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Show United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB No. 1024-0018, NPS Form National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. 8 Page 12 Capitol Hill Historic District (Boundary Increase), Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, UT the 1940s when the city dismantled the system. The triumph of the automobile was complete; especially after the Bamberger inter-urban electric railroad, which ran along 400 West was replaced with gasoline-powered buses in 1953. Three new service stations appeared on 300 West in the 1950s, and the 1915 Conoco station at 784 North was updated. Several restaurants also appeared. These years marked the beginning of a rapid general decline of the boundary increase neighborhoods, especially for the residents between 300 West and 400 West, who were caught in a no-man's land between a busy thoroughfare and heavy freight train traffic. Decline and Redevelopment: 1951-2001 The completion of the lnterstate-15 freeway in 1956 was both a blessing and a curse to the Capitol Hill Historic District (Boundary Increase) neighborhood. The presence of freeway initially reduced the number automobiles on 300 West for about two decades until freeway congestion necessitated the use of 300 West as an alternative commuter route. In addition the 600 North interchange dumped a large number of commuters into the heart of the residential neighborhood. During the 1950s and 1960s, many of the family-owned businesses either failed or moved to more favorable locations. In addition, the homes of many longtime residents were sold or converted to rental units. Later, the general decline and deterioration of the area discouraged potential developers and vacancy rates were high. In an effort to encourage development in the area, the neighborhood was given a patchwork of spot zoning. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, light industrial uses encroached on the neighborhoods near 400 West (e.g. acetylene plants, metal and plastic fabricators, roofing suppliers, etc.). In addition several large apartment complexes were built between 200 and 300 West. The largest of these were the Americana with 100 units built in 1970, and the Pioneer Apartments with 250 units built in 1982. In the past decade, the restoration renaissance taking place in downtown and the original Capitol Hill Historic District has begun to move slowly into the boundary increase area. Many of the long-vacant commercial buildings on 300 West have been rehabilitated and put to new uses. The Model Steam Laundry houses an engineering firm. The Utah Opera Company has rehabilitated the Graybar Electric Company building for shops and storage and the Safeway-Skaggs commercial building has recently been restored by a design firm. The Salt Lake City Corporation has invested heavily in the area, building a new fire station on 300 North and a police station on 300 West. The Salt Lake City Redevelopment Agency has acquired a number of properties and hopes to encourage development and preservation in the area. In addition the Salt Lake City School District recently spent millions of dollars to renovate West High School. The city continues encourage the rehabilitation of the contributing older homes and businesses in a neighborhood, which the Utah Heritage Foundation has noted is "ripe for revitalization."25 25 Heritage, Newsletter of the Utah Heritage Foundation, Spring 2001, 11. The Utah Heritage Foundation is a private, non-profit preservation advocacy group based in Salt Lake City. |
