The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-03-23
FADING LANDMARKS.
The Old Hunter Residence Being
RaZsd.

: The Old Hunter Residence Being
Razsd.
in
It.. Buildings, just the same as men
III, as ideas, and as institutions, yield to
On the march of progress, all, when
as they have fulfilled the necessity
p which induced their birth, being
,h thrust aside for that which will
ed better subserYe the existing needs.
ne One by one time and progress are
I'd laying low the old landmarks of Salt
TO Lake City, and with the demolition
IS of the old Hunter hOuse-which was
W still sound, substantial and useful
70 building, but in the way-another
fades from the sight, and in few
n years will be lost to memory save
'e with the few whose capacity enables
1t them to retain arecOllection of what
S. is past and keep pace with the
T growth of city such as this is
h which Is yet, if human foresight
+ can be relied upon as predicting
5. with any degree of accuracy, still in
5. its infancy. The old Hunter house
d was not, by any means, one of the
D first built in Salt Lake, and interest
does not attach to it on that account;
!. but 1t was one of the first houses
7 erected in the territory, as a resi-
2 dence, which made any pTetensiOnS
I to dimensions; it was almost the
| first as being house of two StoryS,
: and was the first as regards |
/ attempts at architectural beauty. |
The building was built by Michael |
: II INTO h., |
assisted by Geo. ROmney, whose
| father, Miles Romney, made the |
stairs-fOr BishopHunter, in the year
1854, twenty-seYen years ago, and
was then accounted perhaps the
finest residence in the city. The
first two-stOry building erected was
the Council House, which stands
yet a monument of endurance; next
was a part of the present Valley
/ House; then work was commenced
on the present Tithing Office, and
while that was in progress the resi-
dence now owned by II. p. Eimball,
Esq, one block and half north of
the Tlthing Office, was built by his
father, the late President Heber G.
Kimball. 1t is generally believed
that Bishop Hunters residence was
put up next; which would make it !
next to the oldest two-story dwell l
ing house in the city and probably. ;
III the territory. Some, however,
are of the opinion that the Beehive t
House was built prior to the one in /
question, and that there were still
one or two other two \
story buildings, but these :
M l.
be facts, and are only matter of re- q
collection, though the recollection =
may be correct. At any rate, this i
residence built by Bishop Hunter in d
1854, was certainly among the first n
of more than one story in height. n
As compared with the variety of I
architectural designs now to be r
seen on all hands, the old house was h
of the plainest possible kind, built h
of adObes; the walls are perfectly h
square and had no relief, outside of f,
windows and the customary cor Ii
nice, save a pOrticO, which was
placed in front of the main entrance q
and was attached to it. This portico i
was then and is still supported by f
lonian capitals. or pillars, and these N
so far as is known, were n,
the first attempt in the direction of a
work on dwellings ever 81
made in this territory. In view of "a
this fact, at the request OF Joseph l.. ~
Barefoot, Esq, curator of the Mu- o.
scum, they have been presented to 81
that institution, where they will be h;
placed so as to be seen, after having Al
undergone some contemplated alter IA
atoms, intended to bring the CAPT
ais into a condition which will adj w
nit of their being placed to advant- sc
lge in the unfortunately small re
now devoted to that most 81
instructive and useful in dr.
titution. az
1t must be remembered regarding DC
his old building, that the smaller Ii,
which, prior to the begin 10
hing or the rdZing, were a portion of OF
he structure, were additions that nj
lad been made from time to time r.,
to the erection of the re-
main portion in 1854. m
There is another noteworthy fea- ar
ure in connection with this Struc- III
ure which is worthy of mention,
md that is its cost. The build
ng, as can be seen, is II
arge one even in these
laws of expensive dwelling
nd was built with a Solidity
nd honesty which, it is a matter of
greet to state, is very rare charac-
eristic in the many making pre- tr
ensions to beauty which have been D.
,uilt in the last five or ten years. T.
md old as it is, it has still that in it
which time could mot have destroyed
mtil many of quite recent birth
lad decayed and crumbled into dust.
'his old building, in day when all he
hingS were remarkably expensive, M
tut when the necessities of life were ca
ever than they are in this edu- r,
ated day, was put up at cost of w
esS than $1,000. To-day it could
lot be done FOR less, and at any ex-
,ense it could not have been made
more substantial.
The large sycamore trees, now +
ut down, but which very short n
ime ago cast their grateful shade ~
Ver the sidewalk and were beautiful =,
n their height and outrageous y
oilage, were planted, it is said, by IN
Bishop Hunters own hands, and 4
It'll SlOM III Was uuC W llo HUI
-idual care. 1t is fully as much
,ity to lose them as the building,
or they constitute an inseparable at
eatuTe in this landmark.
But few months will suffice in
which to erect the new and magniti- M
ent block of buildings, prepare 10
Ions for work ON which have now
commenced, that is 10 adOTn Main
treet from the Studebaker wagon
to Squires' barber shop;
nd when that has been accom-
,lished still fewer months will IL
uffice to take from the daily remem- Z.
rance Save TO the old heads who 81
ee in all these changes near
hange for themselveS) any thought
e tI,ic lnnl n,.l-- Hhn Old IInntal- |