Utah Heritage Foundation

Announced in the December 15th Sugar House Journal, the former Rosslyn Heights Elementary School is reopening as the Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts.  Located at 2291 South 2000 East in Salt Lake City, the 1950 school building was vacated about six years ago after consolidation.  Since that time, the school has remained vacant.

UHF toured the building with school district officials in 1999 after the $100 million+ bond was passed and the future of many older school buildings were immediately in doubt.  Our assessment at that time was that Rosslyn Heights was well-maintained and appropriate additions in c. 1955, c. 1980, and c. 1990 were all appropriately done and also in good condition.  At that time, the district had not made a commitment to replace the school building.

The SPA had formerly been housed at Highland High School.  Over the summer, Rosslyn Heights went through a renovation that created optimal space not only for high school students but also the SPA's requirements for dance floors, stages, and production and rehearsal space.  Interestingly, the school also contains a community vet clinic providing vaccinations and licensing at half the cost of a regular veterinarian.

Salt Lake City's McGillis School at 1300 East and 700 South is now a model for sustainable teaching.  As reported by The Salt Lake Tribune over the weekend. completion of the recent addition has resulted in certification for the building as LEED Gold, the first such certification for a school building in the state.  McGillis School was once Salt Lake City School District's Douglas School.  Built in 1915, the historic school was purchased by the McGillis School from the district in 2001 and subsequently renovated.  Utah Heritage Foundation advocated for sale of the building rather than demolition and sale as a vacant parcel of land.  It was the first time in decades that the district sold a building.  For their efforts to save and rehabilitate Douglas School, Utah Heritage Foundation awarded the McGillis School a Heritage Award in 2004.

The most recent addition of 57,000 square feet was completed this year in a style nearly matching the original understated Collegiate Gothic style of the original building.  LEED certification is a result of incorporating sustainable features into the site that reduce its carbon footprint including drought-tolerant landscaping, conservation of existing structures and fabric, incorporation of transportation options such as biking, walking, and mass transit, and recycling materials.

As quoted in the article, sixth grader Luke Chamberlain said that it's important to try to improve the world.  "If you don't repair the world then it will just be worse for the people who live after us, and it won't be a very fun place to live."  Fortunately, this exemplary line of thinking has been part of this project now for over ten years.  Chairman of the US Green Building Council's Utah Chapter, Dave Engel, added, "The daily choices we all make have a lasting impact on the environment as well as the community."

Lynn Taylor is a personal friend of UHF.  She's a passioniate preservationist and we've seen her great work firsthand in Nashville.  She's seeking preservation professional to help give these webinars to a national audience.  Here's what she recently wrote to us:

We are looking for WEBINAR PRESENTERS on historic preservation and restoration. Do you have a great PowerPoint presentation? Do you know of someone you does? Do you already have a webinar scheduled and would like to list it on the Taylor Made Plans events page?

SAVE THE DATE

August 11, 2011

Putting Your Main Street on the Map, regional preservation workshop - Panguitch

The Recent Past Preservation Network (RPPN) is proud to announce its new scholarship for the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference. This year, in Buffalo, New York.  The Conference Scholarship is open to all active college students who are RPPN members.  Student membership is only $5 and you can join here to be eligible.  The scholarship is designed to give students with an active interest in recent past preservation, and an opportunity to broaden their education by attending the National Trust for Historic Preservation Annual Conference where they will be able to connect with their peers and learn from their predecessors through a variety of educational sessions.

In addition to receiving paid conference registration, the recipient will serve as a liaison for RPPN and will have the opportunity to write a featured article about the Conference for the RPPN Bulletin, our high-quality quarterly magazine, which is read by preservationists throughout the country.

Visit our website for eligibility criteria and to apply.

Samuel Newhouse was one of Salt Lake City's most wealthy mining moguls. He had aspirations to build the "Wall Street of the West" right here in Salt Lake City, and it was called Exchange Place. Newhouse donated the land to build several commercial buildings including Salt Lake's first skyscrapers – the Boston and Newhouse buildings. Exchange Place Turned 100 last year and we are celebrating a belated birthday with FREE Summer Tours.  Come see areas of many of the buildings not available to the public and insights into what each one means to downtown Salt Lake.

Exchange Place, Salt Lake City

The Exchange Place Historic District, designated in 1978, is the city's only purely commercial local historic district.

The seismic retrofit workshop offered by UHF a few weeks ago will be reprised on Saturday, May 21 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at Murray City Hall, 5025 S. State St., in the Council Chambers.  Structural engineer Barry Welliver (Welliver Engineering) and architect Charles Shepherd (MJSA Architects) will be the presenters.  Admission is FREE.

The Murray City History Advisory Board is also sponsoring a Vine Street Historic Home Neighborhood Walk preceding the workshop from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon.  The FREE tour will begin at the Superette Market at 335 East Vine St., Murray.

Salt Lake City has a wealth of Classical style architecture from the Moss Federal Courthouse, to the Brownstone Building (historic Utah Commercial & Savings Bank) that houses Martine and Oh Shucks as well as offices, to the interior of the Utah Theatre.  The classical styles are rooted here in Utah's history as an emerging state, closely following the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago that helped revive the ideals of classicism across many walks of life.

A new chapter of a group that highlights the hsitory and benefits of classicism has been founded in Utah and will host a series of upcoming events that are open to the public starting Thursday, May 19.  Events will range from lectures to workshops to tours.

  View the invitation for 2011 ICA&A events.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Taming the West....Changing Landscapes and Resource Extraction

ANNUAL CONFERENCE SOCIETY OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS