Using a black cat to heal the sick, a Utah folklore story

Using a black cat to heal the sick is a regional folklore story.

Lyman Lafayette Woods (1833-1918) was an early Mormon settler who lived in Provo, Springville, St. George, and Clover Valley (near Barclay, Nevada).

Lyman was described as a “good Latter-day Saint and active in Church work” and a “splendid nurse using mostly nature’s remedies.”

A daughter of Lyman, Roxa, was ill with pneumonia and was not improving with his normal cold-water treatment. He and an individual described as “an old Welsh lady” known as “Grandma Jones” cured Roxa using the skin of a black cat. Grandma Jones saying “the darker the cat, the surer the cure.”

The cat was killed, and its skin removed and placed on Roxa. As told, the [static] electricity in the skin of the black cat seemed to draw out all the poison from the body of the sick girl. Roxa survived.

There are several other examples of the belief in using the skin or fur of a cat to cure various ailments. The book Popular Beliefs and Superstitions from Utah records references to cure appendicitis, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and various stomachaches. And the editors of the book note that as recently as the 1960s, drugstores in Paris displayed tanned cat furs in their store windows for use in various respiratory and arthritic diseases.

After a little sleuthing, I believe the old Welsh lady to be Dinah Davies Vaughn Jones (1813-1895). She was born in Wales, arrived in Salt Lake City in 1861, and is often referred to as a healer, physician, and midwife. She and her family spent a few years in Salt Lake City and then relocated to Gunlock, Utah. However, Dinah spent a lot of time away from her Gunlock home while tending to her patients, primarily women.

Her affinity to travel may not be too surprising as she had a weird home life: Dinah had four surviving children with her first husband, William Vaughan, who died in 1852 in Missouri. Dinah married her second husband, William Ellis Jones in 1856 in Missouri. Dinah, William, and their blended family made the trip across the plains to Salt Lake City in 1861. William married Dinah’s eldest daughter (William’s stepdaughter), Martha Vaughan, as a plural wife and they had six kids together.

Needless to say, it was probably weird for Dinah to visit her husband, who was also married to her own daughter. Dinah’s grandchildren were also her stepchildren.

 
This story comes from the book Our Pioneer Heritage Vol 2 by Kate Carter, 1959, “And They Were Healed” “A Black Cat” pages 105-106 and seems to have been derived from The Dora Woods and Larkin Richard Schaffer Family manuscript pgs 105-126, which is on FamilySearch.

Other sources:

• The Woods Family of Clover Valley, Nevada 1869-1979. Published by Woods Family Genealogical Committee, Boulder City, NV 1979. Available from Washington County Historical Society
• Life of Lyman Lafayette Woods of Brigham Young’s Company, by Roxa Edwards Keele, 1956.
• The Dora Woods and Larkin Richard Schaffer Family. Ch 17 Dora’s Close Ancestors. From FamilySearch
• Popular beliefs and superstitions from Utah. 1984. University of Utah Press. Edited by Anton S. Cannon, Wayland D. Hand, Jeannine Talley
• Washington County News 1941-11-20 p1. St George Woman Dies at Home
• Various genealogical data sources on FamilySearch, Ancestry, Find-a-Grave

Historic Intermountain Casket Building at 276 W 100 South

Intermountain Casket Co. building, constructed by the Villadsen Brothers, 1920.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. Image from USHS.

The historic Intermountain Casket Building (aka Struve Distribution Building) at 276 W 100 South, in Salt Lake's Japantown, was built in 1920.

As discussed in my previous post about the Midwest Casket Building, several casket manufacturers were in Salt Lake City during the 1910s and1920s and one of them was the Intermountain Casket Company.

Intermountain Casket Company building, 2024.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. 

Intermountain Casket was founded in 1919 by Alma O. Taylor (son of “Pioneer Undertaker” Joseph E. Taylor) and Lafayette Holbrook (quite wealthy from mining and commercial endeavors, former mayor of Provo, and well-connected political and religious relationships).

Alma split from his brothers Samuel and Joseph W. Taylor’s Salt Lake Casket Company and formed his own competing operation. There must have been some Taylor family drama there, especially factoring in that "Pioneer Undertaker" Joseph E. Taylor practiced polygamy, which meant that Joseph W. was the first-born of the first wife and half-brother to Samuel and Alma who were both from the third wife.

As a new company, Intermountain Casket built a new and modern 3-story factory at the corner of 100 South and 300 West. Construction started in 1919 and it opened in January 1920. 

As an aside- The property of the Intermountain Casket Company building was purchased from Annette “Nettie” Eliza Amussen Evans, who inherited it from her father Carl Christian Amussen who was an early Mormon Pioneer, Utah’s first jeweler and wo built the Amussen Building originally located at 62 S Main Street in 1869. The facade of the Amussen Building was relocated during the construction of City Creek Center and is now within a pedestrian walkway south of Deseret Book at about 45 W South Temple.

 I mention this because I wondered why Intermountain Casket built in SLC's Japantown, which would have been very active in the 1920s and Intermountain Casket (unlike the Midwest Casket Co) seemed heavily affiliated with the LDS religion, so it seemed an odd choice of location. However, it seems as simple as it was a large lot with a small adobe home owned by a Mormon pioneer family; the adobe house was being rented out and, like today, a large lot was more valuable for building upon so it was available for purchase. The lot was split with the Intermountain Casket Co building on the west half at 276 W. 100 S. in 1920 and the Japanese Church of Christ building on east half at 268 W. 100 S. in 1924. 

Japanese Church of Christ adjacent to the Intermountain Casket Company (note sign).
Unknown date.  Image from USHS.

The 3-story Intermountain Casket building was constructed by the Villadsen Brothers, who had recently opened an office in Salt Lake City. The Villadsen Brothers were authorities on reinforced concrete and one of the biggest general contractors in the Western US. They also built the Ford Motor Company Service Building at 280 S. 400 West and the Continental Bank Building (Hotel Monaco) at 15 W 200 South, Salt Lake City. 

Villadsen Brothers advertisement. Deseret News 1920-07-12 p11.

The Intermountain Casket building is made of reinforced concrete frame and brick infill that was popular around the time of WWI. The insignia of the Intermountain Casket Company “cIc” can still be seen on the second level of the façade along 100 South.

Intermountain Casket Company insignia "cIc"

Intermountain was described as having “the finest casket display rooms west of Chicago.” They were a wholesale company supplying Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada.

In 1924, Intermountain Casket supplied 120 caskets for the victims of the Castle Gate Mine Disaster near Price, Utah.

Mass burial services for some of the Greek immigrants killed during the Castle Gate Mine explosion in 1924. Held in a hall at Castle Gate. Caskets supplied by Intermountain Casket Company in Salt Lake City.  Image from USHS.

Intermountain Casket closed business in 1943 with the company’s president Alma O. Taylor saying that WWII wartime restrictions had become too severe to manufacture caskets as ordered. He was quoted as saying “production of metal caskets and handles were ordered stopped by the war production board, a 50% reduction on silk for trimming was ordered, then the length was reduced, then came the limitation of styles, and with no priorities what can one do?”

These wartime restrictions were ordered by the War Production Board and included an order that steel could not be used for caskets so manufacturers switched to wood and concrete. I also found reference to “Order L-34 (caskets, shipping cases, and burial vaults)” which mandated reduction of length of certain percentage of caskets.

Consolidated Amusement purchased the building in 1943 and in addition to its own offices it also provided office space to a variety of other businesses.  Consolidated Amusement was known for jukeboxes. 

Consolidated Amusement 1945. Interior of the Intermountain Casket building.
Image from USHS.

The building in 1945, when it was the Consolidated Amusement Company.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. Image from USHS.

Intermountain Casket Company building, 2024.
Located at 276 West 100 South, Salt Lake City. 

Struve Distributing Company purchased the building in 1966. They were known for pool tables, billiard supplies, and other amusement and tavern equipment. They closed 2011.

Struve Distributing Company advertising home pool tables.
From The Salt Lake Tribune 1967-12-16 p35. 

Struve Distributing Company advertising Elton John's Capt. Fantastic pinball machine.

From Marketplace Issue July 04 1976 (from International Arcade Museum)

Some comments on my Instagram post made reference to Real Ride Skatepark using the interior of the building (and all that concrete!) as a (private?) skatepark.   

Interior of the Intermountain Casket Company building, from LoopNet.

Interior of the Intermountain Casket Company building, from LoopNet.

Interior of the Intermountain Casket Company building, from LoopNet.

Currently the building is available for lease. It is located just east of the Delta Center and although not specifically identified for redevelopment, it is within the general area of the Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) redevelopment project.

Location of the building relevant to Japantown and Delta Center.

Sources:

• Goodwins Weekly 1924-08-23 p30
• Salt Lake Herald 1919-07-13 p23
• Salt Lake Herald 1919-06-11 p14
• SL Herald 1916-06-12 p7
• Salt Lake Herald 1919-07-13 p29
• Salt Lake Telegram 1924-03-10 p3
• Salt Lake Tribune 1943-02-11 p12
• 276 W 100 S USHS file
• Various Sanborn maps and FamilySearch data

Harry Houdini in Salt Lake City, 1915

Famed escape artist Harry Houdini (Erik Weisz) made his Salt Lake City debut in December 1915 and performed thrilling stunts (a “trick” for October's #spookyslc).

Clip from the Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 Pg 32

Clip from Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 Pg 20

 
While researching the history of the Midwest Casket Building, I saw a reference in a 1928 book about the Salt Lake Casket Company providing a casket in which Houdini escaped during a show at the Orpheum Theater (now Capitol Theater) in 1915. However, I could not verify this information.

What I found indicates that members of the Local No 184 United Carpenters and Joiners of America Union sealed Houdini in a “sturdy wooden box” that they constructed on the stage, on Christmas Eve, 1915.

The carpenters selected were: George H Rose, John H Durbin, Henry J Schmittroth, J H Cox, Bert Harris, Fred Rose.

Houdini entered the box; the lid was nailed down and a strong rope tied around the box. A curtain was drawn around the box and the audience were quiet for the 7 minutes it took Houdini to escape.

The carpenters had made their own secret markings on the box and they declared that the box had not been switched out. According to their report “not a nail was pulled, a board sprung, or a knot in the ropes untied.” The box appeared to still be sealed. 

Houdini performed another trick the day prior. He freed himself from a straightjacket while hanging upside down from his ankles from the Walker Center Tower at 175 S Main Street, Salt Lake City.

Clip of Houdini from the SL Herald 1915-12-23 and the
Orpheum Theater & Walker building in 1920, from USHS

A note about Houdini’s Salt Lake performance, a few weeks prior Houdini had performed and filmed these same feats in Los Angeles. The film of his Los Angeles stunts were shown at the Salt Lake Orpheum Theater for several days before his live performance.

The Wild About Houdini website by John Cox has a great account of Houdini’s 1915 Los Angeles and Salt Lake performances, including a lost and recently recovered film clip of the Los Angeles performance that would have been shown in Salt Lake City.

Cox indicates that Houdini regularly engaged with local groups (Newspapers, Police, Fire Depts) for them to issue a (likely pre-arrange) challenge which Houdini would accept and perform. It was a way to build up excitement and market Houdini’s appearances.

This is likely what transpired with the Carpenters Union, who issued Houdini a challenge for Houdini to escape a box constructed by the union.

I didn’t find any connection of these men to the Salt Lake Casket Company, so they probably didn’t construct a casket and more likely built the “sturdy wood box.” But, it is an oddly specific reference to the Salt Lake Casket Co, so who knows? 

Photo of Houdini with a sturdy crate. Not Salt Lake City.
From crazyabouthoudini.com

Also, check out this Salt Lake City History Minute video about Houdini in SLC.


Sources:

• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-16 p10
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 p5
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-2-19 p20
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-19 p32
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-21 p5
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-22 p9
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-23 p4
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-23 p7
• Salt Lake Herald 1915-12-25 p3
• Salt Lake Telegram 1915-12-21 p12
• Salt Lake Telegram 1915-12-22 p12
• Salt Lake Telegram 1915-12-23 p9
• Salt Lake Tribune 1915-12-16 p13
• Salt Lake Tribune 1915-12-25 p3
• Wild About Houdini by John Cox, especially SLC and LA 
• Film clip of Houdini in LA and shown in SLC
• Houdini his life story by Harold Kellock, 1928

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

The 5 statues atop the SLC City and County Building

The statue "Columbia" atop the SLC City and County Building, ca 1894.
Historic photo from USHS.

The five statues atop the SLC City and County Building (451 S State SLC) have an interesting past. The current statues were placed in 1986 and 1989 as part of the massive building restoration effort.

(Fun fact = the City and County building was the first in the nation to be retrofitted with a seismic base isolation system).

The five statues are:

1. “Columbia” is located atop the central clock tower. Columbia was the popular symbol of America before the Statue of Liberty
2. “Liberty” on the north gable
3. “Justice” on the south gable
4. “Commerce” on the east gable
5. “Commerce” on the west gable
   

   
   
   

   The SLC City and County Building in 1905. Note the presence of the statues.
   Historic photo from USHS.

The 5 statues were part of the original building, dedicated in 1894. They were made of pressed zinc and were painted to simulate the sandstone of the building. The original statues were ordered from a catalog at a cost of $325 for Columbia and $300 each for the others.

The catalog may have been the W. H. Mullins Catalogue of Architectural Ornaments and Statuary, which was one of the primary suppliers of zinc statues and located in Salem, Ohio. One of their catalogs can be viewed on archive.org.

The Mullins Company supplied a variety of statues and architectural ornaments to many public buildings at this time. In addition to the five discussed here, depictions of Agriculture, Science, Music, Industry, and Freedom were popular. Some of these original statues on public buildings throughout the US have been restored.

After a large 6.6 earthquake in 1934, Columbia, Liberty, and Justice were damaged and removed (“junked” according to a 1954 Deseret News article) from the City and County Building.

But the two Commerce statues remained until 1954, at which point severe corrosion was found with their iron mountings and they were also removed.

One of the Commerce statues was placed at the SLC Daughters of the Utah Pioneer Memorial Museum storeroom, where it remained until the 1980s (not sure where it is now).

The SLC City and County building was void of its statutes for decades, until the restoration effort of the late 1980s.

The SLC City and County Building in 1972. Note the lack of statues.
Historic photo from USHS.

The first statue to be restored was the centerpiece Columbia in 1986 by artist Richard Young. The first concept of Young was rejected as being “anorexic by 1890s standards.” Young’s second concept plumped up the goddess statue by adding bulk to the shoulders and hips to make it more closely resemble the original catalog model. The new Columbia is made of cast bronze and has a leaden-tin finish.

The Commerce statue on the east gable was also replaced in 1986 and was created by Gordon Lewis Newby and Rudy Chagney. It seems this statue replacement was part of a roofing contract.

The remaining three statues (Commerce on the west, Justice, and Liberty) were able to be replaced because the overall bid to renovate the building came in under budget. That allowed these three statues and some other work, like stone carving restoration, to be completed.

These remaining three statues (Justice, Liberty, and the western Commerce) were created by artist Angelo Caravaglia, whose work I have featured in past posts- the fountain in front of the Bennett Federal Building and the twin bronzes previously attached to the old Mountain Bell Data Center building.

The Justice, Liberty, and Commerce statues are all made of hammered copper sheet (repoussé technique) with a dark patina finish.

As the two Commerce statues were made by different people, they are significantly different in appearance. I have included a possible catalog image for comparison (although the items in the hands are opposite).

Sources:

• Salt Lake Herald Republican 1893-12-08 p5
• Deseret News 1954-06-17 p50
• Daily Spectrum 1986-01-01- p4
• Salt Lake Tribune 1986-08-10 p21
• Daily Spectrum 1986-11-28 p2
• Salt Lake Tribune 1987-02-05 p39
• Salt Lake Tribune 1989-04-23 pg115
• Salt Lake City Corporation Insurance Appraisal by Allen Dodworth Art Appraisal Associates. March 2013.
• City and County Building SHPO file, Utah State Historical Society
• Catalogue of architectural ornaments and statuary, in sheet zinc, brass or copper / manufactured by W.H. Mullins, Salem, Columbiana Co., Ohio. 1894 (from archive.org).
• Zinc sculpture in America, 1850-1950 by Carol A Grisson, 2009. (from archive.org).  

How did Salt Lake City's 300 South become Broadway?

How did 300 South become Broadway?

Salt Lake City's Broadway (300 South), shown here at the intersection with Shelmerdine Ct (235 East).

In 1912, SLC business owners petitioned the SLC Commission (now City Council) to change the name to highlight the newly developed shopping/business district.

This new 300 South business district was significant in that it was located away from the traditional commercial sectors of Main and State Streets. Many new large department stores had recently been constructed such as Auerbach’s, the Paris, Keith-O’Brien, Walker Bros Dry Goods, and other prominent businesses such as the Judge Building, J G McDonald Chocolate Factory, Peery Hotel, and the Colonial Theater (old Yardstick Building). Many of these buildings are still standing.

Two-page spread in the December 8 1912 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune detailing Broadway shopping between Main and State Streets.

Two-page spread in the December 15 1912 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune detailing Broadway shopping between West Temple and Main Streets.

In May 1912, the Auerbach Company petitioned to rename 300 South, between the Rio Grande Depot and State Street, to Broadway Street- after Broadway in New York City.

Proponents wanted “a distinctive name that commands attention.” They wanted visitors who disembarked a train at the Rio Grande Depot to see a grand boulevard of shops and exquisite buildings, complete with electric streetlights.

There was pushback. Nearly 1,500 Salt Lakers signed a protest against the name change. Many didn’t like the idea of deviating from the SLC’s grid system. Others indicated there was already an alley named Broadway (eventually renamed and is now the northernmost section of Regent Street that runs through City Creek Center). The postal workers were especially against the idea.

I was not able to find any documentation of the official change of name, nor what section was designated as Broadway. I searched various online repositories. Presumably, there is some documentation in the paper records at Salt Lake County archives. Regardless, it seems that maps were eventually updated with the new Broadway Street, although even today maps vary on which section of 300 South is Broadway.

Nowadays, it seems that Salt Lake County retains control of street names. According to their data, Broadway is the section of 300 South between 455 West and 549 East.

The signage of Broadway is a little sporadic. My quick field recon showed that primarily the area between the Rio Grande Depot and State Street is signed as Broadway – except for my photo here at the intersection with Shelmerdine Ct (235 E).

Sources:
Salt Lake Telegram 1912-05-29 Pg 10; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-06-18 Pg 6; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-07-06 Pg 7; 

Salt Lake Telegram 1912-07-11 Pg 12; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-11-10 Pg 20; 

Salt Lake Tribune 1912-11-24 Pg 21; 

SLC Infobase; 

various Sanborn Maps

Angelo Caravaglia's Federal Building statue is a water fountain

Utah artist Angelo Caravaglia's sculpture is up and running as a fountain (Sept 2024).

Located in front of the mid-century modern Wallace F. Bennet Federal Building at 125 S. State St, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Enjoy this 40-second video showing different angles of the fountain.

Here is the link to the history of this fountain.