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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 Warehouse District (Boundary Increase & Additional Documentation) Salt Lake County, Utah Name of Property County and State The arrival of the railroads had a significant impact on the form of Salt Lake City. Former residential areas gradually transformed into industrial and commercial areas. This was especially true of the western portion of the city, which included the new rail lines. Commercial and industrial uses developed rapidly in this area, which soon became known as the West Side, and it developed as a more distinct neighborhood apart from the rest of the city. Cooper/Roberts Architects describe the transformation, noting "this area so clearly devoted to commerce and industry became a separate zone of the city… already separate and distinct visually and in sense of purpose from the rest of the city."8 Several prominent rail lines were extended through the district during this period, including the Utah Central Railroad along 400 West and the Utah & Northern Railroad along 500 West. Both lines later became part of the UPRR's Oregon Short Line rail system).9 The Salt Lake & Fort Douglas Railroad also ran through the area, along 800 South. This line was built in 1883 and removed by 1897.10 The presence of the rail lines was only part of the changing landscape of the developing west side of Salt Lake City. In addition to the tracks, railroad companies, including the UPRR and D&RGW, constructed large rail yards and maintenance facilities in the heart of the area, turning Salt Lake City into a major railroad hub for the western United States. These facilities brought a decidedly industrial feeling to the area. The D&RGW shops and yard are located in the heart of the Warehouse District Boundary Increase, whereas the UPRR yard is located just beyond the northern district boundary. As railroads were built through the area during the late 1800s, commercial and industrial uses also developed. Sanborn Fire Insurance Company (Sanborn) maps from 1889 provide detailed illustration of the northern and central portions of the district but not the southern part of the district, indicating development density in that area was still sufficiently light at the time to not warrant detailed mapping. For those areas addressed in detail, the maps depict predominantly single-family residential development in the northern and east-central parts of the district with light commercial development along 200 West and 400 West. Blocks of higher density residential development, including apartments and rowhouses, were scattered around this area as well. The central and western portion of the area was dominated by railroad-related development, and the southern portion of the mapped area (which ends at about 450 South) showed a much greater diversity of residential, commercial, and railroad uses. 8 Cooper/Roberts. 1992. Salt Lake City West Side Reconnaissance Survey. Cooper/Roberts Architects, Salt Lake City. 9 Strack, Donald. 2011. Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway (OSL&UN) (1889-1897). Retrieved March 12, 2013, from Utah Rails: http://utahrails.net/up/oslun-1889-1897.php 10 Strack, Donald. 2010. Salt Lake & Fort Douglas Railway (1883-1897). Retrieved September 1, 2015 from Utah Rails: http://utahrails.net/utahrails/slfd-1883-1897.php Sections 9-end page 19 |
