Car 19

Built in the early 1900’s, this building originally served as a candy and sporting goods store.  By the 1940’s it was known as the Orange Blossom Confectionery, and was a popular gathering place during the wartime years.  Ice cream and soda water were served in the front, and alcoholic beverages and dancing were provided in the rear.

A change in ownership in the 1950’s resulted in a new restaurant which operated for only a brief tenure.  The building was then vacant for many years, except for a small notions shop occupying the north section.

In the late 1960’s, when Park City’s transition from a mining town to a ski town was beginning to congeal, the late Bob Murphy urged renovation of the historic Main Street buildings.   This structure was one of the earliest efforts, and was remodeled to accommodate a bar and restaurant.  The basement was cleared of decades of debris and dirt to expose to stonework which is part of the lower restaurant’s decor today.

Compared to the typical, very simple mining town architecture of early Park City, this Victorian commercial structure is unusual in its elaborate detailing.  The stamped metal front was readily available by mail order catalog at the turn of the century.  The pressed metal detailing on this building is Main Street’s last example of this once common facade treatment.  Remodeling undertaken in the late 1970’s emphasized the Victorian detailing, and added the wooden canopy which is a dominant feature of the building today.

Located at 438 Main Street on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.

Frank Andrew Building

Frank Andrew was a prominent Park City merchant who established a hardware and house furnishings emporium in 1892. After his place of business was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1898, Andrew built this structure in the fall of that year. Reflecting a trend to make buildings less vulnerable to fire, this building was constructed of stone with a brick facade.

Andrew’s business, which dealt in both new and used furniture, occupied the entire premises. Originally the entry was located on the south end, with a four-sectioned display window to the north of it. Andrew’s name was shown on the upper part of the front facade, and is still visible today.

Presently the building has a central, recessed entry flanked by display windows, a typical configuration in Victorian mining town commercial structures. The interior has been divided to accommodate two separate businesses at ground level, and has for many years housed a hair salon and ice cream parlor. The basement was also remodeled to serve as a bar and, more recently, a restaurant.

Located on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.

Star Meat & Grocery

built for $1000 shortly after the 1898 fire, this is a false front, one story commercial structure very typical of mining town architecture of its day.  The southern section was built first; the northern section was added twenty years later.  One of the Main Street’s first electric signs was installed here in 1903.

Original proprietor George Smith moved here from Heber City to open a butcher shop in this building.  Until that time Park City’s groceries, meat and produce were supplied by Heber merchants.  Smith, who later became mayor, formed a partnership with Alonzo Brim, and this the Smith & Brim meat market was established.  When Smith died, his employee George Hoover bought the business, painted a star over the Smith & Brim sign, and renamed the market “Star Meat & Grocery”.

Subsequent owners Waldo Thompson and Wendell Paulsen continued the business until the 1950’s, when the doors were closed and the building vacated.  In 1963 Ed and Roslyn Grose purchased the building and for nearly two decades displayed and sold antiques and Park City memorabilia.  In 1982 new owners founded the fine art and folk craft gallery occupying the building at present.

Located at 515 Main Street on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.

XIX Olympic Winter Games

Fifth Street

This was the hub of Park City’s Olympic Winter Games Celebrations.  Over 500 thousand visitors enjoyed non-stop music, food, roving entertainment, giant video boards, pin trading, special lighting effects, and hospitality warning fires.  People from every corner of the world came to celebrate the “greatest Olympics ever” in Park City.  Coca-Cola located their Pin Trading headquarters here on 5th Street in a large temporary structure featuring daily live entertainment and a “pin trading university.”

Located at 508 Main Street on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.

Emmett “Bud” Wright

In 1920, Emmett “Bud” Wright made his living skiing, but not as a ski patrolman or ski racer. Bud worked as a lineman for the local telephone company, traveling the mountains surrounding Park City on his 10 foot-long, handmade skis, repairing the phone lines. When Bud broke one of his skis, he was forced to use skis of two different lengths because no ski shops existed in Park City.

Located at 524 Main Street on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.

“Ten O’Clock Whistle” and Old Public Library

At 4:00 a.m. on June 19, 1898 a Chinese cook spotted flames on Main Street, and alerted a policeman who fired three pistol shots to awaken Parkites to the conflagration which destroyed virtually all the buildings on Main Street. Reconstruction of City Hall began almost immediately, and this three-story wood frame tower was added to house a more reliable fire alarm. A 1,500 pound bell was installed to alert the community to future fires. In 1905 the bell was replaced by an electric siren activated from the telephone company’s switchboard.

With the establishment of a reliable local fire department, the siren was used as a curfew warning for Park City’s young people, and became known as the “Ten O’clock Whistle.” Although the curfew had not been enforced for many years, the whistle continued to sound regularly until 1980.

The tower’s tall interior walls were used to hang fire hoses to dry. Otherwise empty, it became dilapidated. It was restored in 1983-84 as part of the City Hall restoration, and is now part of the Park City Museum.

The one-story brick commercial building adjacent to the tower was built just after the 1898 fire, on the remains of the two-story structure which burned down. Original occupants were a tailor and harness shop. A furniture store stood over the premises in 1907. In 1910 the Park City Public Library moved in, and remained here until 1982, when it relocated to the newly restored Miners Hospital in City Park. This building was restored in 1983-84, also a part of the City Hall restoration project. Owned by Park City Municipal Corporation, it has been leased out for commercial use.

The Bell Tower and Public Library Building are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Related Posts:

• Park City Main Street
• Park City Museum
• Park City, Utah.

Located at 528 Main Street on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.

City Hall

After several years of petitioning the State of Utah for incorporation, Park City was granted a charter on March 8, 1884. With a population in excess of 4,000 a building to centralize municipal functions was critically needed. Construction of City Hall began in 1885. The Great Fire of 1898 claimed all but the facade. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and in 1901 the tower and a 1,500 pound bell were added to warn Parkites of future conflagrations.

City Hall has housed diverse government offices. The old Utah Territorial Prison, commonly called ” The Dungeon” was located in the basement. Park City Municipal Corporation, needing larger quarters, vacated City Hall in 1983. Extensive restoration was completed in early 1984.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this is a two-story masonry and brick structure of the Victorian commercial style. Its decorative brick work, segmental arches over three bay openings on street level, and plat pilasters divided the upper level into a three-part composition make this one of the most distinctive structures built in Park City.

Located at 528 Main Street on historic Park City Main Street in Park City, Utah.