Bigelow Apartments

Page 7

OMB No. 1024-0018, NPS Form United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section No. 8 Page 1 Bigelow Apartments, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, UT Narrative Statement of Significance The Bigelow Apartments, built between 1930 and 1931, is significant under Criterion A and Criterion C for its association with the urbanization of Salt Lake City in the early twentieth century. The apartment building meets the registration requirements of the Multiple Property Documentation for the Historic Resources of Salt Lake City, Urban Expansion into the Early Twentieth Century, 1890s-1930s, also known as the Salt Lake City Urban Apartments MPS. Between 1900 and 1930, Salt Lake City experienced rapid growth and the urban apartment building emerged as a new housing option in the neighborhoods near the city's commercial center. The building's first owner and developer, Archelaus Fillingame, also served as architect and builder. The Bigelow Apartments is architecturally significant as a well-executed and well-preserved example of the Jacobethan Revival double-loaded corridor apartment house. The Bigelow Apartments contribute to the historic resources of one of Salt Lake City's oldest neighborhoods. History Of The Bigelow Apartments: The land occupied by the Bigelow Apartments was owned by members of the Malin family, descendants of some of Utah earliest settlers. Samuel B. Malin sold the property to George Bowles and George A. Bowles, a father-and-son-contracting firm, in 1926. The Bowles family also acquired the adjacent property to the south and built the Benworth Apartments (later called Chapman Apartments) at 227 South in 1927. In 1928 the Bowles family sold the property to Construction Securities Company, who only held it for year before selling it to Archelaus Fillingame in 1929. On September 10, 1930, Fillingame filed a building permit for a "three-story brick apartment house" with thirty units to be constructed at a cost of $120,000. A. Fillingame was listed as owner and builder. Archelaus Fillingame was born in Purvis, Mississippi, on September 27, 1882. 1 He moved to Salt Lake City as a young man in 1897. He had a wife, Annie Castelo, and a daughter, Kathlyn Fillingame. Archelaus Fillingame had several occupations: developer, builder, contractor, architect and apartment house owner. His listing in the city directories noted a full range of services: "I Buy Lots, Build Homes and Sell Them, If You Own Your Lot See Me About Building, I will Finance You."2 Apparently, he was also a good promoter. Prior to construction the Bigelow project is mentioned twice the in real estate section of the Salt Lake Tribune. One article in the June 8, 1930, reported on an announcement made by A. Fillingame and L.A. Thomsen (president of the Realty Company of Utah who negotiated the deal) that construction would begin on the building June 15th . A second article dated July 27, 1930, reported that the groundbreaking had taken place. A third man, Parley Anderson, was to be the new owner of the building, but according to the title abstract theit transaction 1 Historic documents include several variant spellings of his first name (e.g. Archalus, Archlaus, Archelous), but he is usually listed simply as A. Fillingame. 2 Salt Lake City Polk Directory, 1925.