Ready for Take Off?

This gas station was located at 4126 South Redwood Road when this photograph was taken in 1961. It epitomized how gas station architecture had at one time been greatly inspired by the space-age. The uniquely shaped canopy not only made this building very noticeable to drivers/potential customers, but reflected the popular interest in technology and aeronautics at the time. Even the tall lights appear to be ready to take off and fly away in to the sky.

A work of art in its own right, this plot plan of the Regal gas station was drawn by the tax assessor in 1961 and shows the high-tech angles of this building.

Images from the Salt Lake County Tax Appraisal Cards and Photographs, serial 24B-351.

Archives Closure

Due to the upcoming holiday and a staff emergency, the Archives will be CLOSED from September 3 through September 11. Please continue to submit your requests via email and voicemail. Staff will respond upon their return.

Thank you for your understanding and patience, and have a safe Labor Day weekend.

Salt Lake County Library System History Now Online

The Salt Lake County Library System has documented their history by compiling scrapbooks and photographs since 1939. The archives has been lucky enough to have a retired librarian/branch manager, Ruby Cheesman, volunteer her time to digitize this collection, which includes the years of 1939 through approximately 2004.

Although we are still working on arranging and preserving this collection (temporarily on hiatus due to the virus), all of the scrapbooks and some compiled library history have been scanned and now uploaded to the Archives website. “Check it out” on our Records Online web page.

This collection and the library system’s history was highlighted for Utah Archives Month last October. Containing photographs, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and a variety of library ephemera, the collection provides detailed history of the evolution of the library system, individual library branches, staff, and programming. Especially interesting are the views of the libraries and their connections to their communities and patrons throughout the years.

Library exhibit at the Salt Lake County Fair, from Scrapbook 1939-1941.

“A Day in the Life of a Bookmobile,” Library Scrapbook 1973-1974.

Opening of the West Jordan Library branch in a shopping mall, Library Scrapbook 1975-1981.

A special thank you to Ruby Cheesman for all of her work. Hope to see you soon, Ruby!

Help Us Solve a Mystery, Part II

As we discussed in our first “mystery image” blog entry, on occasion older images in the Salt Lake County Tax Appraisal Photographs collection either contain no identifying information or there is only an older tax number. Unfortunately, sometimes the link between that older tax number and the address has been broken through multiple property changes over the years. Archives staff have identified most of the mystery photographs, but some still remain.

Below is one such mystery property, an industrial building by a railroad track. Does it look familiar to you? If so, contact us with your leads. Also feel free to share on your social media to get the word out!

This photo’s old tax serial number (used before 1984, when the county switched to the current parcel tax number system) no longer is enough to identify this building. Leave a comment if you recognize it.

Entry contributed by Michaele Smith, Processing Archivist.

Closed for July 24

Just a reminder that the Salt Lake County Archives will be closed this Friday for the Pioneer Day holiday. Stay safe!

Rollerskating girl practicing social distancing, circa 1936-1942. Salt Lake County Tax Appraisal Photograph, parcel 22-31-302-006.

Riverton Library Retro

While the Salt Lake County library branches are still closed to onsite patrons, they have been working hard to provide books and other materials via their curbside pickup service. As a small homage to their dedication to serving the citizens of the county, we highlight some articles about the opening of the first Riverton Library branch. Located in a building constructed for the library, it was part of a mall complex on 12600 South and Redwood Road. It served until the new library was opened in April 1999 at 12877 South 1830 West.

All clippings are from the Salt Lake County Library System’s Historical Collection held at the Salt Lake County Archives and viewable online.

Holiday Closure: Happy 4th of July!

Rusty, our archives mascot, spiffed up and ready for the 4th of July.

The Salt Lake County Archives will be closed on Friday, July 3, in recognition of the Independence Day holiday. Have a safe weekend!

Update from the Reference Desk

As the virus cases continue to increase across the county, our state, and our country, our reading room remains closed to onsite research. Archives staff are only onsite a few hours each week, working to respond to requests for records. We are providing limited digitization of records; please contact us for further details.

As always, thank you for your understanding and please stay safe.

Salt Lake County Archives reading room, sadly devoid of staff and patrons.

Slowly Reopening….

Dear Patrons,

Thank you for all of the requests for records that you have submitted to us since we closed due to the county-wide health directive issued by our Mayor. We are starting to slowly reopen our archives and staff will be able to begin working on your requests on June 1. Our reading room will remain closed to on-site patrons, but we will fill requests digitally.

We do ask for your patience as we work through the reference backlog. Our staff are working limited hours and will contact you when we begin working on your submitted request.

We appreciate your understanding as we all figure out how (and when) we might get back to a “normal” world. Please also check out our FAQs while you are waiting to see if they might provide an answer to your question.

Sincerely,

Salt Lake County Archives

Help Us Solve a Mystery

One of our favorite collections is the Salt Lake County Tax Appraisal Photographs. The Salt Lake County Assessor’s office took pictures of all of the properties in the county starting back in the 1930s and again several times in the intervening years. The collection includes some photos that have no identifying information – hence the mystery. Tax parcel numbers used by the assessor to document and arrange the photographs often change, sometimes multiple times throughout the years, and the link between the tax number and the address is occasionally broken.

Several staff have identified many of the mystery properties over the years – and we’ve figured out a lot of them, but we still have a number left. So, we’ve decided to crowd-source the investigation. Below is one such mystery property – does it look familiar to you? If so, contact us with your leads. Also feel free to share on your social media to get the word out!

Mystery photograph. Do you know where this house is located in Salt Lake County? If so, please leave a comment!

Entry contributed by Michaele Smith, Processing Archivist.