2023 Recap with Demolished Salt Lake Podcast

I was a guest on episodes 31 and 32 of the Demolished Salt Lake Podcast. “2023 Preservation Wins, Loses and What to Watch in 2024.”

We discussed some of the buildings we lost in 2023, the ones that were saved, and those that are in danger of demolition in 2024. We had more saves than losses this year, which was greatly needed after the past few years.

In this first of two parts, we talk about the loss of the Pink House and the Yardstick Building earlier this year. Discuss the status of the land on which some historic buildings used to stand in my “Still a Parking Lot” segment (ahem... the La France Apartments) and move on to buildings that will be demolished in 2024. Saving the best for last, we end with good news for a few of our historic buildings and areas.

We know we missed some buildings, but these are some of the standouts.

With – Wendi Pettett and Chris Jensen of Demolished Salt Lake Podcast and Adrienne White of House Genealogy

Photos of some of the highlights:

1. The Pink House (Covey House), 666 E 300 South SLC
2. Mountain Bell Building, 205 E 200 South SLC
3. Elias Harrison House, 10 N 300 West SLC
4. Cramer House, 241 Floral St SLC
5. Liberty Wells Center, 707 S 400 East SLC
6. Musser House, 2157 S Lincoln St SLC
7. 2nd Ward Assembly Hall, 483 E 700 South SLC
8. Jerald and Sandra Tanner House / Utah Lighthouse Ministries, 1350-1358 S West Temple SLC
9. Brinton House, 4880 S Highland Circle Holladay
10. Wells Ward Chapel, 1990 S 500 East SLC

Action Alert - Help Save Alpine's Carlisle House

The Thomas and Fanny Carlisle House located in Alpine, Utah is now under threat and is planned for demolition by the adjacent Mountainville Academy 

The Carlisle House at 129 S Main St Alpine, Utah.  Photos from Carlisle House Photo Studio.

Interior images of the Carlisle House at 129 S Main St Alpine, Utah.
Photos from Carlisle House Photo Studio.

BUT, this historic home has a real chance of being saved!  There is a cash buyer for this house and no reason to lose it as the city of Alpine has said they would sell another lot for the school to build upon. Demolition of this important community place is not needed as there are alternatives available that are feasible and make sense for all involved.

The house is noteworthy because it was the first to be constructed beyond Alpine’s “Old Fort Wall,” which was expanded in 1855 from a smaller fortification called “the Wordsworth Fort.” The house stands as one of the last remaining pioneer homes in Alpine.

It was built in several stages from around 1855 to 1910 and is associated with the early settlement and development of Alpine. The various building periods are noticeable externally due to the different materials that were used.

Carlisle House construction history, from USHS, colorized by author.

Carlisle House construction history, from USHS, colorized by author.

 Fanny and Thomas were famous inhabitants of Alpine who were friendly to everyone. They were renowned for their generosity and often had indigenous people camp on their property and dry their blankets after storms passed through the area. The Carlisle house was a symbol of friendship and a community hub for those in need.

Images from familysearch.org

The house remained in the family for many years until it was recently sold and transformed into a photo studio. Hundreds of families visited the studio and had their pictures taken inside the house and on the property. 

The Carlisle house is now under threat and is planned for demolition. Help us save this important community asset – post a comment and tell us your stories and memories of the Carlisle house.

Image from Google, modified by author.

Contact the Mountainville Academy and tell them why it is important to you and the Alpine community, and ask them to accept the offer to purchase the Carlisle house.

Contact the Alpine City Council and tell them to preserve the Carlisle house.

Also, fun fact, Thomas is my 8th cousin 4 times removed. I had to trace my ancestry back to the 1500s in jolly old England but we are related!

A selection of comments posted on my Instagram:

• Thank you for sharing! I'm an Alpine resident and I love this old house!
• Thank you for sharing the story wow!
• My family’s been in Alpine for a few generations, and my grandma worked at the old Bank of American Fork that sits right next to this house. Alpine as I remember it doesn’t exist anymore! Losing another pioneer home in Alpine would be a tragedy.
• Fanny was the oldest person in Alpine at the time of her death.
• Growing up, I moved a lot and didn't have a real "hometown." But my grandparents lived in Alpine for most of my life, so the drive past this house and up the hill toward Moyle Park is forever etched in my brain. It's the only place the feels like home to me. I'd buy that house immediately if I had the cash myself! Please, please save it.

Update - 4 Jan 2024
Mountainville Academy does not want to sell the Carlisle house to the private buyer who has submitted a cash offer.  Mountainville Academy has not been listening to the community and they are demanding Alpine City initiate a land swap with stipulations as the only way they will not demolish the historic home. Which now puts the burden on the Alpine City Council to facilitate their demand or face the loss of this important community gem. 

Update - 17 May 2024
Mountainville Academy has rejected an offer by Alpine City and the Friends of the Alpine Library to purchase the house for preservation and to use it for a children's library.  Rather than easily designing around the house, Mountainville will demolish this Civil War-era home for a parking lot and STEM Building. More here. 

The Hatchet Attack of 1933 at 863 E 600 S SLC

Rulon Stevenson in 1929, from the Utionion Yearbook

One sensational event that occurred in the house at 863 E 600 S in my last post occurred in the middle of the night on Nov 13 1933 when 27-year-old Rulon E Stevenson smashed a window with a hatchet and entered the vacant half of the house, which by now was converted into a duplex.

Rulon began hacking the interior woodwork of the parlor and eventually chopped a hole in the partition dividing the duplex. This awakened and terrified the young family living there, Anthony and Caroline Schetselaar, along with their 2 young children.

The Schetselaar family fled the house through a window and Rulon followed them outside the house. A neighbor tried to help and Rulon threw the hatchet at him, which missed its target.

By then, the SLC Police had arrived and taken Rulon into custody. Rulon was placed in the city jail under a “hold for investigation” charge. Soon after, Rulon’s father who was a prominent physician, Dr. Hyrum Stevenson arrived and the SLC Police Night Captain E. E. Brown released Rulon to his father’s custody with only a charge of drunkenness.

In the morning, SLC Chief of Police W. L. Payne changed the charges to second-degree burglary (later dropped) and assault with a deadly weapon. Chief Payne also demoted Captain Brown and transferred him to day duty where there would be more supervision over him.

In Aug 1934, Rulon pleaded guilty to assault and was imposed a 6-month sentence in the Salt Lake County Jail, with 3 months of that suspended. After serving about 2 months in the Salt Lake County Jail, Rulon was granted a reprieve and parole by Utah Governor Henry H. Blood.

A few years later, Rulon moved to San Francisco. The Schetselaar family remained in Salt Lake but soon moved out of this house.

Where the attack happened, The house at 863 E 600 S SLC, Photo taken in Jan 2023.

Sources:
The Salt Lake Telegram 1933 Nov 14
The Salt Lake Tribune 1933 Nov 15
The Salt Lake Telegram 1934 Aug 11
The Salt Lake Tribune 1934 Oct 5
Deseret News 1934 Sept 5

This Old House Was Built in 1889, Not 1849

The house at 863 E 600 S SLC as it appears today. 

The oldest house listed on the map from my last post was supposedly built in 1849 but my research shows it was actually built in 1889. This house is east of Trolley Square at 863 E 600 South SLC. Not surprisingly, the County Assessor’s data was incorrect and the house was actually built in 1889. However, the county data does tell part of the story of that property…

The house at 863 E 600 S SLC as it appears today.  Several modifications have been made and a large addition on the back.

A photo detail of the house at 863 E 600 S SLC showing where the original brick joins with the new stucco addition. Where the new and old join together.

The house at 863 E 600 S SLC, ca 1930s (?), from SL County Tax Assessor records. Note the upper window.

This house was built by Hyrum S. Laney in 1889; the 1849 date likely comes from when the Laney family originally inhabited this plot of land. It was Hyrum’s parents Isaac and Sarah Laney who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in Sept 1847.

The Laneys first lived in a small house in the old fort at what is now Pioneer Park. According to Laney family history, they moved from the fort about 1850 (1849?) to the northwest corner of 600 S and 900 E, where they built a log cabin, a grain silo, and some infrastructure for their farm animals. This was the southeasternmost house on the original SLC grid for several years.

Of note, according to family history, Sarah Laney was the first non-indigenous person in the Salt Lake Valley to spin, dye, and weave a piece of cloth on a loom.

Detail of a tablecloth made by Sarah Laney, likely at their property on the corner of 900 S and 600 E. From FamilySearch.

Hyrum, the youngest Laney child, returned to SLC from law school in 1885 and immediately became a prominent lawyer. He built the 1.5-story brick house on the family property for him and his widowed mother to live in. His mother died in 1902 and Hyrum moved out of the house in 1905.

At some point before 1933, the house was turned into a duplex. I’m not sure when the rest of the apartments were added but the house serves as a converted apartment building now. As you can see in the photos a large addition on the back has also been added.

There are several unfortunate events and deaths in, and around, this house but they are too long to detail in this post. They will need to be their own posts…. Coming soon!   (posted here)

Oldest Standing Houses in Salt Lake County, Per Tax Assessor GIS Records

I found some new-to-me, publicly available GIS data showing the oldest standing buildings in Salt Lake County and made this snazzy map. I'm a bit skeptical of some of this data as I've noticed the tax data from the Salt Lake County Assessor is problematic with older homes.  Looks like a field trip to me!  Verification is definitely needed.

The McCune Mansion has a Twin in New York City

The architectural styling of Salt Lake City's McCune Mansion was based on the John H. Matthews home in New York City (but reversed).

Salt Lake City's McCune Mansion, 2022

Salt Lake City's McCune Mansion, 2022

The John H. Matthews home was built in 1891 at the corner of Riverside Drive and 90th Street in Manhattan, a grand boulevard between NYC’s Central Park and the Hudson River. At the time, Riverside Drive in NYC was similar to South Temple in SLC, home to many fine mansions of the ultra-rich.

Matthews Mansion in NYC 1920s. From the Museum of the City of New York

The Matthews house received a lot of attention, it was featured in the Oct 1898 edition of Munsey’s Magazine and was part of the “Greater New York Illustrated” (1897+) photograph book. The architects of the Matthews house, Lamb & Rich, also designed abundant buildings throughout the East Coast.

In April 1900, the McCune’s architect, Samuel C. Dallas, was sent to NYC and other large East Coast cities to find some architectural ideas for Alfred and Elizabeth McCune’s new home. After a month Alfred joined him in NYC and together they inspected the finest residences. Shortly after their return, the plans for the McCune mansion were decided upon with Elizabeth, who chose the architectural styling of the Matthews house. Construction began soon after and Elizabeth set about choosing the interior finishes and furnishings.

The 3-story McCune Mansion has 21 rooms and 5 marble fireplaces. Elizabeth chose woods such as bird’s eye maple, South American blond mahogany, and English Oak. Marbles were from Italy, Africa, and Scotland. Rugs were handmade in Persia and roofing tiles were from Holland.

Each room has a different theme. For example, the banquet room adjoining the ballroom is English Renaissance and is based on Haddon Hall in England. It has mahogany woodwork, hand-embroidered wool tapestries were hung on the wall, and the walls adorned with painted hunting scenes and woodlands reminiscent of Robin Hood.

Here are some additional images of the Matthews House from the Museum of the City of New York:  in 1895, 1903, and 1921.

Tours of the McCune Mansion are available through Preservation Utah.

References
Deseret News March 6 1900
Salt Lake Herald March 6 1900
Munsey’s Magazine Oct 20 1898
UDSH McCune Mansion file
The Lost John H Matthews House
Greater New York City Illustrated 1905

The McCune Mansion's Haunted History

The iconic McCune Mansion at 200 N Main St in SLC has a haunted history associated with it.

McCune Mansion on an October evening 2022

McCune Mansion on an October evening 2022

This large home was built in 1901 for railroad/timber/mining mogul Alfred and Elizabeth McCune, after they sent their architect, S.C. Dallas, on a two-year tour of the US and Europe for him to study architectural styles and techniques.

The mansion is outfitted with exotic materials from around the world and has two ballrooms. The roof is made of thick handmade tiles from Holland, originally costing $7K ($247K today), for example. It was the first million-dollar home in Utah.

In 1920 the McCunes gave the home to the LDS church and became the McCune School of Music and Art. Throughout its years it has been a family home, residential rental, music school, dance studio, reception center, art gallery, and office space. In 1999 it was purchased and restored and now serves as an event space and often hosts weddings.

The McCune mansion is often referred to as haunted and there is a myriad of ghost stories associated with it. Most often, the stories include cold spots, oddities with the lights, moving objects, and music coming from a hidden alcove near the central staircase.

McCune 3rd floor ballroom, from mccunemansion.com

McCune 3rd floor ballroom, 2016, from Trip Advisor Barb J

McCune 3rd floor ballroom, 2016, from Trip Advisor Barb J

McCune 3rd floor ballroom, 1985, from HABS file.

The ghost of a girl who dances in the 3rd-floor ballroom has been reported, often enjoying the festivities of various gatherings. The ghost of Elizabeth McCune is said to inhabit the kitchen and often moves bowls, pots/pans, and other kitchen implements. Most stories are of friendly spirits.

Mirrors and paintings seem to be associated with the little girl. An electrician working on the house reported that he saw the girl wearing white emerge from the enormous mirror in the 1st-floor drawing room; she looked around, decided everything was ok, and then went back into the mirror. The electrician never returned to the home.

Music alcove, 1985, from HABS file

Servants’ staircase, 1985, from HABS file

In my research, stories of the McCune Mansion being haunted seem to originate in the 1990s, especially after Philip McCarthy started preservation efforts in 1999.

Sources: 
Haunted Salt Lake City (2018) by Laurie Allen, Cassie Ashton, Kristen Clay, Nannette Watts
Specters in Doorways Revisited (2009) by Linda Dunning

UDSH file

HABS file
ksl.com Dec. 17, 2010
Salt Lake Tribune Nov 15 2001

House at 235 South 600 East Salt Lake City

235 South 600 East Salt Lake City

This house at 235 S 600 East will be getting some much-needed love and attention. Yesterday (2 Sept 2021) the SLC Historic Landmark Commission (HLC) approved the current owner’s plans to add an addition to the back of the house and move forward with repairs and historic rehabilitation for the rest of the house. Because it is in the Central City local historic district any modifications must be made in consultation with the HLC to ensure they are appropriate.

The house was initially built sometime in the 1880s. The first occupant I could find was Dr. Lorin Hall, the SLC Physician, who lived in the house with his family between about 1887-1893. A funny story relating to his time in the house pertains to Dr Hall trying to grow grass in the front yard for nearly a year when his neighbor’s cow got loose, opened the gate with one of her horns, and walked into his front yard to munch and trample the grass.

Hiram Johnson owned the house between about 1895 and 1900. While in SLC Hiram ran a wholesale grocery business and served on the SLC school board. Of note, his obituary states that as a young man he was a follower of the abolitionist John Brown and part of the militant actions in Kansas prior to the Civil War (John Brown was portrayed by actor Ethan Hawke in the 2020 miniseries @thegoodlordbird).

The next significant occupant was Charles S. and Florence Varian who owned and lived in the house between 1908-1927. Charles was a US Attorney who, during the Utah Territorial days, vigorously prosecuted polygamists making him quite hated among the Mormons of SLC. He was booed by Mormon women in the Tabernacle and in 1885 when living in a townhouse (called Reggels Row) his home was bombarded with jars of feces, breaking the front window and splattering the filth throughout the parlor. By the time he moved into this house the days of polygamy were mostly over and he was largely respected by Mormon and Non-Mormons alike.

After the Varians died the house was sold and converted to apartments. A 1980 historic survey of the house listed it in good condition. A 1992 sales advertisement stated it needed some work. The house seems to have been in decline since the 1990s.

Sources:
SL Democrat 1885-09-14; Des News 1888-07-03; SL Herald 1900-05-06; SL Trib 1908-05-13; SL Trib 1992-09-07; Sanborn maps, various records on Ancestry.com; HLC staff memo.

235 S 600 East in 1980. Image from HLC staff memo.

235 S 600 East about 1935. Image from HLC staff memo.

Native Hawaiian Neighborhood near Warm Springs in Salt Lake City

John W. Kauleinamoku was another early Native Hawaiian to immigrate to Utah. He was also a Mormon convert and came to SLC in 1875 (2 years after Kiha Ka’awa Nebeker) and was the first adult Native Hawaiian to permanently move to Utah making him the de facto leader of the emerging Native Hawaiian community in SLC.

Between 1872 and 1889, about 75 Native Hawaiians (all Mormon converts) settled in SLC. They mostly lived at the edge of town in the Warm Springs area of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, primarily between what is now 200-300 West and Reed and Fern Avenues.

Kauleinamoku’s house was the most well-known and hosted funerals, gatherings, and religious services conducted in Native Hawaiian. Many other Native Hawaiian immigrants lived with Kauleinamoku and his family in his small adobe home. 

The Kauleinamoku house was located at 754 N 300 West and was demolished about 2003 by the SLC Redevelopment Agency (RDA) (along with the Morrison Meat Pie facility); townhomes now occupy the site.

According to research done by Nelson Knight, there are at least 5 homes of early Native Hawaiian settlers that remain standing in the Capitol Hill neighborhood:

1. Makaula house at 249 W Reed Ave
2. Salamona Nui Kapiipiigm House at 222 W Fern Ave
3. Solomona & Raanaana Umi house at 240 W Fern Ave
4. A.H. Kapukini House at 226 W Fern Ave
5. Peter Kealakaihomia House at 254 Fern Ave

Most Native Hawaiians had a difficult experience in Utah, primarily stemming from racial prejudice and stereotypes of Pacific Islanders perpetuated by syndicated newspaper stories that described them as cannibals, practitioners of infanticide, and lepers.

In June 1889, 4 Native Hawaiians applied for US Citizenship, but the Utah Supreme Court decided that Native Hawaiians were Polynesian and thus part of the Malay race and were not eligible for citizenship because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

Largely in response to this ruling, and the general racial prejudices in obtaining work, about 50 of the 75 Native Hawaiians in SLC relocated to the new Hawaiian settlement of Iosepa in Skull Valley in Aug 1889. Most of the other either returned to Hawaii or eventually relocated to Iosepa as well. Kiha Ka’awa Nebeker (see previous post) seems to be an exception to this trend.

Kauleinamoku was also one of the leaders of Iosepa (although the formal Mormon Church leadership positions were all headed by White people, most of whom were previous missionaries to Hawaii).

Kauleinamoku died in 1899 at Iosepa. His grave site is enclosed by an iron fence at the Iosepa Cemetery.

 

Sources:
Knight, Nelson. This Old House Solomona & Raanaana Umi Property, Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council Bulletin, Nov 2009.

Knight, Nelson. This Old House: John Henry & Marie Kaoo Makaula House, Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council Bulletin, March 2005.

Kester, Matthew. “Race, Religion, and Citizenship in Mormon Country: Native Hawaiians in Salt Lake City, 1869-1889.” Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 1, 2009, pp. 51–76. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40505603

Kester, Matthew. Remembering Iosepa: History, Place, and Religion in the American West. Oxford University Press. 2013.  

Updates on Some Historic Demolition Projects

A few updates on some of Salt Lake City's historic demolition projects:

1. Demolition has recently begun at the historic English Lutheran Church that was formerly Ichiban Sushi (336 S 400 East). Given the care taken thus far it may indicate some architectural salvage is occurring. The Victorian house previously used as an office building located just to the north has not yet been impacted.

2. Selective demolition around the historic Utah Pickle Factory and Bissinger Hide buildings (737-741 S 400 West) has recently been completed. The Friendship Inns Supply building and some of the additions around the Hide building were demolished.

3. The new Sola37 Apartments that replaced the historic Morrison Brothers Duplex (435 S 400 East) is nearing completion.

I’m sure there are updates to other projects so if you know of any leave a comment. (There are just too many for me to keep up with)

Fred L Parker House slated for demolition, 320 S 400 East

House at 320 S 400 East, April 2021

This house at 320 S 400 East is also slated for demolition, along with the English Lutheran church I posted about a few days ago. Both buildings will be demolished for the new development called “TAG 324 L’Oriol Plaza Condos.”

The house was built in 1893 for Fred L. Parker (1879-1938), a lumber dealer in SLC.

Fred experienced several losses in this house. His wife Lizzie died suddenly sitting in a chair in the house in June 1894. He soon remarried a young widow, Celia, with 2 children; her teenage daughter died of infection in the house Sept 1895. Then his baby son, Marshall, died in June 1896.

In 1900 the house and 3 other nearby homes were purchased by widow Emma Hanson as investment properties for her 4 minor children. The entire Hanson family lived in this house for a decade while renting out the other properties for income. After Emma’s youngest child was grown, she sold this house to H C Edwards in 1910.

Edwards used the property as a rental and through the years it was used both as primary residence and as a rental by various other people. In 1938, Susie V Marx added an addition to the back of the house.

By the 1970s the house had been converted to an office and by the mid-1980s it was being used as a salon.

David Anthony Sargeant ran a high-end salon out of the house through the 1980s and 1990s. In Sept 1987 arsonists set fire in the basement of the house which spread to the upper stories. Sargeant rebuilt his business and the house, working with architects Max Smith and Kin Ng.

Up until a few months ago, this house was being used as an office space for STM Associates; the property was sold in Jan 2021.