The Peter P. and Martina Thompson Sorensen Home

A popular and busy home in its day, the Sorensen Home is again attracting visitors – now as a museum and gathering place. This gift of restoration, provided by many donors and volunteers, honors our community, the Sorensen family and all who settled early Draper.

Peter and Martina were children when they emigrated from Denmark with their families. They met in Draper, married in 1880 and by 1882 moved into the first room of their home – built of adobe bricks formed as a family project. The red brick section was added in 1890 and features Eastlake inspired interior woodwork, dogtooth brickwork and corbelled arches. This wing of the home was relocated from its former site, 957 E. 12400 S., in May of 2002. The 1882 section and a later addition could not be relocated and were replicated at this site.

Martina loved baseball, flowers, current events and dancing. She and Peter hosted numerous dance parties, Danish language LDS church meetings and visiting dignitaries. Many in town received a start or bouquet from her beautiful flower garden. Peter worked as a railroad track repair foreman for most of his life. He played the violin by ear, ran his own coal company and helped found the Draper M&M Store. Peter’s untimely death at age 57, the result of a work accident in 1914, left Martina to support the family by the continued labor of her hands. Before her death in 1954, at the age of 95, Martina was revered as the last pioneer in Draper. Peter and Martina were the parents of 10 children – 8 of whom lived to adulthood.

12597 South 900 East in Draper, Utah

Corona Apartments / Briar Arms Apartments

Constructed in 1925, the Corona Apartments is one of over 180 “urban apartments” built in Salt Lake City during the first three decades of the twentieth century, a period of unprecedented expansion and urbanization. Over 60 percent of those buildings are either listed or eligible for listing in the National Register. Urban apartments are significant under Criterion C as a distinct and important type of residential building in the city. Apartments are remarkably consistent with one another in terms of building plan, height, roof type, materials, and stylistic features. These and other characteristics mark them as a new and distinct type of early twentieth century residential building. Under Criterion A, urban apartments are significant for their association with the rapid urbanization of Salt Lake City during the 1890s~1930 period. The growth that took place during those decades spurred the construction of two opposing types of housing in the city: urban apartments and suburban homes. Suburban homes represent a rejection of urban conditions. Apartments, on the other hand, document the accommodation of builders and residents to the realities of crowded living conditions and high land values. They were a significant new housing option that emerged in response to the growth that transformed Salt Lake City into an urban center during the early twentieth century.

Located at 335 South 200 East in Salt Lake City, Utah and added to the National Register of Historic Places (#89001742)

• Central City
• Historic Apartment Buildings in Salt Lake City

he building permit for the Corona Apartments was issued on May 15, 1925, to Bowers Building Company, one of the most active developers of apartments in Salt Lake City during the 1920s and early 1930s. The estimated cost of the 19-unit building was $40,000. Bowers Building and Investment Company, headed by George C. Bowers, constructed at least sixteen urban apartments in the city, including three others, besides the Corona, in 1925. All were located in east-central neighborhoods.

he building remained with Bowers only until 1926, when it was purchased by S.J. Quinney and D.R. Brimhall. Other owners include J.B. Arnovitz and James L. White (1928-1934), Alma and Myrtle Jennings (1934) and Ralph D. and Gertrude R. Gillmor and children (1934-at least 1947). The building was renamed the Briar Arms Apartments, its current name, soon after the Gillmors bought it.

Constructed in 1925, the Corona Apartments is a three-story brick building with a parapet roof, concrete foundation and modest Prairie School stylistic features. No significant alterations have been made to the building. A garage formerly located at the rear of the property has been demolished (date unknown).

The Corona is a rectangular building with its narrow end facing the street. The symmetrical facade has a central doorway and is divided by four brick piers that extend the full the height of the building. The piers are of a darker brick than the rest of the facade. That same dark brick is used to frame the window openings and the recessed brick panels above the second story windows. The brick on the side and rear walls is a lighter color than that on the facade. The windows on the facade consist of groups of four casement windows with divided lights. Windows on the side and rear elevations are double hung. There is a flat canopy over the entrance suspended by large chains attached to the building. Though the facade of the building exhibits modest Prairie style characteristics in the vertical piers and the horizontal bands of casement windows, the overall design is non-descript.

The interior of the building is laid out in the typical double-loaded corridor plan, which has a central hallway with apartments on either side and stairways at the front and rear. There are 19 apartments in the building.

The Railroad Cottages
Las Vegas’ first housing tract

The railroad played an important role in Las Vegas’ early days. With the creation of “Clark’s Las Vegas Townsite in 1905, the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad formed a corporation to handle their interests. The corporation was named “The Las Vegas Land and Water Company.”

Between 1909 and 1911, the corporation built 64 houses for railroad employees. There were four-room and five-room cottages and four exterior elevations. They were constructed of cement block with an open front porch and a rear screen porch.

After submitting a request for the privilege of residing in one of the cottages, early tenants, mostly upper-level and long-term employees, paid a monthly rent of $18.00 or $20.00 with a future option to buy. Some were purchased immediately for cash.

The historic railroad cottage neighborhood has been slowly demolished with the development of downtown Las Vegas. In 1978 there were 41 cottages, in 1984 there were 37, in 2001 there were 13 and today only 5 remain in their original location.

This cottage was located at 521 Third Street. It had been owned by the Cram family and was the most desirable for restoration since it retained many of its original features.

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

Boulder City Depot

Built: 1931
Style: Union Pacific Standard Plan
Original address: Corner of Hwy 93
and Buchanan, Boulder City, NV 89005
Moved: 1976
Opened for Exhibit: 1979
This depot was built to handle passengers and freight for Boulder City and Hoover Dam. When it was first constructed, it was
about half of this size, but soon, more space was added to the freight area. Passenger service did not last long because it was not profitable.

The front portion was the office area. A large floor scale is located at the front of the freight area. A small walled area was used for supplies. This area now houses a kitchen, as the back portion of the depot is used for meetings and luncheons.

A baggage cart and bench from the Las Vegas Depot are on exhibit as well as various trunks and suitcases.

Located west of the depot are a 1920’s box car, a 1940’s caboose and a crossing signal. A passenger/baggage combination car is located on the east side of the depot.

The Boulder City Depot was donated by the Union Pacific Railroad and was the first historic structure moved to the museum site.

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

Giles/Barcus House, 1924

This one-room mining boomtown house was built Goldfield just after the Goldfield flood of 1923. In 1928 Edwin Giles, a mining engineer, bought the cottage and settled in with his wife and daughter. In 1955 the house was moved to Las Vegas and became the Odd Shop, an antique store.

It is shown as it might have looked in the 1960s as the Odd Shop antique store.

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

Babcock/Wilcox House

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

Goumond House

Built in 1931 in Las Vegas, Nevada – the home of businessman P. J. Goumond.

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

The Donald W. Reynolds Print Shop

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

Motor Court Cabin

Located at the Clark County Museum at 1830 South Boulder Highway in Henderson, Nevada

The Beginnings of the Motel

This exhibit features Cabin 14, built in 1935, from an early Las Vegas motor court.

Las Vegas first hotel was a canvas tent house building, erected in 1905. In 1906 the Hotel Nevada opened across from the Union Pacific Railroad depot. Other hotels soon followed, centered around the depot.

In the early 1920s free auto camps began appearing on the outskirts of towns. Motor hotels – mo-tels – first appeared in 1926. By the 1930s, commercial auto courts and cottage courts with water, laundry facilities, gas stations, and restaurants had replaced the free auto camps.

Throughout World War II, Americans put their travel plans on hold. After the end of the war in 1945, American’s once again hit the road in record numbers. The developing interstate highway system and more powerful cars allowed travelers to go farther and faster.

During the 1950s and 1960s motel owners formed associations and developed franchises to respond to the rising expectations of quality and cleanliness of more sophisticated travelers.

AUTO COURTS

• Acre Court
  1031 S. 5th
• Ambassador
  916 Fremont
• Boulder
  1101 S. 5th
• Cal-Neva
  L. A. Hwy.
• Chief Autel
  1201 Fremont
• De Luxe
  1701 S. 5th
• Down Town Motel
  300 N. Main
• Fremont
  12th & Fremont
• Gateway
  928 S. 6th
• Home Motel
  1400 S. 5th
• Ideal
  715 S. 1st.
• Lido
  407 S. 5th
• Monte Carlo Hotel
  1600 So. Main
• Nevada Motel
  704 So. 5th
• Old Ranch Cottages
  N 5th
• Paris
  N LV SLK Hwy
• Rancho Dio
  LA Hiway
• Royal Autel
  615 S. 5th
• Shady Moor Lodge
  325 S 2nd
• Toma
  1200 Fremont
• Traveler’s
  1100 Fremont
• Ye King’s Rest
  526 8. 5th
  

The Automobile

This exhibit features a 1946 Plymouth Special Deluxe Two-Door Coupe.

The motel is directly linked to car culture. The automobile, and the freedom it represented, touched the American spirit of individualism and adventure.

The first Ford Model A’s were introduced in 1903, followed by the Model T’s in 1908. By 1920 affordable automobiles allowed Americans to travel greater distances in shorter times. After World War II more powerful automobiles and the Interstate Highway System, from 1956, guaranteed speedy and safe interstate and transcontinental travel.

Homes on Wheels

This exhibit features a Spartan Aircraft Corporation Spartanette trailer, 1948

Prior to the birth of the trailer coach industry in the 4930s, only custom-built special-purpose trailers were available. Automobile travelers used various types of tent trailers that offered limited shelter. Campers and vacationers began to demand greater comfort and convenience. This demand gave the mass production trailer business its start.

Trailer parks soon followed, offering bathrooms and shower facilities, and laundry services. And later, water, sewer, and electricity hook ups.

In 1942, with the onset of World War II and the influx of newly recruited servicemen, the military bought more than 500,000 trailers for wartime base housing.

With the end of World War II in 1945 trailers and trailer parks helped meet the need for housing for returning veterans and their families.

Since 1926, automobile pulled coaches had been called trailers. In 1956 a new term emerged – Mobile Home.