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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 of patriotism: "Food is ammunition. Be a Food Producer - a Soldier of the Soil - and help win the fight against famine in your OWN ‘War Garden'". xlviii It is unclear whether any such garden lots were established in the Liberty Area, but the general push to grow food and promote self sufficiency may have contributed to an increase in home buying during this period. Another ad published by a consortium of lumber businesses in 1921 emphasizes the importance of home ownership and suggests that a house may be a means of self expression. The ad reads "To really feel the keenest pride and happiness that may come from a HOME… it must be paid for with YOUR money, reflect YOUR taste, be the center of YOUR interests." xlix Yet another ad is specifically aimed at recent immigrants. Ashton Jenkins Co. published an ad in 1921 for homes in the Walker Place subdivisions that reads, "Friends from distant lands… You have not truly completed the process of naturalization until you own your own home." l This assortment of advertisements indicates that home ownership became an important part of a person's identity during this period and could reflect everything from self expression to assimilation. Nearly 70 percent of the buildings in the Liberty Area were constructed between 1900 and 1929, primarily within the streetcar subdivisions described above. Two architectural forms of the early twentieth century dominate the built environment of the Liberty Area. These forms are the bungalow (by far the most common) and period cottage types, which are adorned with a variety of different styles. The bungalow form emerged partly in reaction to Victorian type homes, which some felt had become excessive in design and decoration. li Bungalows offered an alternative to such homes, as they were designed for simplicity and efficiency, and to promote a more informal lifestyle. lii An advertisement published in 1916 by Kimball & Richards for a home in Jackson Square extols the virtues of the modern bungalow: the home has a "fine arrangement and modern conveniences." liii A 1915 Kimball & Richards ad for another house specifically refers to screened-in sleeping and kitchen porches, a modern bathroom, and a buffet kitchen. liv The functionality of the bungalow form is featured in both ads as a very desirable trait and is a characteristic that contributed to the widespread success of the building form. The influx of residents to the area was generally slow at first, but as evidenced by the known construction dates of buildings within the Liberty Area, residential development was in full swing by the mid 1910s. This development appears to have continued unabated until the start of the Great Depression in 1929. Commercial development also occurred during the Streetcar Suburbs period, though only on a limited basis. State Street, 1300 South (then known as Martin Avenue), and 900 South saw the greatest commercial development in the area, with most of the "inner" Liberty Area remaining residential or seeing only the occasional commercial establishment. As residential development occurred, public and religious facilities also were built to provide services to the growing population. The LDS Liberty Ward Church is shown on the 1911 Sanborn maps. The church is located on northwest corner of Harvard Avenue and Denver Street. lv It is not known whether any schools were constructed in the study area during this time, but an advertisement published by Ashton Jenkins Co. in 1915 refers to the construction of new schools in the southeast area and cites these schools as a reason for moving to the area. lvi The increase in popularity of auto and bus travel in the late 1920s resulted in a massive scaling back of the streetcar system. Beginning in 1926, trolley tracks throughout the valley were removed or paved over. lvii By mid 1944, all trolley service in the valley was eliminated. lviii xlviii Salt Lake Tribune, 11/25/1917. Salt Lake Tribune, 4/24/1921. l Salt Lake Tribune, ca. 1921. li Clark, 1986. lii Ibid. liii Salt Lake Tribune, 1/23/1916. liv Salt Lake Tribune, 12/5/1915. lv Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Fire Insurance Maps for Salt Lake City. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Company, 1911. lvi Salt Lake Tribune, 8/14/1915. lvii Carr and Edwards, 1989. lviii Ibid. xlix 27 |
