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Show United States Department of the Interior National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Expires 5/31/2012) Liberty Wells Historic District (Boundary Increase) Salt Lake County, Utah Name of Property County and State to note that the earliest extant buildings in the Liberty Area date to 1890. However, buildings constructed prior to 1890 are extant in the Wells Area and this nomination will retain a start date of 1871 for the period of significance for the Liberty Wells Historic District. Residential development of the Liberty Wells Historic District began during the Initial Settlement period (1871-1899). During the 1890s, developers platted the area's earliest subdivisions and streetcar companies extended their lines from downtown Salt Lake City to the area south of 900 South. Residential development accelerated rapidly during the Streetcar Suburbs period (1900-1929), as the population of Salt Lake City grew and streetcar lines made living in the suburbs an attractive option. This rapid pace of development continued until the country entered the Great Depression in 1929. However, limited development in the area continued during the Era of Infilling period (1930-1945) and accelerated again with the onset of World War II. During the Post-War Period (1946-1961), development continued primarily as infill projects, but persisted at a slow pace until the end of the historical period in 1961. Criteria Considerations (explanation, if necessary) N/A Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes level of significance and applicable criteria.) The Liberty Wells Historic District is being created through a boundary increase to the existing Wells Historic District, listed on the National Register in 2010 (NRIS II #10000210). The Liberty Wells Historic District is historically significant for the same areas of significance as the existing Wells Historic District: community planning and development, transportation, and architecture. These areas of significance reflect the defining characteristics held in common by both the Liberty and Wells areas. Taken together, the Liberty Area and the existing Wells Historic District are historically significant at the local level under Criterion A, for their association with the historical development of streetcar suburbs in Salt Lake City, and under Criterion C, for their well-preserved collections of Early 20th Century American architecture. The period of significance of the Liberty Wells Historic District has been amended slightly from the period for the existing Wells Historic District. The period of significance for the existing district is 1871-1957. This nomination will amend the period of significance of the Liberty Wells Historic District to 1871-1961, to include buildings that came into historic age (50 years or older) between the 2007 inventory of the Wells Area and the 2011 inventory of the Liberty Area. Although the earliest extant buildings in the Liberty Area date to 1890, buildings constructed prior to 1890 are present in the Wells Area and this nomination will retain the start date of 1871 for the period of significance. The historic eras included in the period of significance of the district are: Initial Settlement (1871-1899), Streetcar Suburbs (1900-1929), the Era of Infilling (1930-1945), and the Post-War Era (1946-1961). The Liberty Area's building stock and development patterns reflect the history it shares with the existing Wells Historic District. The similarities in their history and architecture are well represented by the buildings in the Liberty Area. Furthermore, buildings in the Liberty Area retain sufficient integrity to contribute to the existing Wells Historic District and to justify expansion of the district boundaries. Collectively, the buildings of the Liberty Wells Historic District, their architectural types and styles, their construction materials, and their organization on the landscape, reflect the broader development of Salt Lake City over time. They represent its development from a small, centralized frontier outpost that used the future Liberty Wells area as agricultural lands to a fully urbanized city with a burgeoning middle class that strove to take advantage of advancements in transportation (e.g., the electrified streetcar system) to escape the perceived crowding and pollution of the city to live in the more idyllic and presumably healthier semi-rural environs of the suburbs. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16 |
