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Show NPS Form 10-900-a Utah WordPerfect 5.1 Format (Revised Feb. 1993) 0MB No. 10024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. 8 PageJ7_ Salt Lake Hardware Company Warehouse, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, UT distinguishing feature. Because they were simple and less ornate that other commercial building of the period, the warehouse was "separated from any recognized historical styles". 15 This warehouse developed much as warehouses did across the country; they were utilitarian, vernacular buildings on the periphery of the commercial district. "The warehouse districts were often built during a brief period of time with similar materials and similar functions, expressing a homogeneity and unity of place absent in the central business district."16 Nationwide, there was extensive use of brick in a variety of types and colors. There were many load-bearing masonry buildings of several floors with heavy timber posts and beams spanning large interior bays that were open with flexible floor space. Ground floors were often elevated from the street approximately 2-1/2 feet to facilitate loading from railway cars or carts and trucks. 17 Construction Technology Although many of the first warehouse buildings located near the railroad tracks in Salt Lake City may have been constructed of wood as a temporary measure to keep up with the demand of storing and transferring goods. The technology of fireproof construction was available and implemented as time and money allowed. Gradually these wooden structures were replaced with more substantial brick structures during several periods of construction activity. The designers and builders of these structures utilized the technology available for the period. Warehouse construction of the early 1900s consisted generally of two main forms. Mill construction, named because it was first applied to the textile mills of New England, consisted of heavy timber construction and floors with thick planks. These solid masses could not burn freely and allowed time for fighting the fire. This type of construction avoided concealed spaces between floors and in roofs. Vertical openings were brick-lined and doors were wood, covered with tin. Water piping ran throughout and gravity tanks for storing water to supply the sprinkler systems were often positioned on the flat roofs. Windows were made of heavy galvanized iron and double glazed with quarter-inch wire glass. Mill construction presented convenient surfaces for attachment of pulleys, shafting and machinery. Heavy timber construction was better than wrought iron, steel, or cast iron. 18 15 Sturgis, Russell. "Factories and Warehouses". The Architectural Record XIX:5 (May, 1906), pp. 368-375. 16 Miles, Trackside. 17 Ibid. 18 Westworth, Franklin H. "Factories and Their Fire Protection". Architectural Record XXVII:3 (March, 1910), pp. 218226. X See continuation sheet |
