Demolition of the Last Remaining Building from “the Stockade”

Citizen Investment Co building at
540 W 200 South SLC, June 2021.

This building at 540 W 200 South will be demolished as part of the Cinq Apartments, the same construction project that plans to preserve most of the nearby Central Warehouse building (see previous post).

This unassuming building has a sordid history and is the last remaining building from “the Stockade,” Salt Lake’s officially sanctioned red-light district built and managed in 1908 by Dora Topham, aka the Madame Belle London. 

The building is named the Citizens Investment Co building because that was the legal entity that was established by Dora Topham to purchase the land, build the stockade, and manage other matters.

There are a lot of stories associated with this building and plot of land.  Before this building was constructed in 1908 it was the location of George W. Boyd’s adobe house- he built Boyd’s Pony Express Station in Utah’s West Desert, which remains today as one of the best-preserved Pony Express Sites.  George was a Mormon polygamist with 3 wives and 15 children. 

Exploring how Boyd’s property and the surrounding blocks morphed from small Mormon Pioneer adobe houses into GreekTown should be interesting.

This also seems to be a good time to explore the life of Dora Topham; she made quite the impact in Ogden but was only in SLC a few years.  Plus, she is the namesake for London Belle Supper Club.

And then there is the red-light district itself. What did it look like (and smell like?) and what was it like for the women who lived and worked there.  What did GreekTown think of their new neighbors? 

What other things interest you about this property and the stories around it? Maybe I will find out for you during my deep dive and share more interesting stories about SLC’s past.

There will likely be a few interesting posts to come out of this topic so stick around.

In the meantime, swipe to read the historical marker attached the building. I always stop and read the plaque!

Blue Eagle Poster in SLC's Warehouse District 1933

I spied these NRA posters in a 1933 photo of the Central Warehouse (see previous post).

These posters are not the National Rifle Association; they are of the short-lived federal agency the National Recovery Administration, which was a New Deal program during the Great Depression.

The NRA only lasted between 1933-1935 but had a profound impact. Some of the goals were to protect workers and ensure fair wages were paid.

Companies that signed the agreement received the “Blue Eagle” emblem to display. Some of the requirements were:

1. Hours of workers capped at 40 hours per week.
2. Wages raised to set standards.
3. Don’t employ child labor.
4. Don’t profiteer.
5. Deal only with others who earn the Blue Eagle

The emblem shows a Blue Eagle clutching a gear and lightning bolts symbolizing the power of American industry.

SLC and Utah companies eagerly signed up for the program as a show of patriotism. Not everyone followed the rules but even the appearance of a violation was problematic.

In Nov 1934 the NRA alleged that Myers Cleaning and Dyeing company of SLC violated some of the provisions and required the company to surrender its Blue Eagle. The very next day a large advertisement in several newspapers printed the signed statement from 40 Meyers employees stating that the company was in fact complying with all codes and it was an issue with one of their nightwatchmen. Meyers Cleaning stated they would be exonerated in a fair and just hearing.

The revoking of Meyers Cleaning’s Blue Eagle had implications beyond SLC. In Price, M. F. Meyers who owned the Acme Cleaners and Tailors of Price, needed to clarify that he was not connected with the Meyers Cleaning company of SLC and that his establishment strictly adheres to all provisions of the Blue Eagle code.

Read more about the NRA, the Blue Eagle, and its effect on Utah’s Labor Unions in the Utah Historical Quarterly 1986 article “The Economics of Ambivalence: Utah’s Depression Experience” by Wayne K. Hinton. The UDSH has made these freely available on issuu.com.

A Sports Note: The NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles were named after this Blue Eagle symbol in 1933.

Sources: UHQ 1986 The Economics of Ambivalence; SL Trib 1933-08-23; Bikuben 1933-Aug-30; SL Trib 1934-11-14; SL Trib 1934-11-15; Sun Advocate 1934-11-15. Images of Central Warehouse are from @utahhistory_collections. News clipping is from Bikuben 1933-Aug-30.

 Central Warehouse 520 W 200 S SLC.
Note Blue Eagles in the windows. From UDSH.

Detail of left (west) window of Central Warehouse.

Detail of right (east) window of Central Warehouse.

News clipping is from Bikuben 1933-Aug-30
(Bikuben was a Scandinavian newspaper in SLC)

Sighting of a Railroad Switch at Central Warehouse

Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company in 1911, later known as Central Warehouse.
Located at 160 S 500 West SLC. Image from UDSH.

This is an interesting image that didn’t make the cut for my Central Warehouse post. 

This is a photograph of the Central Warehouse building in 1911 when it was known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company located at 160 S 500 West SLC.

Note the railroad switch! 

There are a few of these historic switches left in SLC’S Warehouse District. This specific switch was removed long ago along with the railroad tracks that once ran along what is now 500 West (historically known as 400 West).

The 1911 Sanborn map indicates the original warehouse was located along the D & R G and W P  R R Joint tracks (Denver & Rio Grande and Western Pacific Railroad joint tracks).

Here is a link to some railroad switches still in existence in SLC.

Detail of railroad switch.

Detail of the 1911 Sanborn map

Central Warehouse Building at 520 W 200 South

Central Warehouse 2021

Central Warehouse, side view, 2021

The Central Warehouse at 520 W 200 South will be adapted into the design for the new Cinq Apartments which will wrap around the historic warehouse.

The Central Warehouse building is one the few remaining historic structures in the heart of Salt Lake’s Old GreekTown; however, the building is not specifically associated with the culture or Greek people of GreekTown.

What remains of the Central Warehouse (520 W 200 S) was actually the last addition to the huge warehouse complex that was initially constructed ca. 1910 at ~160 S. 500 West (now demolished; current site of Alta Gateway Station Apts).

The original section of the warehouse along 500 West was built in 1910 for the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a billiard equipment company based in Chicago. It was then acquired in 1917 by Charles Tyng for use as a warehouse. Charles Tyng died suddenly in 1924 and Central Warehouse Company acquired the property during the settlement of his estate.

Central Warehouse Company was founded by George E. Chandler who was a prominent business and real estate man in Bingham and Salt Lake. It seems that George immediately handed off management of Central Warehouse to his daughter, Bess Chandler Rooklidge, as she was listed as manager in the 1925 city directory under the name “B C Rooklidge” and she was identified as the owner by 1927.

In 1925 Bess was 42 years old, married, and had one 13-year-old son. Before she married, she graduated from Wellesley College and had traveled throughout Asia with her father. Bess’s husband may not have liked his wife’s new career because in 1927 he moved out of the family house and into the Alta Club; Bess identified herself as divorced soon after.

It was under Bess’s management that the Central Warehouse expanded and built the addition now remaining at 520 W 200 South. The warehouse was built in 1929 by contractor Hector M Draper of fire-proof reinforced concrete and it featured a brick front with ornamental colored tile surrounding the doorway and a large mezzanine inside which was used for offices.

Central Warehouse moved their office operations to the new building in Jan 1930. With their new addition and their old building, Central Warehouse Company became one of the largest storehouses in the Intermountain West.

Around WWII, Bess retired and the management of Central Warehouse was taken over by her son J. Chandler Rooklidge. The company dissolved soon after his death in 1975.

The original warehouse section along 500 West was demolished in the 1980s leaving only the 1929 addition still standing. The Central Warehouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. (I think the plaque should be updated to reflect Bess’s contribution instead of her father’s ownership).

The Cinq apartment construction project plans to prominently incorporate the 1929 warehouse into its design and build around it. A small portion of the rear will need to be removed but most of the structure will be kept intact. The Central Warehouse does not have any local historic protections, so the preservation of the building is not required for the developer.

Proposed Cinq Apts. Note Central Warehouse in center.
Images from SLC Planning Commission Report.

Original section of the warehouse in 1912 as the
Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. From UDSH.

New addition Central Warehouse, 1933. From UDSH.

Interior of 3rd floor, 1933. From UDSH.

New addition and original warehouse 1939. From UDSH.

Central Warehouse 1979. From UDSH.

Detail of front entrance, ca 1997. From UDSH.

Front entrance of Central Warehouse, 2021.

Detail of multi-colored tiles at front entrance, 2021.

Detail of 1950 Sanborn Map.

City Directory advertisements from 1925 (top) and 1926 (bottom).

Bess C. Rooklidge, 1924. From her passport photo on Ancestry.

National Register plaque currently on the Central Warehouse, 2121.
(I think it should be updated to reflect Bess’s contribution instead of her father’s ownership.)

Salt Lake City's Old GreekTown is Being Eaten Away by Demolition and Development

Map showing new and current construction (2021)
along 200 South and between 500-600 West

Four major construction projects have or will demolish all but 5 of the historic buildings along 200 South between 500-600 West. This section of 200 South was, until recently, one of the better-preserved historic streetscapes representing the historic Greek and Italian ethnic neighborhoods of SLC.

SLC’s Old GreekTown once encompassed the area northwest of Pioneer Park: between the two Railroad Depots (Union Pacific at South Temple and 400 West and the Rio Grande at 300 South and 350 West) and along 200 South between 200 West and 600 West.

In the pre-pandemic era of 2019, there were 12 remaining historic buildings along 200 South between 500-600 West; this was down from nearly 30 historic buildings lining the block in 1950.  After all the current construction is completed there will be 5 historic buildings remaining.

The four projects are:

1. Central Station at 549 W 200 South: This 65-unit apartment project has demolished the 3 Thomas Electric Co buildings in 2020.
2. Central Station West at 577 W 200 South: This 65-unit apartment project has recently demolished the building previously known as the Bricks/Club Sound/In the Vue nightclub.
3. The Cinq at 530 W 200 South: This 203-unit apartment project will preserve most of what remains of the historic Central Warehouse building (520 W 200 South) and will demolish the Citizens Investment Co Building (most recently known as Metro Bar/Café Orbit) at 540 W 200 South.
4. Greenprint Gateway at 592 W 200 South: This 150-unit apartment project will demolish the Green Manufacturing Co (most recently an automobile repair shop) built 1940 at 568 W 200 South. 

Of note, the existing Artspace Bridge Projects complex at 511 W 200 South built in 2001 demolished the buildings associated with SLC Greek Boss Nicholas D. Stathakos; you will remember his story from his house at 963 E200 South that I profiled as part of the “China Blue” rezone proposal a few months ago.

What will be left will be part of the Central Warehouse (520 W 200 S), Am Furniture Manufacturing (566 W 200 S), Michael Shoenfeld Studio (560 W 200 S), the Hong Kong Teahouse (565 W 200 S), and the Corum Building (561 W 200 S).

This stretch of Old GreekTown is part of the Warehouse National Historic District (Boundary Increase) which was designated in 2016 to incentivize historic preservation through the availability of federal tax credits.  The designation of a *National* Historic District does not offer any legal protections against demolition, only the designation of a *Local* Historic District at the city level mandates a review through the SLC Historic Landmark Commission. None of the buildings along 200 South between 500-600 West are Local historic landmarks or within a local historic district.

Green Manufacturing Co (most recently an automobile repair shop) built 1940 at 568 W 200 will be demolished as art of the Greenprint Gateway project.

Most of the buildings in this photograph from 2016 have been demolished. The Thomas Electric Co (beige buildings on the left) and the Bricks/Club Sound/In the Vue nightclub (red buildings at right). For now, the the Hong Kong Teahouse (obscured by trees, but right of the grey building), and the Corum Building (grey building, center of photo).

History of Father's Day in Utah

Salt Lake Tribune 1926-06-19

Happy Father’s Day!

Father’s Day was first proposed and celebrated by Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington in 1910 as a tribute to her father, a widower who raised Sonora and her siblings.

Utah Governor William Spry heard about Sonora’s proposal and was an early supporter saying that he believed much good would come from honoring fathers.

The Salt Lake newspapers were not so supportive, and they cringed at Governor Spry’s suggestion to adopt the holiday in Utah. The Salt Lake Herald Republican had to the clarify that the Governor was “not jesting.” Both the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune suggested that celebrating a Father’s Day holiday would emasculate fathers. Governor Spry soon dropped the idea.

In 1912 the Westminster Presbyterian Church located at 175 W 500 South (now demolished) brought in a new pastor from Spokane, Washington. Reverend Robert Asa Smith had been celebrating Father’s Day since its inception in Spokane in 1910 and he brought the celebration to Salt Lake City in 1912 where he offered a special Father’s Day sermon in which he said:

“I believe men, especially fathers, would be better if loved more. The feeling that no one holds him in the deserved affection has sent many a man into a careless and ruinous life.”

and

“I call upon you to honor father’s love. I refute the idea that woman has all the heart and all the love and that man is not capable of it. He may be gruff and reticent, but he really loves.”

Slowly other Salt Lake City area churches began adopting a Father’s Day celebration on the 3rd Sunday in June but still the newspapers seemed cool to the idea.

In 1915 the Salt Lake Herald sarcastically suggested that a way to celebrate Father’s Day was to challenge fathers to endurance tournaments in holding babies, dish washing contests, and a speed competition to see how fast their paycheck went to their wife.

In 1916 the Salt Lake Telegram considered that it might not be a terrible idea and asked around what others thought. One person was concerned about how Salt Lakers would be able to celebrate Father’s Day if Utah became a dry state (which happened Aug 1 1917).

In the 1920s downtown Salt Lake City business started promoting sales for Father’s Day gifts, especially ties, hats, shirts, and other items that “dad needed.”

By 1923 the Deseret News was warning of the “Father’s Day Rush” at downtown stores. Display windows were decorated for the occasion and Father’s Day gift ideas advertisements were throughout the newspapers.

In 1925 KSL broadcast a radio address on the “sanctity of fatherhood” by Axel A Madsen and that removed any further misgivings Utahns had about the holiday.

The 3rd Sunday in June officially became recognized as Father’s Day in 1966 through a proclamation by President Lyndon Johnson. It became a national holiday in 1972 when President Nixon signed it into law.

Sources: SL Herald 1910-05-13; Deseret News 1910-05-21, SL Trib 1910-06-29; SL Trib 1912-05-20; SL Herald 1915-05-19; SL Telegram 1916-05-21; Deseret News 1923-06-14

Happy Juneteenth & Intro to Sema Hadithi Foundation

Happy Juneteenth (the first Federally official Juneteenth)!

Today I would like to highlight a new non-profit organization that I am a part of:

The Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation.

The group was founded last year by Robert Burch and recently obtained official 501(c)(3) status. We are partnering with the Utah Division of State History and other organizations to help preserve and tell the story of African Americans in Utah.

Give them a follow on Facebook: Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation. 

I am part of the Black Women Research Group which highlights amazing stories, some of which I have shared here. 

But there are so many other stories that others have compiled including a history of the celebration of Emancipation Day, Black women social clubs, the Black church in Utah, stories and illustrations of Buffalo Soldiers in Utah, and lynching of Black men in Utah.

I’m still working on a number of stories for this group and hopefully you will see more of them soon:

• Frankie McMonnas (? – 1902) and her niece Frances Worfork (1879-1945). Frankie’s occupation on the 1900 census is listed as Nurse and Frances lists hers as School Teacher… Intriguing, hopefully I can learn more about these women.
• Ella Louise DeBies (1889-1985): “A lady really had to work for a living in those days” but she was able to send her son to the U of U in the 1920s.
• Colored Women want ads- classified advertisements of people looking to hire Colored Women, generally for domestic housework tasks. And Colored Women looking for people to hire them.
• Restaurants where Black people were allowed to eat in SLC. So far I have the St Louis Hotel and Café, Black Elks Club, and some Asian owned cafes. (Anyone know of anything specific and I will add it to my list).
• More short but intriguing stories from the Interviews with African Americans in Utah Oral History Collection at Special Collections, Marriott Library.
  
  
  

In 1977 the MCC and SLC's Gay Community Made a Splash into Utah Politics

My idea of what the MCC's 1977
dance event may have looked like
in the Utah Capitol Rotunda.

Before the Sacred Light of Christ Church (previous post) was known by that name it was known as the Metropolitan Community Church of Salt Lake (MCC).

In 1977 the MCC made a splash into Utah politics, albeit unintentionally.

In Feb 1977 the Board of the MCC voted to hold a church dance on April 22 in the Utah Capitol Rotunda, similar to decades of past LDS Church dances held there. They followed the proper procedures and applied for a permit, which was granted by Lt Gov David Monson.

However, 2 weeks later and after “certain informants” called him, the Lt Gov rescinded the permission with Monson saying that the MCC was a “gay organization whose purpose for existence is strictly to satisfy the needs of the gay community” and later saying that he may reconsider if the MCC could “demonstrate it is not a homosexual organization.”

The Daily Utah Chronicle responded in an editorial titled “Gays are people” asking if Monson wanted them to perform a heterosexual sex act before being admitted to the dance.

The MCC soon filed suit in 3rd District Court against Monson alleging religious discrimination. On April 19 Judge Dean Condor denied the church’s request for a court order forcing the dance stating that the rental of the Capitol Rotunda was “discretionary” on the part of the State.

The MCC filed a new suit asking that the decision be reversed. Utah Deputy Attorney General, Mike Deamer, then filed a motion to obtain the membership list from the MCC so that police and sheriff departments could compare it to their lists of “known homosexuals.”

On May 17, Judge Condor turned down both of those motions- ruling against the State in that it was “unnecessary” for them to have the MCC’s membership list and ruling against the MCC in that the Lt Gov did have the legal authority to not rent the Capitol Building.

In historian Ben Williams telling of this story, he states that “the courts eventually ruled that the Lieutenant Governor had no right to rescind permission to hold a dance in the state capitol building simply because the church had homosexual members.”  (I am looking for that decision and have asked the University of Utah's Faust Law Library to help me track it down, so hopefully more on that soon.)

The fallout from the fiasco of denying the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) the ability to hold a church dance at the Utah Capitol Rotunda continued throughout 1977.

 Hatch-Monson Dialogue headline from
The Daily Utah Chronicle June 2 1977

Lt Gov David Monson and Senator Orin Hatch were already scheduled to speak at a June 2 1977 “Dialogue” at the University of Utah where many of the U’s students asked questions about gay rights.

Hatch said that homosexuals should not be allowed to teach school and likened them to the American Nazi Party. He also said it was the fault of a “growing number of perverts” for the deterioration of the country.

Also at the Dialogue event, Monson tried to spin his dance decision to be a liability issue and said he tries not to let his personal feelings influence his public actions. However, a few years later in 1981 when Monson was attending an anti-Equal Rights Amendment rally, he boasted about his “important decision” to “refuse homosexuals permission to dance in the Capitol Rotunda.”

Further, in Oct 1977, just a few months after the enormous press coverage of the MCC’s denied dance, the MCC’s request for a loan to purchase the building at 870 W 400 South for their church and a community center was rejected by their bank, the Bank of Utah at 70 E South Temple, despite having credit-worthy cosigners and $19K (~$85K today) on hand for a down payment.

The church at 870 W 400 South was originally the Grace Methodist Church and most recently the Tongan Methodist Church which burned down in 2000 and is now demolished. The MCC rented part of this building for most of the 1970s.

Yup, 1977 was quite the year for the Utah LGBTIQ+ community and much of the activism can be attributed to MCC’s Worship Coordinator and later Reverend, Bob Waldrop.

Sources: 1977 by Ben Williams, published in Salt Lake Metro 2005-05-12; SL Trib 1977-02-19; Ogden Standard Examiner 1977-02-19; Daily Utah Chronicle 1977-02-25; SL Trib 1977-03-26; SL Trib 1977-04-23; Utah Daily Herald 1977-05-18; Daily Utah Chronicle 1977-06-02; Rocky Mountain Open Door 1977-10-01; SL Trib 1981-07-19

The church at 870 W 400 South that the MCC used during the 1970s.
Also known as the Grace Methodist and the Tongan Methodist church.
Image from UDSH.

History of Sacred Light of Christ Church at 823 S 600 East

Sacred Light of Christ Church at 823 S 600 East SLC, June 2021.

This church at 823 S 600 East has served various small, but devoted, congregations.

It was designed by architect William J Camomile and built in 1913 as the First Swedish Baptist Church.

As the church is located just north of Liberty Park and outside the main downtown area, most people used the streetcar lines to attend services and the Sugar House line had a convenient stop at 900 South and 600 East (hence the lack of designated parking).

Most Swedish immigrants in Salt Lake were members of the LDS Church so the Swedish Baptist Church remained a small congregation and struggled to attract new members. The church held services in both Swedish and English until 1929 when it abandoned its efforts as a separate Swedish congregation.

In 1930 the Second Christian Church (the First Christian Church being in Ogden) took over use of the church; in 1931 they purchased the property and renovated and enlarged it. 

In 1934 the church morphed into the nondenominational Church of Christ. The church’s Elder, Mr. D. L. Thomson, sold the church in 1939 against the wishes of its 35 church members.

The new owner of the building ca.1940 was the Pillar of Fire church which actively used the building until about 1980. The Pillar of Fire was founded in Colorado by Alma White, who is known for being the first woman ordained as a Bishop in the US. Alma was a short-time resident of SLC in the 1880s where she taught at the SLC Methodist Seminary.

In 1983 the building was briefly leased from the Pillar of Fire for use by the Salt Lake Children’s Choir.

The current owner and occupant of the building, the Metropolitan Community Church, started using the building in 1987. The MCC had previously bounced around various church buildings in SLC before finding its home here.

In the early 1970s the MCC met at 740 S 700 E (now Masjid Al-Noor/Islamic Society of SLC), then moved to 870 W 400 South (which was the Tongan United Methodist church until it burned down/demolished in 2000).

In 1977 the MCC attempted to purchase the building at 870 W 400 South but their bank, the Bank of Utah at 70 E South Temple, refused a loan to the MCC after it became well known for serving the Gay and Lesbian community of SLC when the Lt Governor rescinded permission to use the State Capitol for a dance (more on that later!).

The MCC then held services at the Unitarian Church at 568 S 1300 East through most of the 1980s.

In 1987 the MCC moved here (823 S 600 East) where it is now known as Sacred Light of Christ and serves SLC’s LGBTIQ+ community.

Sources: SL Telegram 1912-03-05; SL Telegram 1914-03-21; SL Trib 1931-06-12; SL Trib 1940-03-27; Daily Utah Chronicle 1973-10-30; Rocky Mountain Open Door 1977-11-01;SL Trib 1983-02-27; SL Trib 1987-07-16  

Portion of a postcard for the Pillar of Fire church, front.

Portion of a postcard for the Pillar of Fire church, back.

Redwood Drive-in and Swap Meet

Aerial view Redwood Drive-In, 1970s, from Salt Lake County Archives.

You may have heard by now that the Redwood Drive-in was proposed for rezone and demolition but last night the developer withdrew the application from West Valley City. 

The protest rally planned for Sunday is now a support rally for the swap meet. Head over to @slcsanchez801 for details.

The Redwood Drive-in opened for business Friday July 22, 1949, with the technicolor picture “The Big Cat” which was filmed at Hoosier Lake in Iron County, Utah.

The land for the theater was purchased from Leon C. Breeze who operated a chicken farm; the Breeze house is still standing at 3740 S. Redwood Road and is used for storage by the current Redwood Drive-in owners.

The original Redwood Drive-In in featured a single 40x60 foot screen with a 600-car capacity. The theater also had several family friendly activity areas including picnic tables, BBQ pits, a wading pool, swings and playground, and offered pony rides for children and bottle warmers for babies.

Outdoor seating was provided for those who did not wish to watch the movie in their car. For those in their cars there were individual speakers and a push button for refreshment service.

The theater experienced several fires and incidents over the years:

1. A homemade bomb made from a garden hose and dynamite exploded in the men’s restroom in 1953
2. Arson at the ticket booth by a juvenile crime gang of tweens and young teenagers in 1953
3. A suicide in a car by carbon monoxide poisoning in 1955
4. A man who purchased a ticket and then came back to the booth to rob the attendant of $46 in 1958
5. A fire caused by a short in a neon sign burned down the large screen in 1966
6. An overheated furnace started a fire in the projection booth in 1971
7. Salt Lake County Firefighters intentionally burned the old snack bar located in the center of the parking area for a training exercise in April 1978, with the permission of the owner.
8. A field fire burned one of the screens in 1994

The swap meet started at Redwood Drive-In in 1960 after failing to gain traction at a different drive-in theater. It has been a mainstay for weekend buyers/sellers/swappers nearly continuously since. In 1978 it was reported that 10,000 visitors attended the swap meet each Sunday.

Sources: Des News 1949-07-21, Des News 1953-05-01, Des News 1953-10-01, Des News 1966-11-29, Des News 1971-03-11, SL Trib 1978-04-08, SL Trib 1978-08-17, SL Trib 1994-09-18

Poster of the debut movie "The Big Cat" at Redwood Drive-In

One of the many fires, 1966. From UDSH.

The Snack Bar, a year before it was burned by Salt Lake County
Firefighters in 1977, from Salt Lake County Archives.

 Debut Swap Meet advertisement From SL Trib 1960-04-17

Newspaper page from Salt Lake Tribune 1978-08-17

Kick off to SLC History Pride Month

LGBT Salt Lake by J. Seth Anderson

LGBT Salt Lake by J. Seth Anderson, 2017, is a great book to check out for Pride Month.

The book is readily available at bookstores, online, and even the Salt Lake City Public Library has a copy (available for check out as of this posting!)

The book has lots of color photographs and a good overview of LGBT+ history in SLC.

This month I will be posting some history tidbits highlighted in this book.

I've always been curious about the history of the Sacred Light of Christ Church at 823 S 600 East so I'll probably be digging into that.

And the history of the building Ruby Snap currently inhabits is super interesting too.

More to come!