follows an old railroad spur built sometime between 1911-1926. And a SL Trib, July 5 1909, article indicates that curbing, guttering, and water main construction began in this area of SLC (5th Ward) in 1909. So, my guess is that they were installed sometime around 1912, give or take a few years.

Detail of sandstone paving blocks adjacent to concrete walk

Auto on cobblestone street in SLC, 1908. From UDSH.

SLC road construction, 1908. From UDSH.

SLC road construction, 1909. From UDSH.

Historic Railroad Features in SLC

Railroad switch under the 900 South overpass exit and 300 West

Historic railroad features still exist in SLC, more than just the old tracks.

A railroad siding and 2 rail switches are still present in the Granary District of SLC (aka, SLC Warehouse National Historic District). They are located on the block bound between 300-400 West and 900-900 South I-15 Off Ramp.

This railroad is part of the Oregon Short Line (OSL) which was organized in 1881 as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railway. (Of note, what we call the Union Pacific Depot at South Temple and 400 West was originally known as the Oregon Short Line Depot).

The main railroad track was constructed in the 1890s. The main track is present on the 1898 Sanborn but the rail siding is not present until the 1911 Sanborn.

These rail switches were manufactured by the Pettibone Mulliken Corp in Chicago and are often called “star stand switches” or “star switches.”

A rail switch was used to change the direction of the rail track and allow a train to split from the main track. The attached lever was used to lock the tracks.

These tracks are no longer in service; they are owned by the State of Utah.

Please Please be respectful of these historic resources. There used to be historic crossing signs and a bell pole in this area as well, but those seem to have disappeared in recent years.

Railroad with divergent track to siding

Railroad switch at corner of 900 South and 400 West

Railroad switch at corner of 900 South and 400 West

Denver & Rio Grande Railroad with switch near 200 South, 1911, from UDSH.

Modern overview showing railroad switches location

Sanborn Map 1911

Railroad switch illustration from visual dictionary online

Bissinger Warehouse, 737 S 400 West

Bissinger (Left); Friendship Inn (Middle); Pickle Co. (Right). April 2021

Bissinger & Co Building at 737 S 400 W SLC.

This building is located just north of the Grant Soap/Utah Pickle Co (741 S 400 W; built 1893) and the Friendship Inns Supply (739 S 400 W; built 1937).

The Bissinger Building was constructed in 1919 specifically for the needs of this hide, wool, and tallow company. Bissinger & Co was founded in 1880s in Oregon and expanded to SLC in 1908. John “Jack” McCarty, an Ogden native, was the general manager of the SLC facility until his death in 1950.

This block along what is now 400 West and between 700-800 South was transformed from a residential farming to an industrial area by the installation of the Oregon Shortline Railroad along 400 West in the 1880s. The area is now known as the “Warehouse District” or “Granary District” of SLC.

The first industrial building on the block was the Utah Pickle Co, originally built as the Grant Soap Works, by Heber J. Grant in 1893.

By the time Bissinger was built in 1919 most of the buildings along 400 West were industrial properties and multiple rail spurs were in existence throughout the block connecting the warehouses to the railroad.

In June 1961, a fire occurred in AAA Textile Co, which at that time occupied the small building (now the Friendship Inns Supply), between the Bissinger Building and the Utah Pickle Co. The fire spread to both adjacent buildings with the Utah Pickle Co receiving the most extensive damage including the collapse of the roof on the rear addition.

Bissinger & Co. likely moved out soon after the fire and the entire company closed all locations in the West by 1965.

As of this posting, the Bissinger warehouse and the Pickle building will not be demolished. I reached out to the demolition company listed on the demo application permit which is in to SLC for review, and they were able to clarify that the Bissinger Building (and the Pickle Factory building) are NOT planned for demolition at this time.  The owner plans to demolish the Friendship Inns Supply building (739 S 400 W; built 1937) and the 1970s and 1980s additions to the Bissinger Building that wrap around the east and north part of the original 1919 portion of the building.

Bissinger (Left); Friendship Inn (Middle); Pickle Co. (Right). April 2021

Bissinger 2006, from ipernity

SL Telegraph June 11 1919

SL Trib Nov 16 1919

SL Trib Dec 8 1918

SL Trib Nov 3 1929 (L) and SL Trib Feb 23 1936 (L)

Portions to be demolished shown with black arrows: the Friendship Inns Supply building (739 S 400 W; built 1937) and the 1970s and 1980s additions to the Bissinger Building that wrap around the east and north part of the original 1919 portion of the building.

Portions to be demolished shown outlined in blue.

Spooky SLC: Summum Pyramid

Summum Pyramid at 707 Genesee Ave, Oct 2020.

Today, 45 years ago, on Oct 28 1975, Claude “Corky” Nowell (later changed his name to Summum Bonum Amon Ra) had an encounter with intelligent beings from another universe.

Soon after, Corky founded Summum a church as defined by the government and a philosophy as described by Corky. Sum meaning Total, Mum meaning Mother Nature, and thus Summum meaning Totality of Nature.

Corky purchased a house at 707 W Genesee Ave (850 S) in SLC and built the first Summum Pyramid in his backyard. The second (and current) Pyramid was completed in 1979 and resurfaced in 2018.

Summum is known for several reasons: 1) establishing Utah’s first legal winery since Brigham Young; 2) going to the US Supreme Court over religious monuments; and 3) pioneering modern mummification. This post will focus on #3.

Corky developed the mummification process in 1980 after experimenting on dead animals and human cadavers obtained from a medical school.

Summum started offering mummification services in 1985. The first to be mummified were Corky’s pets, a cat named Oscar followed by Butch, a Doberman pinscher. More than 600 pets have been mummified (as of 2006).

The first human to be mummified using the modern Summum techniques was Corky who died in 2008. His mummy is currently within the Summum pyramid.

Summum mummification aims to preserve the body by depriving it of oxygen through use of chemicals and multiple sealed layers.

Mummification is quite expensive and those individuals who have signed up for the service utilize life insurance policies that are payable to Summum upon death. Summum employs licensed funeral directors. A mausoleum was constructed in 2005.

Public visitation has been suspended due to Coronavirus.

Sources: Daily Utah Chronicle 1978-05-08; SL Trib 1993-04-12; Daily Herald 2006-02-11; summum.us

Mummifying a cat, from summum.us.

Corky Ra’s sarcophagus, 2010, from summum.us.

Inside the Pyramid, from summum.us.

The original Summum pyramid 1970s, from summum.us.

Car Bombing of a Japanese Household in 1955

920 S. Gale St as it appears today.

This abandoned house at 920 S. Gale Street SLC is on the demolition list; it is located across the street from the triplex I posted about yesterday.

It may not look like much now but it does have an interesting past.

The house was built in 1897 by Ared H. White (1851-1920), a SLC policeman who dabbled in mining. He built a barn and planted several fruit trees for his wife and two sons.

By 1912 Ared and his family moved to Portland. The house had several occupants after Ared indicating it may have been used as a rental.

During the first half of the 1900s, the Gale Street area was home to a high percentage of immigrants, mostly from European countries such as Germany, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Denmark, and Russia.

Soon after WWII, a Japanese family moved into the home. Richard and Dorothy Sugasawara were both born in California, married in 1940, and were sent to the Manzanar Japanese Relocation Camp during the war. By 1948 they had moved into this house in SLC where their 2nd daughter was born.

Just before 10:30 pm on May 19 1955, a homemade bomb was placed on the gas tank cap of the Sugasawara family car which then exploded. The force of the blast ripped through the trunk of the car, blew in two front windows of the house, and cracked a wall in the house. None of the Sugasawara family were seriously injured in the blast.

Several other people in SLC were victims of similar bombings and the reporting in the local newspapers does not indicate that the Sugasawara family was specifically targeted. The police thought that the perpetrators were juveniles but even after a $500 reward was offered no one was ever caught for the crimes.

The Sugasawara family soon left SLC and by 1956 they were living back in California.

The last record I could find of the house being occupied was 1995. Currently the roof of the house has collapsed and the current owner wishes to demolish it and “hold the land for future development.”

Sources: multiple news articles but especially SL Trib May 19 1955.

Ared H. White, original owner, image from findagrave.

Remains of the Sugasawara family car after the bombing, from SL Trib 05-19-1955.

Demotion of the Triplex at 915-919 S. Gale Street

Triplex at 915-919 S Gale Street in Aug 2020, before demolition.

This triplex located at 915-919 S. Gale St (340 West) will likely soon be demolished to make way for a parking lot for the Big O Tires, located to the east.

The triplex was built by Jesse R. Pettit (1886-1949), son of Edwin Pettit who was a prominent Mormon pioneer and was said to be a bodyguard of Brigham Young. Edwin had 14 children by his second wife, many of whom (including Jesse) owned numerous plots of land in the SLC 5th Ward (300-700 West and 600 -1000 South).

In the first half of the 20th Century, the SLC 5th Ward was home to many immigrants, especially those from Western Europe.

Jesse Pettit built the triplex in 1909 at the age of 22 and started raising his family. Jesse and his wife, Phyllis, lived in the southernmost apartment and rented out the other two. He was active in the community serving as a Mormon Bishop; he presided over many weddings and funerals and participated in the laying of the cornerstone for the new 5th Ward Meetinghouse at 740 S 300 West.

Jesse was a plumber and co-owned a plumbing and heating company. He also dabbled in real-estate development buying and building several properties in the neighborhood and renting them out. He and his family eventually moved to Bountiful in 1919.

The other major owner of the triplex was Mrs. Eva James (1894-1984). She purchased the triplex in 1938 and lived there until 1975. Eva was a widow and lived in the southernmost apartment with her youngest child, a teenage son. She also rented out the other apartments and seemed to live a quiet life. She retired to Tooele in 1977.

This building is within the SLC Warehouse National Historic District which makes it eligible for historic rehab tax credits but because it is not within a Local (SLC) Historic District there are no mandatory preservation requirements for the current owner.

Triplex at 915-919 S Gale Street in Aug 2020, before demolition.

Triplex at 915-919 S Gale Street in Aug 2020, before demolition.

Triplex ca. 1915 with Jesse Pettit and kids, from Gaye Goff on ancestry.