Brigham Street

Brigham Street 09 - Samuel Newhouse

SAMUEL NEWHOUSE 53 O n October 13, 1904, a little woman, richly | gowned, descended the plank of the steam­ship Oceanic, docked in New York harbor. Accompanied by her maid, she hurried unobserved to the sign with an " N" where she awaited the customs inspector. Even when she mentioned her name and convinced him that the twelve trunks bearing her tags merely contained the clothing necessary for a short visit to the United States, no unusual attention was paid to her. She then drove away from the pier as though she was one of the great unidentified. The traveler was Mrs. Samuel Newhouse, wife of a favorite in the most exclusive social set in London. Newhouse, who counted his wealth in millions upon millions, was one of the wealthiest men in the world. The Newhouses' story began in a small mining town high in the mountains west of Denver, Colorado. Sixteen- year- old Ida Stingley was waiting on tables in her mother's boardinghouse in Leadville when she and Samuel Newhouse first met. Irish- bom Mrs. Stingley, lacking in culture and refinement herself, was intent on marrying her petite and shapely daughter to a wealthy mine owner. In the meantime, she was steadfast in her vigilance to keep Ida from the clutches of the rough miners. Newhouse, born in New York City in 1854 of Russian- Jewish immigrants, studied law and made an unsuccessful attempt to practice in Pennsylvania. Then, drawn to the West by the prospects of adven­ture and opportunity, he established a freighting business in Leadville. In 1883, not long after Sam and Samuel Newhouse 54 Ida met, they were married and set themselves up in the hotel business. One day an Englishman, whose name is lost to history, checked into the hotel. While there he became very ill, and during the time Ida nursed him back to health a fast friendship developed between him and the Newhouses. Through this friend Sam obtained his first financial backing. Sam was one of the flamboyant personalities of the early mining days in Colorado and Utah. He became owner of numerous mines in Colorado, later selling his mining property in Cripple Creek for several million dollars. Moving to Denver, he became a speculator and promoter, increasing his recognition in both United States and British financial circles. His first investment in Utah mines was with Thomas Weir in the Highland Boy property at Bingham Canyon. Newhouse also had mining property in the San Francisco Mountains of Beaver County, Utah. Over two million dollars were spent to build the town of Newhouse and develop the mine and mill before it could be placed in operation. As with the Bingham properties, Newhouse was able to interest foreign stockholders in his budding enterprise. He dashed between Salt Lake City, New York, London, and Paris like a brilliant butterfly, scattering money, yet constantly increasing his wealth. He had mansions in Portrait of Ida Stingley Newhouse by Pierre Troubetzkoy, an Italian- born painter of Russian parentage who emigrated to the United States in the 1890s. 55 Salt Lake City and London, an estate on Long Island, and a chateau in France near Paris. He was on a first-name basis with titled and important people wherever he went and counted among his friends Lillian Rus­sell, that extravagant Queen of the Gay Nineties. Newhouse was a short man, having a rather large head and fancying himself something of a Napoleon, even using the Napoleonic crest over the entry of his home. However, Newhouse did not appear to seek political or personal glorification. He was courteous, dignified, and cosmopolitan and had a sincere belief in people and a deep affection for his new home in the West. He later was to say that since he had taken his wealth from Utah, he wanted to return in service what the state had given him. His generosity and phil­anthropy became widely known, and demands for contributions came from all sides. He gave bountifully to charities, relatives, friends, and causes - not two or three hundred dollars at a time but thousands. When Newhouse purchased a home on Brigham Street, he spent a hundred thousand dollars trans­forming it into a colonial mansion. Upon entering the massive main door, located to the west, one stepped into a vestibule of white Italian marble. The visitor was immediately entranced by the combination of white panelled walls and marble; luxuriant Persian rugs; and the crimson of deep- piled stair carpets, A Wen of the grand staircase. 56 velvet upholsteries, and portieres in both the vestibule and spacious reception hall. The colonial fireplace was also of white marble, with copper appointments. Three stained- glass windows, bronze statuary, and several handsome pieces of furniture added to the richness of the setting. The grand stairway was the focal point. Colonial lamps on either side at the base of the stairs were of beaten bronze with opaque shades; the stair railing was copper. At the first landing was a life- size portrait of the beautiful Ida Newhouse. Green silk tapestry was used for the panels of the rather small- scale drawing room, making an attractive background for several gold- framed paintings. Red was the dominant color in the rugs, draperies, and upholsteries. Lighted cabinets held a priceless collection of three dozen miniature plates, products of the finest china painters in the world and purchased in various foreign shops. Doors opened from the drawing room onto a large porch that supported the tall columns on the front of the house. Hie panelled walls and ceiling of the dining room were of highly polished mahogany. A green silk wall covering divided the high wood panels from the ceiling and repeated the green onyx of the fireplace. Two built- in cabinets contained a variety of glassware from the smallest of liqueur glasses to tall stemware, all bearing the Newhouse monogram. On the mahogany credenza were the silver service and can­delabra. A large mahogany table and high- backed chairs completed the room. Adjacent to both the drawing room and dining room was the Palm Room, small but fresh and sunny in appearance. The white background wall covering in this room was printed in a green leaf design. Drapes were of sheer green, and the white wicker furniture was upholstered in a colorful fabric of yellows and greens. Although a favorite spot for the ladies, male friends entered the room for quite another purpose. A concealed electric button released a trap door exposing a stair ladder to the room below. With the assistance of a rod to begin the descent and ropes to ease the journey, one entered into a large room entirely surrounded by wine racks. Newhouse was a connoisseur of rare wines and had collected them for many years. His storehouse in London contained thousands of bottles, and from this supply his various homes were kept well stocked. The rathskeller, as it was called, of the- Salt Lake home held racks enough to store thirteen hundred bottles. The room also contained a glassware cabinet and a mahogany table and chairs. Over the wine racks, extending round the room, was a collection of steins purchased from nearly every hamlet of Germany. Imported liquors were stored in another room. 57 Sam Newhouse, seated left, enjoying an afternoon on the roof garden of the University Club, 136 East Brigham Street. The clubhouse was built in 1902. 58 The home was the scene of lavish parties at which, it was whispered among outsiders, guests ate from solid gold plates. Even though Ida was not often in residence in Salt Lake City, seeming to prefer their homes on the continent, Newhouse himself enter­tained in high style. Sam knew he had a jewel in his lovely young Ida. He hired a tutor to teach her to speak properly, and she had been taught the accepted manners of European high society and of the royal courts. With her dresden- like beauty, the bluest of eyes, and brown hair, she was as lovely as any socialite on either continent. She had a personal maid who could fashion her long hair to the envy of others, and she wore her clothes and jewels like a queen. Her natural Irish wit added to her charm. A notable Englishman had been paid a handsome sum of money to introduce her to the right people and to arrange her entry to the British court. She became an important emissary for her husband's English interests. Ida was presented at the Victorian court, and after the death of Victoria in 1901, she was presented again at the court of Edward VII, a customary proce­dure. For this ceremony she wore an elegant white dress with a train and decolletage, made by the Paris house that designed all her clothes. A small headdress of three ostrich plumes and long white kid gloves Sam Newhouse and party at the inauguration of the first steam turbines at his Cactus Mill, Newhouse, Utah. He is standing between his two nieces. 59 completed her costume. She soon caught the eye of the philandering Edward, and between the years 1904 and 1910 Ida was a frequent guest at the Edwardian court. In 1907 Newhouse initiated a building program on Salt Lake City's Main Street and personally financed the construction of the city's first sky­scrapers, the Newhouse and Boston buildings. The Newhouse Hotel, built several years later, was planned to be a grand hotel, much larger than its present size, and he spared no expense. One banquet room was an exact duplicate of the Louis XV room at Versailles. He donated the land on Exchange Place east of his two skyscrapers for the Salt Lake Stock Exchange and Commercial Club buildings; and he also constructed a large building further east between Cactus and State streets that still stands with its many small shops and the " N" for its builder still visible to the passerby. The short street called Exchange Place became a little Wall Street. Here mining kings, bankers, merchants, and other stockholders bargained over stocks by day in the largest mining exchange in the United States. The splendor and comfort of the nearby Commercial Club offered athletic facilities and the best cuisine. The smoke of good cigars rose lazily in the air and cocktail glasses clinked as men fraternized, negotiated, exchanged news of the day, and planned civic projects. The club became a favorite place for parties, many of the wealthy socialites using its spacious and elegant rooms in preference to their own homes. Newhouse also purchased a slaughter yard in the northeast section of the city called Pop-perton and was instrumental in its transformation into a beautiful suburb eventually known as Federal Heights. In addition, he developed thirty other struc­tures in Salt Lake City, and conceived and built the famous Flatiron Building in New York City. It came to be said of him that money in his hands did not remain idle long enough to be counted. Perhaps Samuel Newhouse moved too fast. The economic conditions preceding United States' entry into World War I made loans almost impossible to obtain, and high- grade ore could not forever finance his enterprises. His financial fortunes began to slide downhill toward ultimate collapse. A few of his friends rallied to raise what money they could, hoping to bail him out. His South Temple home was sacrificed for seventy- five thousand dollars. At this crucial time a few select lady friends climbed the long granite stairs to the splendid man­sion, walked past the tall white columns, and entered the great doors. They were to lunch with Ida Newhouse, perhaps for the last time. After lunch in 60 1. tidies in front of the Newhouse home 61 the Palm Room the gracious Ida led them to the formal dining room where on the large table before them was displayed an array of magnificent jewels, reportedly worth in excess of one million dollars: necklaces, pendants, earrings, bracelets, rings, tiaras, hair combs, shoe buckles, cummerbunds, and pins. Boyd Park, prominent Salt Lake jeweler, was to arrive that afternoon to make an appraisal. The entire collection was bought by a New York firm, the proceeds being used for the living expenses of the Newhouses. The furniture was sold through Lester Freed of the Freed Furniture Company in Salt Lake. In 1914 Sam and Ida parted ways. Newhouse was in New York City settling his other properties. The years following, from 1915 to 1919, he lived at the Newhouse Hotel. He then sold the hotel and left for France. Mrs. Newhouse had gone on to Los Angeles where she lived at the Beverly Hills Hotel until her money was exhausted. In a one- room flat she finished her life, living on the charity of her friends. One Salt Lake friend paid all expenses during her last years in a convalescent home. No passerby chancing to see this lady would ever have known that she was once the darling of the Edwardian court. Mr. Newhouse lived out his remaining years at Marnes Le Coquette, the chateau he had given to his sister years before. During that time he became identified with European banking concerns, but the Midas touch was gone. There at the chateau on September 22, 1930, he died at seventy- six years of age. But Samuel Newhouse had left his name stamped indelibly on a community at the crossroads of the American West. & SAMUEL NEWHOUSE 165 East South Temple Remodeled ca. 1905 Architect: Henry Ives Cobb Owners: Samuel Newhouse, Knights of Columbus Demolished 1960 62