Mike Gaba photograph collection
Collection
Identifier: P1067
Scope and Contents
The Mike Gaba photograph collection consists of 10 color prints of homes in the Avenues area of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dates
- 1970-1990
Creator
- Gaba, Mike (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Mike Gaba photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.
Permission to publish material from the Mike Gaba photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.
Historical Note
The Avenues was the first section of Salt Lake City to deviate from the original ten acre (40,000 m²) block grid pattern. Blocks were one half the dimension of the original grid, making them 2.5 acres (10,000 m²). Streets and sidewalks were narrower too, meaning that the Avenues' streets match poorly to the original blocks at the base of the neighborhood along South Temple Street. The first lots were surveyed in the early 1850s, but the Avenues' deviant platting violated the law. The territorial legislature had to pass a new survey ordinance for the Avenues, which they did in 1860.
Originally, all of the streets were named. North-south streets were named for trees, and east-west streets had names like "Fruit", "Garden", "Bluff", and "Wall" (for what are now 2nd through 5th avenue respectively). By 1885 the north-south streets gained their current alphabetical designations (A Street through V Street, although V was turned into Virginia Street). However, the east-west streets were still known as Streets. They were not retitled into Avenues until 1907. Up until that time, the area was known as "the dry bench" because it lacked water.
Until 1884, residents in the northeastern Avenues had to haul water for everyday use. Protests prompted the city to install pipelines along 6th Avenue, but those living in the higher Avenues would be without water until 1908.
In spite of water problems, the Avenues proved to be an attractive residential neighborhood. In the southwest Avenues, artisans could live very close to downtown. In the east Avenues, "Butcherville" sprang up after slaughterhouses relocated to the east side in 1860.
Transportation was a major draw for settlement in the Avenues. The Salt Lake Railway Company offered mule and horse-drawn trolley rides in the Avenues by 1872, and the trolleys became electric in 1889. Salt Lake Rapid Transit Company incorporated in 1890 and the companies competed fiercely until merging in 1903. The trolley system expanded to other parts of the city as the Utah Light and Traction Company, but rail lines were denser in the Avenues than any other part of the city save downtown. The tracks were removed in the 1940s after National City Lines acquired (and dismantled) the trolley lines.
At the turn of the century, the neighborhood was a predominantly middle- and upper-middle class trolley suburb, home to many professionals. Developers, including future president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) Heber J. Grant, promoted Avenues home ownership.
The old Primary Children's Hospital was located in the avenues. With the rise of other, more affluent neighborhoods like Federal Heights, the Avenues became less popular. By the 1960s, deterioration was evident as landlords often found it economically advantageous to let properties go neglected. Most homes, built between about 1880 and 1920, showed their age, and the community dealt with increasing problems with transients. In response to these problems, residents formed the Greater Avenues Community Council (GACC) to help revitalize and restore livability to the neighborhood. Today the neighborhood has been revitalized and is considered by many to be one of Salt Lake's most desirable neighborhoods.
historic note taken from Wikipedia avenues page
Originally, all of the streets were named. North-south streets were named for trees, and east-west streets had names like "Fruit", "Garden", "Bluff", and "Wall" (for what are now 2nd through 5th avenue respectively). By 1885 the north-south streets gained their current alphabetical designations (A Street through V Street, although V was turned into Virginia Street). However, the east-west streets were still known as Streets. They were not retitled into Avenues until 1907. Up until that time, the area was known as "the dry bench" because it lacked water.
Until 1884, residents in the northeastern Avenues had to haul water for everyday use. Protests prompted the city to install pipelines along 6th Avenue, but those living in the higher Avenues would be without water until 1908.
In spite of water problems, the Avenues proved to be an attractive residential neighborhood. In the southwest Avenues, artisans could live very close to downtown. In the east Avenues, "Butcherville" sprang up after slaughterhouses relocated to the east side in 1860.
Transportation was a major draw for settlement in the Avenues. The Salt Lake Railway Company offered mule and horse-drawn trolley rides in the Avenues by 1872, and the trolleys became electric in 1889. Salt Lake Rapid Transit Company incorporated in 1890 and the companies competed fiercely until merging in 1903. The trolley system expanded to other parts of the city as the Utah Light and Traction Company, but rail lines were denser in the Avenues than any other part of the city save downtown. The tracks were removed in the 1940s after National City Lines acquired (and dismantled) the trolley lines.
At the turn of the century, the neighborhood was a predominantly middle- and upper-middle class trolley suburb, home to many professionals. Developers, including future president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) Heber J. Grant, promoted Avenues home ownership.
The old Primary Children's Hospital was located in the avenues. With the rise of other, more affluent neighborhoods like Federal Heights, the Avenues became less popular. By the 1960s, deterioration was evident as landlords often found it economically advantageous to let properties go neglected. Most homes, built between about 1880 and 1920, showed their age, and the community dealt with increasing problems with transients. In response to these problems, residents formed the Greater Avenues Community Council (GACC) to help revitalize and restore livability to the neighborhood. Today the neighborhood has been revitalized and is considered by many to be one of Salt Lake's most desirable neighborhoods.
historic note taken from Wikipedia avenues page
Extent
1 Box
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Mike Gaba photograph collection consists of 10 color prints of homes in the Avenues area of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Arrangement
by folder and subject
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Mike Gaba in 2002.
Processing Information
Processed by Photo Archives Staff.
Creator
- Gaba, Mike (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Mike Gaba photograph collection
- Author
- Finding aid created by Sara Davis.
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu