This building has a unique history in that it was built to serve as a garage for the production of electric automobiles.
It was built by Alfred O. Whitmore, an early manufacturer of electric cars. He was born in Ohio in 1877. In 1888 he moved to Colorado and in 1894 he settled in Provo, Utah. There he was employed by the Telluride Power Company. Next he worked for the Hunns Company and took part in the erection of the first power plant for long distance transmission. In 1903, he began manufacturing electric cars and two years later he moved his operation to Salt Lake City. Between 1905 and 1920 when production ceased, he was the largest electric car dealer and manufacturer in the area.
In 1914 he produced the first commercial oxygen in the state. Two years later he opened the Whitmore Oxygen Company, with himself as manager and president, He married Jennetta Richards in 1901, and died in Salt Lake City in 1943. Today the Whitmore Oxygen Company still bears his name.
It served as the offices of the Whitmore Oxygen Company until 1975.
430 East South Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah.
(from Preservation Utah’s walking tour)
A. O. Whitmore Electric Automobiles Building
430 E. South Temple 1910, Frederick A. Hale, SLC
This building’s simple exterior belies its fascinating history. It was built by A. O. Whitmore in 1910 as a factory, dealership, and service garage for his Whitmore electric automobiles. Whitmore came to Utah in 1894 to work on the development of the Nunn’s Park Power Plant at the mouth of Provo Canyon, the first power station in the nation built for the long-distance transmission of high-voltage electricity. He then used his experience with electricity to design and produce battery-powered cars. Whitmore soon became the largest manufacturer and dealer of electric cars in the region.
Whitmore strategically located his business on South Temple near the wealthy families who could afford to purchase early automobiles. The garage’s location was also convenient for South Temple residents who needed to recharge the batteries of their electric cars.
Whitmore stopped manufacturing electric cars in 1920, but by then he was pioneering another new business. In 1914, he produced the first commercial oxygen in Utah and founded the Whitmore Oxygen Company. Several years later he built a plant near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. This building, however, served as the offices for Whitmore Oxygen Company until 1975.
