Utah Heritage Foundation

As you may know, what is being dubbed the Hub District has long been known as the Warehouse District.  That name even dates back to before The Gateway was even a thought!  The Hub District, an area with SL Central Station (formerly known as the Intermodal Hub) has been going through a planning process to give agency and government officials ideas as to what the future should look like.

As described by Envision Utah, the Depot District is one of six key locations identified in the Wasatch Choice for 2040 (WC2040). WC2040 is the land-use and transportation “Vision” for Salt Lake, Weber, Davis and Utah Counties, developed by elected officials and the public to improve our quality of life as our region experiences dramatic growth.  Implementing the Vision will allow us to absorb a 65% population growth (1.4 million additional residents) over the next 30 years, while enhancing our economy, protecting our beautiful natural areas, providing more housing and transportation choices, saving money and energy, and improving our air quality and health.

SAVE THESE DATES!

Our featured summer tour this year will be the Utah Theatre. Second Saturdays in June-August (June 9, July 14, August 11) from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. Admission is free. Hope to see you at this amazing theater awaiting restoration in the proposed downtown cultural core.

Take a break from that crazy shopping to see the last film in the Design Matters film series.  Malls R Us will be shown Tuesday, December 20th at 7:00 p.m. at the City Library auditorium.  Our panel for this film will include Amy Lukas of Infinite Scale Design and economic consultant Bim Oliver.

Combining nostalgia, dazzling architecture, pop culture, economics and politics, MALLS R US examines North America's most popular and profitable suburban destination-the enclosed shopping center-and how for consumers they function as a communal, even ceremonial experience and, for retailers, sites where their idealism, passion and greed merge.

The film blends archival footage tracing the history of the shopping mall in America, visits to some of the world's largest and most spectacular malls-in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Poland, France, and Dubai-and interviews with architects, mall developers, sales managers, environmentalists, labor activists and social critics, as well as commentary from mall shoppers themselves.

There's been lots of news in the world of Utah historic preservation lately, so I thought a summary would be in order.

Yes to Granite

On Monday, October 17, The Salt Lake Tribune endorsed the bond election in South Salt Lake to buy and rehabilitate Granite High School.  So has Utah Heritage Foundation.  The UHF Preservation Round-up blog talked about the benefits of this bond on three separate occasions (here and here and here).

Utah Heritage Foundation has officially provided their support for the upcoming bond to save and rehabilitate Granite High School in South Salt Lake.  This would be a fabulous project that not only conserves an important historic structure, but could provide much needed flexible community space in the center of the valley.

Please join us to help inform voters in your neighborhood about the important Granite Bond election on November 8th. The City of South Salt Lake has proposed a $25 million bond to purchase former Granite High School and upgrade the campus into a community park, recreation center, arts center and public charter school. City residents are asked to vote to fund this project or not. This will be the only opportunity for the city to do so and the only way for your voice to be heard is to vote. We need your help informing voters!

Thursday September 15th 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Meet at the 500 East Entrance to the “S” (main classroom) building

Proposed Development Plan for Pleasant Grove Civic Center

Position Statement 

September 2, 2011

As you may recall, the Salt Lake Tribune reported back on August 7, 2011 that city officials, led by Mayor Becker, and the design and development team were looking at options for the Utah Performance Center (new broadway-style theater) that would demolish the historic Salt Lake Tribune building.  In the wake of that article, we've circulated the following statement.  How you can help is at the bottom of the statement.

August 16, 2011

Position Statement

South Salt Lake is pleased to announce its first annual arts festival at Granite High School.

Saturday, September 10, 9 am - 4 pm

This event combines the work of artists and crafts people, dancers and musicians, classic car artists and a reunion picnic for Granite High alumni. The Arts Council is well known for the visual arts programs it sponsors at the Pioneer Craft House and Columbus Center. Granite High School was legendary for its performing arts programs. South Salt Lake is known for cultural diversity, grassroots arts scene and its sense of fun! Put it all together for a rocking arts festival - Granite Rocks!

Utah Heritage Foundation commends The Spectrum for its editorial on July 18, 2011 urging that school buildings be more energy efficient.  But why stop there.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation has been pointing out for years that the greenest buildings are often those that are already built. 

In a planning meeting for the re-use of Denver’s Emerson School, consultant Jim Dinola, a principal with Green Building Services in Portland, Oregon noted that the energy efficiency of older schools can be improved by doing some of the simple things homeowners do to make old houses more efficient.  These include insulating the attic, tightening windows and doors to eliminate leaks, and making thermostats operable (so that rooms are not heated to 85 degrees while sitting empty overnight, for example). Other energy savings will require more substantial investment, such as the overhaul of the school’s heating and cooling systems.  These retrofits often compare favorably with the cost of new construction.

Older schools in established neighborhoods like East Elementary in St. George, Utah (photo courtesy Washington County Historical Society) can usually be reached safely by pedestrians, reducing traffic and pollution from vehicles.  A recent Preservation Nation blog gave a way to measure the walkability of schools and their neighborhoods using the Active School Neighborhood Checklist (ASNC).  The checklist was born out of the federal Safe Routes To School program. The goal of SRTS is to make it safer and easier for children to walk and bicycle to school.