Disappearing Bed at the Critchlow Apartments

An interior view from 1909 of the Critchlow Apartments, 379 1st Ave SLC.

These images showcase a disappearing bed that can transform into a desk. The apartment boom of the early 1900s spurred the popularity of these beds, many of which were for sale in local Salt Lake City furniture shops.

Other names for a disappearing bed include Murphy bed (a specific patented brand), pull-down/fold-down bed, or hideaway bed.

Disappearing bed at the Critchlow Apartments, 1908. Image from USHS.

Disappearing bed, configured as a desk, at the Critchlow Apartments, 1908. Image from USHS.

Disappearing bed at the Critchlow Apartments, 1908. Image from USHS.

Advertisement for a disappearing bed available at Freed Furniture Store, Salt Lake City.
Image from Salt Lake Herald, June 4 1909.

Newspaper feature praising the benefits of Disappearing Beds.
Image from Salt Lake Tribune, July 12 1908.

The Critchlow was built in 1908 by John Q. Critchlow and designed by architect Charles B. Onderdonk. Built of dark red brick with white stone trim. The interior featured maple floors and colored tile baths and showers.

A building announcement promised soundproof floors with brick walls between apartments, a unique and notable feature at the time.

Both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments were available and rented in 1908 at $30 (about $1K in 2025 dollars) and $46 (about $1.5K) a month.

The Critchlow became known by many other names through the years and is now known as First Avenue Flats.

1911 Sanborn Map showing the Critchlow Apts. Corner of 1st Ave and E Street, Salt Lake City.

The Critchlow in 1909 and 2022. Upper image from USHS, lower image from Google Street View.