Preservation Story of the Karrick Block

The distinctive Karrick Block and adjacent Lollin Building (236-238 S Main) were preserved in 2002 as part of an agreement with Salt Lake City and the owners, Hamilton Partners, as part of the process to build the 222 Main Tower (222 S. Main).

In 2001, Hamilton Partners (HP) demolished the historic buildings that were located between the Continental Bank (now Hotel Monaco) and the Karrick Block. These buildings housed Wendy’s Restaurant, Walk-Over Shoes, Lord’s Big and Tall, Dahle’s, English Tailors, the Catholic Center, and others).  

The original intent was to construct the 222 Tower in their place, but office space was in low demand at the time due to the newly constructed American Stores Tower, now knows as the Wells Fargo Building, HP erected temporary one-story buildings made of wood that were used during the 2002 Olympics by organizations and vendors (SLC pushed for some kind of use of the empty area, HP originally wanted a surface parking lot). In 2004, these temporary buildings were then demolished and the 222 Tower built in their place.

The Karrick and Lollin buildings were preserved because they are local historic landmark sites, which provides them with some level of protection by Salt Lake City regarding their modification/demolition, which is overseen by the SLC Historic Landmark Commission.

The Karrick Block was built in 1887 for Lewis Karrick and was designed by famed architect Richard K.A. Kletting, who also designed the adjacent Lollin Building in 1894. The Karrick building is Kletting’s earliest example of work that is still standing.

The Karrick Block had been occupied by Leyson-Pearsall Jewelry since 1905. Originally, the upper floors were used as a gambling hall, offices, and had 8 rooms for sex workers but were later used as storage for Leyson-Pearsall. In 1976, the names of some of those sex workers remained on the doors of the Karrick Block (I could not find reference to what names). The upper floors were condemned in 1976.

In 1980, the interior of the Karick Block still had some of the original décor including ornate crystal chandeliers hanging from the hand painted gold leaf ceilings, wrought iron balcony railings, and some areas with original ceramic tilted floors.

The main occupants of the Lolling Building were the Hudson Bay Fur Company until 1962 and then the G.E.M Music Store. The second floor were business offices, primarily dentists. And the third floor was the residence of the Lollin family until 1960.

In 2000, HP hired MHTN Architects to renovate the Lollin and Karrick Buildings. The buildings underwent a full exterior restoration, including masonry, stone, bricks, lintels, decorative aspects of the façade, structural upgrades, new elevator structure, and steel interior structural bracing. The additions on the back were also demolished. Total cost of the renovation of the two buildings was $5.3M, of which $2.276M was eligible for reimbursement by the SLC Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Building Renovation Loan Program.

The interior of the Lollin and Karick Block were nearly completely gutted and adapted for modern residential living, which prompted disagreement about how the interior rehab of the buildings were done. Some features were saved, including a tin ceiling in the Karrick Block. 

In 2000, the Utah State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) wrote that the upper levels of the Lollin were “remarkably intact” prior to the renovation. After the renovation the interior spatial configuration was significantly altered and many of the original wood features were removed, including an oak staircase, wainscot, and trim. Some of these features were replaced with similar looking materials.  Additionally, new windows were introduced on the north side of the Karrick Block.

Currently, the bottom floor of the Lollin and Karrick Block are occupied by commercial/retail operations and the upper stories are residential. It is still under the ownership of HP.