401 3rd Ave

This one-story Victorian Eclectic style cottage was built circa 1891.  Victorian elements include the hip roof, tall narrow windows with corbelled brick arches, and a projecting front bay window with colored leaded glass panes in the upper sash.  The original owner/builder was Harry Luff, a carpenter who also worked on the Mormon temple and tabernacle and on many other residences in Salt Lake City.  He was born in England in 1843 and immigrated to Utah in 1860.

The home was originally rented.  At the time it was constructed, Luff was living at 407 3rd Avenue, but he lived in this house from 1907 to 1911.  In 1913, Luff sold the property to Alma Harris, a confectioner.  Harris’ store was here for the first few months he owned the house.  He then rented it from 1923 to about 1930, when John Orton, a schoolteacher and accountant, bought it.

This historic home is located in the Avenues Historic District in Salt Lake City, Utah.