The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-11-30
HOLDINGS
IN REAL ESTATE
Invested in Salt Lake City by
Accident and Then by
Design.
PROPERTY VALUES GO UP
STATE STREET CORNERS ARE
PRINCIPAL LOTS RETAINED.

How Henry Phipps of Pittsburg made
his first investment in Salt Lake real
estate and then held to it as a sound
security. adding to his holdings from
time to time, in a general way throws
an interesting sidelight upon the recent
movement in realty in the neighbOr-
hood of some of his Salt Lake holdings.
Phipps seems TO have more money
than he can utilize, ard that's why he
would not sell the Halls MOTEL corner
at Third South and State streets. He
can get enough of a rental to pay good
interest on his investment. He took
the view that If he sold the property
he wouldn't know what to do with the
money. For a man to have so much
wealth that he wouldn't know what to
do with money if some one handed it
to him is regarded as positively sinful
in all well regulated circles of high or
low finance.
Fifteen years ago there was a mort
gage on the property at the northwest
corner of Second South and State
streets, and Phipps was induced by Salt
Lake capitalists to take 1t up. Later,
he became the owner Of the property
and still holds it, refusing to sell This
was his first dip into Salt Lake real
estate, and the steel magnate liked the
looks of the city as a place for invest
ment. He later ACQUIRED nearly ali OF
the property on the north side of Sec
ond South street between State and
Commercial street, relinquishing some
of it to Jacob MOritz. He released all
of the property except the corner but
at the same time he acquired other
pieces, and from his faraway Pittsburg
home he accumulated more than a pass
ing interest in the advancement of Salt
Lake.
Mortgage on Hotel.
Phipps took up a mortgage of $780,
600 on the Halls hotel. which was then
owned by Ricketts,. Ricketts, sold out,
getting about $40, 900 for his interest
and few months later he died. A sim
liar transaction threw the ManitOu
hotel into the hands of Phipps, although
no one died following the sale. Other
choice locations came into his posses
sion, and he came to be regarded as a
factor in the advancement of the city.
A neat fortune was tied up in securi-
ties
Two years ago the prospects of Salt
Lake were not quite as rosy, according
to Mr.. Phipps, as they are now, for at
that time he offered for sale the
Manitou hotel. and it is likely that he
would have released the Halls hotel had
fair price been offered for the prop
erty. However, he did not want to let
go OF the property at Second South and
state. He sold some unimprOved prop
erty in another part of the city. sold
some business property here and there,
and finally reduced his important hold
ings to the two State street corners and
an occasional bit of frontage scattered
through the business district.
The ManitOu hotel, as a hotel, had
not been a paying proposition and the
owners and prospective buyer could not
come to terms, as ii remained in Phipps'
possession until it was purchased by
the Auerbachs.
Several offers were made to Phipps
for the property at Second south and
State street, across from the new Knox
Holmes hotel, but he turned a deaf ear
He now regards salt Lake as the best
city for investment in the west. Coast
cities do not compare with Salt Lake
in the matter of prospects, and Mr.
Phipps is not the only eastern man of
wealth to realize it,