Sanitary Drinking Fountains Were Once Throughout the Downtown Business District of SLC

Sanitary Drinking Fountain, SLC
ca 1910 postcard. Image from ebay.

New “sanitary fountains” were all the range in Salt Lake City in the early 1900s. 

Beginning about 1909 the SLC Council had these types of fountains installed throughout the business district of downtown. 

The “sanitary” aspect was a mouth guard on the fountain that prevented the spreading of germs. These types of fountains replaced earlier drinking fountains where people placed their own cup under a spout of running water. 

Many “Ban the Cup” campaigns around this time convinced the nation that the sanitary fountain was a safer alternative.

Salt Lake Telegram 1909-07-31

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-06-03

Then & Now: Fire Station No 7

Then & Now. Fire Station No.7 located at 273 N. 1000 West, Salt Lake City, Utah (although the historic address was 273 9th West). 

The historic photo is from 1923 (courtesy UDSH) and modern photo is from Google street view. The modern building was constructed in 1979.

By 1946, the old Fire Station No. 7 was determined to be inadequate to properly protect the Utah State Fairgrounds and surrounding neighborhoods. It had only one pumper truck and four men. 

In 1963 $20K in funds were dispersed from Salt Lake City to renovate the building. Eventually it was replaced with this modern structure in 1979. 

Japanese in Utah

From my newly acquired book Japanese Americans in Utah is a description of the first delegation of Japanese to visit Utah.

Their visit to Salt Lake City lasted nearly 3 weeks and included observing an amputation of a leg, soaking in the warm springs at Wasatch Plunge, visiting Camp Douglas, and of course meeting with Brigham Young.

A digital version of Japanese Americans in Utah is available at archive.org.

Burned out house at 264 S 1000 East

Yesterday (Aug 18 2016) this house at 264 S 1000 East in Salt Lake City caught fire and burned down. Here is a Deseret News article on it.  

The insert is a view of the house from the Salt Lake County Assessor.  The house was built ca 1900 and was a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath. 

The Mosser Rushton Granary in West Valley City

Joseph Hyrum Mosser constructed this granary near his adobe brick house about 1878 at approximately 4450 S 5400 West in what was then known as Hunter, Utah. 

Newlywed Alma E. Rushton acquired this granary and the surrounding farm in 1917 merging it into the Rushton Homestead across the street.

This is perhaps the oldest building in West Valley City. The granary was moved from its original location a few years ago and placed near the Jordan River on the grounds of the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in West Valley City.

Then & Now Demolished at 829 S 800 East

Then and Now. This modest Victorian house at 829 S 800 East Salt Lake City was built in 1893 and was demolished in June 2016.

The upper left image is from the Salt Lake County Assessor, the lower left image is from Google Street view 2014, and the demolished image on the right is from June 2016.

Update 1: A modern style house was constructed on this lot in 2017.

Update 2: The two Victorian homes adjacent and to the south are also slated for demolition and the Telegraph Exchange building is slated for adaptive reuse in 2021. 

The Boston and Newhouse Buildings at Sunset

The Boston and Newhouse Buildings are located on Main Street between 300 and 400 South Streets.

These structures are considered Utah's first skyscrapers and were financed by one of the state's wealthiest mining magnates, Samuel Newhouse.

Their presence represented the historical polarization between the north-end (Mormon) and south-end (non-Mormon) businesses that formed separate commercial districts within downtown Salt Lake City.