The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue
February 2008
Part of OUR history of Utah
The Episcopal Church Center of Utah completes another chapter in the
history of one of the most important blocks in both the 140 year journey
of the Episcopal Church in Utah and in the story of Utah.
In 1870, Bishop Daniel Tuttle laid the cornerstone of the Cathedral
Church of St. Mark in the historic Salt Lake City block near the already
established St. Mark's School located about a block away. The
bold statement represented faith, optimism, and commitment as there
were not enough Episcopalians from the Canadian boarder to New Mexico
to fill the Cathedral at the time.
The completed Cathedral did not have the Chancel to the north nor
was it completed on the west side. The Church was set back with a house
(later the Deanery) blocking it to the east and apartments to the west.
A dress shop was squeezed into the space that served for years as the
driveway to the parking lot.
Bishop Tuttle wanted the Cathedral to
be a symbol of the Episcopal Church's presence and commitment
to Utah. He saw that no other church in Utah had a bell at that time.
St. Mark's Cathedral thus had a bell that could be heard throughout
downtown.
J. E. Taylor's casket factory ominously billowed smoke over
the Cathedral from the East. The factory and adjoining lumber yard
sat where the Diocese had offices up until the completion of the ECCU.
The block was constantly rattling with trolleys coming and going.
The Salt Lake Rail Road had its terminal north of the Cathedral. Horse
drawn trolleys have run through Salt Lake City since the 1870s. What
is now our Episcopal Square (the ECCU, the Cathedral Church of St.
Mark, The Cathedral Center, and the food pantry) was the last flat
land prior to the hill leading to South Temple. Therefore, it was a
place to park trolleys.
There were four competing railroads in Salt
Lake City, so terminals and shops were not uncommon. The Salt Lake
Rail Road served much of the east side to the east of State Street
(which was called East Temple). At one time, every other block had
tracks from 13th south to 8th Ave and East Temple to 13th East.
By
1898, the trolley shops expanded along the west and north of the Cathedral... right
in the heart of what is now the new Episcopal Church Center of Utah.
Utah Power Light and Traction had purchased the line, and created a
power sub station—as the trolleys were now all electric. The
trolleys ran on electricity from the Stairs station in Cottonwood Canyon
and several other places. The Cathedral area station was the transformer
to regulate the power. Utah Power and Light also ran all the street
lights off of the trolley lines. This is why there are so many old
substations throughout the city. Electricity to the tracks and street
lights predated electricity to homes and businesses in Salt Lake.
In 1904, the Masons built a Masonic Temple about
45 feet west of the Cathedral occupying much of the area now used by
the ECCU Commons. Several Bishops of the Episcopal Church were extremely
active Masons including Abiel Leonard and Arthur Moulton. The Masons
abandoned the building in 1927. However, during Bishop Moulton's
tenure, it was re-opened as a temporary home for St. Mark's Cathedral
for a half year following the fire and re-construction of the St. Mark's
chancel in 1935.
KDYL did live radio dramas and programs, in the old
Masonic Temple through World War II. The playhouse fit in nicely with
Salt Lake's little Hollywood. All the little buildings across
First South, such as the coffee shop and adjoining offices were film
studio distribution centers. Columbia Pictures, Republic Pictures,
and Fox all had film vaults and screening rooms. Stockdale's
film lab was directly across the street in the film district. Hence
the name Hollywood Apartments and the old Cinegrill also occupied the
corner across the street.
The rails were abandoned by 1911, as Trolley
Square became the new barn when Harriman and his Union Pacific Rail
bought the Salt Lake system, but the rail buildings remained as storage
or as vacant ruins. Some lasted into the 1980s as part of the Freed
Motor Company complex.
The casket factory was replaced by a phone company
building that was
remodeled into offices including the recent offices of the Diocese
after the sale of St. Mark's Hospital. The Masonic Temple land
became a parking lot for Questar and later for the Cathedral.
Now the
land is at peace housing the latest milestone of the bold journey started
by Bishop Tuttle when he laid the Cathedral cornerstone just over 137
years ago on one of the most historic blocks in Utah.
What a block!
...and what a joy it is to be such a part of Utah history.
More about our history...
Church members (and all others) interested in the history of the Episcopal
Church in Utah can find a number of resources for original documents,
photographs, and newspaper clippings about the local Episcopal Church.
Dr. Frederick Quinn's book, Building The
Goodly Fellowship Of Faith: A History of the Episcopal Church in Utah,
1867-1996, is an
excellent reference. Each Parish also has a copy of the first two DVDs
about the history of the Episcopal Church in Utah, with the third in
final production stages.
The Marriott Library at the University of
Utah houses the archives of the Diocese of Utah and several of the
parishes. Approximately 40 boxes have been cataloged and archived in
that collection. The State Historical Society houses the photograph
collection of the Diocese in its public archives in the old Denver
and Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City. Anyone with the internet can
browse articles about the church from dozens of state newspapers dating
back over a hundred years. Interested persons can list the keyword
"Episcopal" in a search in the on-line digital newspaper collection.
That website is found
here.
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