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.

A few weeks ago I wrote about losing two prominent architects in the same week – Steven T. Baird and Dean Gustavson.  We happened to be in the midst of celebrating their work with the Baird’s cinematic production of ZCMI: A Legacy in Cast Iron and discussing the potential to participate in Salt Lake Modern with Gustavson.

It’s time to now celebrate the work of two more local architects that have passed away this month.  They both happen to be from Ogden.

Keith Wilcox was an Ogden architect who designed buildings such as the Mount Ogden Middle School on Harrison Blvd., the original McKay (now McKay-Dee) hospital, and the Weber State University Fine Arts Center which was (now demolished) one of the state’s premier examples of the New Formalist style.  His architecture will best be remembered for his work on the Washington, D.C. LDS Temple (1968) which undoubtedly is inspired from above.  However, those that knew him best have reflected on how kind and generous Keith was in his work with the LDS Church in various positions all over the world.

Were you a big fan of the annual Utah Preservation magazine?  Maybe you've never heard of it.  No matter what your familiarity, you should check out the ten published issues of this full color glossy publication by State History from 1996-2006.  They are now all available online!

There are articles about preservation projects across the state, craftsmen, traditional rehabilitation techniques, archaeology, public lands, and the architects that built historic structures and rehabilitate them today.  You'll likely find it to be as wonderful a resource as we do.

See the issues here.  You can find a link at the bottom of the home page.

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.

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).

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

The Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission is seeking nominations for its 2011 Preservation Awards Program. The program, to be held in August, will honor outstanding contributions towards the preservation of Salt Lake City's historic resources. To be considered, nominations must be for properties located in Salt Lake City and built no later than 1961. Rehabilitation work should be to the exterior of the property, completed between January 2009 and now. Nominations are due by Friday, July 8, 2011.

This is the first time that quality preservation work will be recognized by the city in about 10 years, which was the last time awards were presented.  This is a tremendous sign that the historic preservation program in Salt Lake City Corp. is moving along well and supported by both the Becker administration and City Council.  An annual awards program is also one of the key components included in the Citywide Preservation Plan, still awaiting adoption by the City Council.

The nomination form can be found at www.slcgov.com/ced/planning.

New numbers were announced today on the productivity of investment in different sectors of the economy.  Here’s what was reported:

$1 million of government stimulus or incentive results in

                17 jobs in the green economy