Utah Heritage Foundation

Fisher Mansion Open House

1206 West 200 South, Salt Lake City

On Wednesday, the UHF staff took the tour that is offered by the Public Safety Department of the facility they are citing as decrepit.  As we see many older buildings, historic and not, savable and not, as part of our work, we were curious to see what the building really looked like on the inside.  And to my knowledge, none of the staff had been through the secure doors of the police station for any other reason so we needed the official escort!

This was truly a good chance to see, plain and simple, that this is a building that needs upgrading.  Systems are worn out.  Windows and their seals are tired.  Upgrades are needed.  And it can happen but not while such an intensive use is inside the building working round the clock 365 days a year.  It's a tough situation for the city and for preservation.  But we've seen tough cases before get solved and there is great architectural expertise in Salt Lake City to help move this forward.

Another bit of good news is the the city has begun to move forward with possible designation to the National Register of Historic Places.  We think the building has eligibilty to be listed, and with designation could open up the possibility of using the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit in the future redevelopment of the building for a new use.  It also shows a great deal of faith in the future preservation of this building and in the city's modernism movement on behalf of the city and Mayor Becker to invest in this designation.

Read SLC Police Hope Seeing is Believing by Katie Drake in the Salt Lake Tribune. (Photo courtesy of Salt Lake Tribune)

Weber County Heritage Foundation's 32nd Annual Historic House Tour

September 19th, 2009, 10am to 4pm

What a great day this will be to tour the Art Deco and Art Shreeve-designed homes along the East Bench of Ogden!  Weber County Heritage Foundation always puts on a great tour with outstanding architecture and volunteers.

Tickets are $15 and includes a beautiful 2010 calendar which serves as your guide on the tour.

Tickets can be purchased at the Eccles Community art Center (2580 Jefferson Ave, Ogden) on the day of the tour starting at 10:00 a.m.

The Topaz Museum in Delta, Utah received word late last week from the National Park Service that they were awarded $48,000 as one of 19 new grants to help preserve and interpret the historic National Historic Landmark in Millard County.

Utah Heritage Foundation's members will visit the historic site on August 22 as part of our Discover Delta tour.  You can register for tour here.  Tour guide Jane Beckwith will be on hand to explain the preservation efforts at Topaz, including how this newest grant will be utilized.

These first-ever Japanese American Confinement Sites Grants, totaling $960,000, will help fund a wide variety of projects in a dozen states. They range from the construction of a new interpretive learning center at the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming to the preservation of a stockade and jail at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in California. The Tule Lake stockade was used to imprison internees who spoke out to protest the injustice of their World War II incarceration.

The grants range from $5,000 for work at the Arboga Assembly Center in Marysville, CA, to $282,253 for the new Heart Mountain center in Park County, WY. Although these matching funds support preservation and interpretation efforts in 12 states, many of the projects are national in scope. This includes a project to collect and digitize the "stories less told" of Japanese Americans who were held against their will at the detention sites.

On Tuesday, I joined a group of agencies in a visit to Nine Mile Canyon.   I will admit it was my first time.  And I will admit it was incredible.

In just one day, I quickly understood how a massive area (in square miles and vertical ascent) is home to layer upon layer of Utah history dating back more than 3,000 years.  The archaeological resources are astounding - in number, type, and story.  The historic resources related to ranching give you another picture of an active community in the 1890s through the 1960s, led by dominant ranching families struggling to make a living with little water and changing federal policy.  Exploring the further linkage of the Buffalo Soldiers, who traversed the canyon on the way to Fort Duchesne, to ranching in Nine Mile will help give us a clearer picture of the untold Utah African-American history.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Nine Mile Canyon in the 11 Most Endangered List in 2004.  Your support is needed to help protect this resource.  Visit the National Trust website to see how you can help.

On June 25^th, Utah Heritage Foundation began a new era.  The launch of Salt Lake Modern has called all those who have a passion for retro, streamline, and the recent past.  The opening event at a Stephen Macdonald-designed, Japanese-influenced house near the University of Utah drew an eclectic mix of passionate people from across the valley.

Salt Lake Modern is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and promoting the Salt Lake region's mid-century modern architecture.  As a part of Utah Heritage Foundation, SL Mod functions as a committee to promote awareness of such works, document the architects who created them, and showcase the functional design philosophy behind them.

You can help get Salt Lake Modern off to a great start in two ways.

1)      Join Utah Heritage Foundation as a modern member;

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Come Discover Delta on the 2009 Day Trip for Members as this summer Utah Heritage Foundation embarks on its first members-only tour.   Come with us to Delta, a mere 140 miles from Salt Lake City and little over two hours drive, and home to the Great Basin National Heritage Area as well as several interesting and hidden historic sites.  The tour is open to all members of Utah Heritage Foundation and RSVP is required by August 18 to (801) 533-0858 x 107.  Just $20 gets you guided tours of each of the sites listed below as well as lunch in Delta City Park.

Full day's itinerary and slide shows.

Here's the abbreviated agenda.

10:00 a.m. - Meet at Great Basin Museum, 328 W, 100 N

This summer, you can take Utah Heritage Foundation with you as we are pleased to offer our first audio walking tour.

You can find it on our self-guided walking tour page here.

We wait a long time for this much news for historic preservation in Utah.  What a great way to start Preservation Month for 2009, which annually comes in May.

The UHF Historic Homes Tour in Yalecrest this Saturday features 9 area homes - from Bungalows to Tudor Revival elegance.  It will be a great day to see a wonderful neighborhood in bloom.

Buy tickets here.

News links:

Celebrate the City 1894

May 2, 2009