Murray Downtown Residential Historic District

Last updated
Murray Downtown Residential Historic District
Arthur Townsend home - Murray Utah.JPG
Arthur Townsend Home, Murray Downtown Historic Residential District
USA Utah location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationRoughly bounded by East 4800 South, East Clark Street, East Vine Street, and Center Street
Murray, Utah
United States
Coordinates 40°39′59″N111°52′59″W / 40.66639°N 111.88306°W / 40.66639; -111.88306 Coordinates: 40°39′59″N111°52′59″W / 40.66639°N 111.88306°W / 40.66639; -111.88306
Area20 acres (8.1 ha)
Built1870
Architectural styleLate Victorian Style/Art Moderne
NRHP reference No. 04001566 [1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 25, 2005

The Murray Downtown Residential Historic District is the best representative area of the residential settlement and development of the city of Murray, Utah, United States. [2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. [3] [4] It is locally significant as a physical reflection of its residential architecture and the historic development of the city from its agricultural beginnings through its industrial era and current status as a small suburban city. The buildings within the district represent the wide range of architectural styles and plans popular in the city and the state of Utah between 1870 and 1954 and retain a high degree of integrity. [2]

Contents

Description

The buildings are significant because they are the best depiction of the historical development of the historic central downtown residential section of Murray, and contain a high concentration of historical resources. [2] South State Street (US-89) was the business center of Murray from the 1880s until the 1950s and many of the retail merchants, professionals and business people lived just blocks from their places of business on State Street. The variety of architectural styles in the historic district represent most of the historical eras of Murray and the majority of the buildings serve as good examples of their intended style. The district area is the most historically intact residential section of Murray. The buildings are concentrated in a compact area with little infill and maintain a cohesive historic streetscape.

Soon after settlers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, families began to settle to the south around the streams. The area now incorporated as the City of Murray was part of the land to the south of Salt Lake City known as South Cottonwood. Unlike the Salt Lake City example to the north, development in Murray was not based on the Plat for the City of Zion plan (with settlement in a grid pattern around a town square). Early settlement was distributed with families living on their agricultural lands on the sides of Big Cottonwood Creek and Little Cottonwood Creek. Farming was self-sufficient, primarily raising grain to support the family and the livestock. The Atwood family historic brickyard, located to the south of Vine Street, where the ballpark in the Murray City Park is currently found, most likely provided the bricks for many of the early public buildings and residences in the historic district. Early architecture from this period would have been simple vernacular Classical examples. However, no structures from this era are known to exist in the historic district. [5]

The residents of the Murray Downtown Residential Historic District in this era were retail merchants, small businessmen, civic leaders, service workers, and professionals who lived with their families close to their businesses or offices on State or Vine Streets. An early commercial center grew up at the intersection of State and Vine Streets, the major north-south and east-west thoroughfares surrounding the historic district. A few residents had their businesses located at their houses. Donald O. Wilson was a broom maker at 4911 Center Street and Katie Wilson was a nurse at 4873 Wasatch. [6]

Thomas Martin opened his general merchandise store on State Street in 1914, close to his residence at 187 East 4800 South. Chester P. Cahoon of the Salt Lake Pressed Brick Company lived directly east at 183 East 4800 South. The Brinton family, owners of Brinton Electric Company, a dealer in retail electrical appliances from 1922, lived at 433 East Vine Street. Nearby Ernest and Eugenia M. Madsen, proprietors of the family store Madsen Hardware and Furniture, lived on 401 East Vine Street. Charles Caldwell, Jr., built a house for his family at 5000 Glen Street, and opened "The Palace Market" at 4800 South and State Street. Heber B. Smith was Secretary of the Miller-Cahoon Implement Company before he opened Smith's Hardware on the southwest corner of 4800 South and State Street. He lived with his wife, Fern Smith, at the house he built in 1912 at 195 East 4800 South. [7]

Medical professionals and educators also chose this area to live and raise their families. Dr. Herond Nishan Sheranian lived at 259 East 4800 South from 1922–1933, just blocks from his Murray Hospital Clinic founded in 1927. He emigrated with his family as a child from Turkey in 1902 and worked briefly in a Murray smelter to help with medical school expenses. A chiropractor, Dr. G. H. Pace, lived nearby at 389 East 4800 South. Dr. Frank McHugh who treated Industrial Workers of the World activist Joe Hill for his gunshot wound and surrendered him to police also lived near the district. [7]

Elmo E. Boggess was a school principal and lived with his wife, Mary Ann, at 271 East 4800 South. The superintendent of schools for Murray from 1912–1928, Carl E. Gaufm emigrated with his family from Sweden as a child and graduated from the University of Utah in 1896. He was known for establishing the first high school in Murray and lived with his wife, Rhoda, at 218 East Vine Street. After his death his widow housed schoolteachers who were living there to meet the residence requirement for Murray teachers. The locally renowned musician Morris Cannegeiter who directed the Olympus Male Choir lived at 398 East Vine Street.

Politicians, including two mayors and a judge built houses in the district. Charles Brown was mayor of Murray from 1906–09 and lived at 215 East 4800 South. He operated the Buster Brown store and later the Palace Meat Market. George Huscher was the first Socialist mayor of Murray from 1912–1915 and lived with his wife, Elizabeth, across the street at 264 East 4800 South. Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice David W. Moffat built the brick four-square in 1908 at 288 East Vine Street. He was an attorney and later judge for the Utah Supreme Court. His wife, Sarah Howe Moffat, helped to establish the Murray library and served on the Murray Board of Education. [7]

Three churches remain from this era in the historic district, and in all cases the original congregation has changed. The first church built, the LDS Murray First Ward Meetinghouse, is evidence of the LDS population found at that time in Murray. It was built in 1907 at 184 East Vine Street. It was heavily used and enlarged in 1928. It has been occupied since the 1970s by the Mount Vernon Academy, a non-denominational school for pre-kindergarten to grade 12 children. The other two churches were built by other religious groups, showing Murray's early relatively cosmopolitan nature due to the diverse population drawn to employment in the smelters. They are both still used for worship. The St. Vincent de Paul's Catholic Church was built in 1927 at 4900 Wasatch Street and is now owned by the Maronite Catholic Church Bishop of the Diocese of St. Maron. The Methodist Episcopal Church at 171 E. 4800 South was built c. 1915 and is now a Quaker Church. [8]

The wartime and postwar need for housing also led to remodeling single family houses to create apartment spaces. The 1908 two-story foursquare (box) at 4928 Wasatch was shared with officers needing housing from the Kearns Army Air Base during the war and in 1950 was converted into two apartments. An external closed stairway to the second floor was added to the c. 1895 Victorian Eclectic cross-wing house at 205 East Vine Street during a conversion of the single-family house to apartments in 1951. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Salt Lake County, Utah County in Utah, United States

Salt Lake County is located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 1,185,238, making it the most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. The county was created in 1850. Salt Lake County is the 37th most populated county in the United States and is one of four counties in the Rocky Mountains to make it into the top 100. Salt Lake County is the only county of the first class in Utah - which under the Utah Code is a county with a population of 700,000 or greater.

Murray, Utah City in Utah, United States

Murray is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2020 census, Murray had a population of 50,637. Murray shares borders with Taylorsville, Holladay, South Salt Lake and West Jordan, Utah. Once teeming with heavy industry, Murray's industrial sector now has little trace and has been replaced by major mercantile sectors. Known for its central location in Salt Lake County, Murray has been called the Hub of Salt Lake County. Unlike most of its neighboring communities, Murray operates its own police, fire, power, water, library, and parks and recreation departments and has its own school district. While maintaining many of its own services, Murray has one of the lowest city tax rates in the state.

The Avenues is an affluent neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is named after the perfectly gridlike, closely laid out roads called Avenues and Streets. First surveyed in the 1850s, the Avenues became Salt Lake City's first neighborhood. Today, the Avenues neighborhood is generally considered younger, more progressive, and somewhat "artsy" when compared to other neighborhoods. Many young professionals choose to live there due to the culture and easy commute to downtown.. It is also one of the most important strongholds of the Democratic political party in Utah.

Capitol Hill, Salt Lake City

Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City gets its name from the Utah State Capitol prominently overlooking downtown. In addition, Capitol Hill can be considered a neighborhood of Salt Lake City.

State Route 171 (SR-171) is a state highway in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area in northern Utah that runs from SR-111 in Magna in the west side of the city to Interstate 215 in the city of Millcreek in the eastern part valley. In its sixteen-mile span, the route is named 3500 South and 3300 South.

Utah State Route 71

State Route 71 (SR-71) is a state highway completely within the Salt Lake City metropolitan area in the northern portion of the US state of Utah. It runs from SR-154 in the southwest side of the city to SR-186 in Downtown Salt Lake City. The route spans 22.47 miles (36.16 km) as it runs along portions of 12600 South, 12300 South, 900 East, and 700 East streets.

Utah State Route 152

State Route 152 (SR-152) is a state highway in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah connecting SR-71 in Murray to I-215 and city-maintained Highland Drive in Cottonwood Heights, though for almost all of its length it forms the border between Murray and Holladay. The route, which is 3.04 miles (4.89 km), is laid on the entire length of the Van Winkle Expressway and a portion of Highland Drive.

Red Line (TRAX)

The Red Line is a light rail line on the TRAX system in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). It originally began operation in December 2001 as the peak-hour-only Sandy/University Line, running from the University of Utah south to Sandy Civic Center on the Blue Line. It was later rerouted to South Jordan and renamed the Red Line in August 2011, running as an all-day route. The current line runs from the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City through the south end of Downtown Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Murray, Midvale, West Jordan, and South Jordan to the University of Utah's South Jordan Medical Center in Daybreak.

Stadium station (UTA)

Stadium is a light rail station on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, served by the Red Line of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) TRAX light rail system. The Red Line provides a service from the University of Utah Medical Center to the Daybreak Community of South Jordan.

University South Campus station

University South Campus, often referred to as simply South Campus, is a light rail station on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States serviced by the Red Line of the Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) TRAX light rail system. The Red Line provides service from the University of Utah Medical Center to the Daybreak Community of South Jordan.

Murray Central is a light rail and commuter rail station in Murray, Utah, United States served by the Blue Line and Red Line of Utah Transit Authority's (UTA) TRAX light rail system that operates in Salt Lake County and by the FrontRunner, UTA's commuter rail train that operates along the Wasatch Front with service from Ogden in central Weber County through Davis County, Salt Lake City, and Salt Lake County to Provo in central Utah County. The FrontRunner portion of the station is part of the FrontRunner South extension. The Blue Line provides service from Downtown Salt Lake City south to Draper. The Red Line provides service from the University of Utah to the Daybreak Community of South Jordan. The station is situated immediately west of the Intermountain Medical Center complex.

MAX (Utah Transit Authority)

MAX is a bus rapid transit (BRT) service operated by Utah Transit Authority (UTA) along the Wasatch Front in Utah, United States. It is described by UTA as "light rail on rubber tires". As of December 2016 there is only one line in service so far, but several more are planned.

State Route 190 (SR-190) or the Big Cottonwood Canyon Scenic Byway is primarily an east and west state highway and scenic highway in eastern Salt Lake County, Utah, United States, that begins at Interstate 215 (I-215), runs through Big Cottonwood Canyon, and ends at the Salt Lake and Wasatch county line.

Murray Downtown Historic District Historic district in Utah, United States

The Murray Downtown Historic District is located in the historic city center of Murray, Salt Lake County, Utah. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, with a boundary increase in 2020.

Warenski-Duvall Commercial Building and Apartments United States historic place

The Warenski-Duvall Commercial Building and Apartments, built in 1915, is a two-story brick, two part commercial block that is listed in National Register of Historic Places. The building is significant for its role in the early urbanization of Murray, Utah. The Warenski-Duvall building represents a building-type common during the early-twentieth century development of Murray's commercial business district and it is also part of the Murray Downtown Historic District. The building's owner was Edward J. Warenski, an early resident of Murray who owned a saloon and grocery store on State Street. Warenski and his family lived just north of the store. In 1923, the Duvall family purchased the building and divided the upper floor into apartments where family members and other workers in downtown Murray lived.

Murray LDS Second Ward Meetinghouse Historic church in Utah, United States

Built in 1909, the Murray LDS Second Ward Meetinghouse is a historic building in Murray, Utah, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The building is significant for its association with the history and development of Murray between 1909 and 1950.

Main Street (Greater Salt Lake City)

Main Street is the most important commercial street in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States though it also extends south into the cities of South Salt Lake, Millcreek, and Murray. Its commercial importance is almost totally derived from the few blocks of the street which are immediately south of Temple Square that have attracted banks, major retailers, and heavy foot traffic throughout Salt Lake City's history; the long southern extension of Main Street south of about 500 and 600 South, in contrast, is always in the shadow of State Street, which is more designed for the long-distance automobile traffic that is common away from downtown.

State Street is a wide 17.3-mile-long (27.8 km) street in Salt Lake County, Utah leading almost straight south from the steps of the Utah State Capitol Building, through Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Millcreek, Murray, eastern Midvale, Sandy, and northwestern Draper. Because it follows the most direct route from downtown Salt Lake City to the Point of the Mountain pass to Utah County, it was the undisputed main road south from Salt Lake City until Interstate 15 (I-15) was built to the west. It retains the U.S. Highway 89 (US-89) designation for all but the northernmost seven blocks despite I-15's proximity. Due to its history as a route for long-distance travel, travel within the Wasatch Front region, and travel between the cities along the east side of the Jordan River, it has attracted a wide variety of retail and service businesses along its entire length, creating a nearly continuous commercial axis for the Salt Lake Valley.

Murray Taylorsville MAX is a planned MAX line anticipated to run between Murray and Taylorsville, Utah, United States that will be operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA). It will connect the Murray City Center and the main campus of Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) in Taylorsville with both the TRAX light rail system and the FrontRunner commuter rail. It is the fourth of several BRT lines that UTA is planning in Utah County and the Salt Lake Valley. MAX is described by UTA as "light rail on rubber tires".

Yalecrest United States historic place

Yalecrest is an affluent residential neighborhood located on the East Bench of Salt Lake City and is known for the architectural variety and rare collection of turn-of-the-century homes – all within a six block radius bordered by the South Side of Sunnyside Avenue, North Side of 1300 South, East Side of 1300 East and West Side of 1900 East. Yalecrest is commonly referred to as the renowned "Harvard-Yale area" and many streets are named after Ivy League or major U.S. universities. It is a remarkably visually cohesive area with uniform setbacks, historic houses of the same era with comparable massing and landscaping, as well as streets lined with mature shade trees, and a surprising level of contributing structures that retain their historic integrity. Yalecrest contains 1,487 homes that were built in the early 20th century starting as early as 1912 with the vast majority (74%) built during the period of 1920–1940. The remaining homes in the easternmost part of the neighborhood were built during the post war boom. Yalecrest has the largest concentration of period revival English Cottages, English Tudors, French Norman and Spanish Colonial homes anywhere in Utah. These houses exhibit a variety of period revival styles with the largest portion being English Tudor and English Cottage. According to the Salt Lake City Planning Department, the architectural variety and concentration of period cottages found in Yalecrest are "unrivalled in the state." Examples from Yalecrest are used to illustrate period revival cottages styles in the only statewide architectural style manual. There are 22 subdivisions which were platted and built by the prominent architects and developers of the day responsible for early 20th Century east side Salt Lake City development.. Yalecrest has been on the National Register of Historic Places since November 8, 2007. One home in the neighborhood, the George Albert Smith home at 1302 Yale Avenue, is listed on the National Register since 1993.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Lufkin, Beatrice (2002). Standard Reconnaissance Level Survey of Murray, Utah.
  3. ↑ Lufkin, Beatrice (18 Nov 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination: Murray Downtown Residential Historic District" (PDF). nps.gov. National Park Service . Retrieved 9 Jan 2016.
  4. ↑ "Accompanying 23 photos, from 2004" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Inventory. National Park Service . Retrieved 9 Jan 2016.
  5. ↑ Johnson, G. Wesley; Schirer, David (1992). Between the Cottonwoods: Murray City in Transition. Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah: Timpanogas Research Associated. p. 17.
  6. ↑ R.L. Folk's Utah State Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1922-23,135-6.
  7. 1 2 3 Schirer, David (1989). "Historic Resources of Murray City, Utah, 1849-1941". Draft National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form.
  8. 1 2 Broschinsky, Korral (2000). "Historic Resources of Murray City, Utah, 1850-1950". National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Murray Downtown Residential Historic District at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.