Alta Club Building

This building has housed the Alta Club for over 100 years.  Prominent Utah businessmen founded the exclusive club in 1883.  The original members were all non-Mormons and most were involved in the mining industry.  The Alta Club’s official exclusion of Mormons reflects the deep divisions between Mormons and non-Mormons in late 19th-century Utah.  After the turn of the century, the club gradually began to admit Mormons and helped promote accommodation between the two communities.  The Alta Club now welcomes women as members also.  Salt Lake City architect Frederick A. Hale designed the Alta Club in the Italian Renaissance style which was popular for men’s clubs.

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(from Preservation Utah’s walking tour)
1897-1898, Frederick A. Hale, SLC; east wing, 1910
The exclusive Alta Club was founded in 1883 by prominent Utah businessmen and named after the Alta mining district in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The original members were largely involved in the mining industry and were all non-Mormons.

The Alta Club’s official exclusion of Mormons reflects the deep divisions between Mormons and non-Mormons in late 19th-century Utah. After the turn of the century, the club gradually began to admit Mormons and helped promote accommodation between the two communities. The Alta Club now also welcomes women as members.

Well-known Salt Lake City architect Frederick A. Hale designed the Alta Club in the Second Renaissance Revival style. This style was popular for men’s clubs in the eastern United States at the turn of the century. The club’s Renaissance Revival elements include its horizontal emphasis, arched windows and doors, and recessed arcaded balconies.