Preface ( J
Id buildings are important. They are worth looking at and thinking about, worth making a commitment to and investing in. They are not just obstacles to progress or merely pleasant diversions that provide entertainment and nostalgia, but tangible links with the past that give people a sense of continuity and identity and help them to understand earlier times, think historically, and view their lives in historical perspective. This book contains two parts: a brief history of Salt Lake City's downtown area; and histories and architectural descriptions of the historic buildings, nearly one hundred in all, in the section of the downtown between South Temple and Fourth South and Second East and Sixth West streets. A variety of buildings are included: the "grand" buildings of the rich, the famous, the influential, and the privileged; modest commercial structures; warehouses; churches; large and small hotels; former brothels; and buildings that were once part of various ethnic neighborhoods. Deeply woven into the fabric of the community, all of them are important elements in understanding the history of Salt Lake City and have a way of making that history come alive. Nearly all of the buildings included in the book are either listed on the National Register of Historic Places or have been nominated to it, and most are part of a Multiple Resource nomination that the Utah State Historical Society's Historic Preservation Office has submitted to the National Register. The book had its origin in a study the Preservation Office undertook for the City of Salt Lake and was the work of many people. Lorraine Pace, Kay Burningham, Steven Christiansen, John A. Peterson, Fred Aegerter, David J. Singer, James Cartwright, Dennis Defa, Henry O. Whiteside, Trudy Bodily, Skip Knox, and Nola Freeman did most of the initial research while they were interns in the Historic Preservation Office during the summer of 1979. Diana Johnson, Thomas Carter, and Deborah Temme wrote the architectural descriptions. Various staff members of the Preservation Office including Philip F. Notarianni, John S. H.
