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Technical High School (Salt Lake City)

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Coordinates: 40°46′29.66″N 111°54′7.37″W / 40.7749056°N 111.9020472°W / 40.7749056; -111.9020472
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Technical High School
The school building,
as pictured in Architectural Forum, April 1917
Map
Location241 North 300 West
Salt Lake City, Utah
Coordinates40°46′29.66″N 111°54′7.37″W / 40.7749056°N 111.9020472°W / 40.7749056; -111.9020472
Built1910–1912
ArchitectCannon & Fetzer
Architectural stylePrairie Style
Demolished1990s
NRHP reference No.80003934
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 19, 1980
Removed from NRHP2001

The Technical High School (also known as the manual training, industrial arts, or tech building) was a historic school building in Salt Lake City, Utah on the campus of West High School at Union Square. Constructed from 1910 to 1912, the structure was built to house the vocational and practical training offered by the local public school system.

Once the best example of a Prairie Style building in Utah, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980,[1] but was removed after the structure was demolished in the 1990s.

History

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The Salt Lake Board of Education had introduced manual training in 1903,[2][3] and the growth of the program resulted in the construction of the Technical High School several years later.[4][5]

During the planning of East High School, it was reported in local newspapers that when the east school was completed, it would absorb all academic high-school-level classes and in turn the old west campus would become a strictly technical school, with the Technical High School as its main building.[6][7] There is some indication that the school (as an institution) may have operated independently for a short time, before being absorbed by West High School.[8][1]

Building

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Construction of the building was started in 1910[8] and, following delays, was partially opened in September 1911.[9][10] In early 1912, the building was completed.[11]

Designed by Cannon & Fetzer, the Prairie Style building's architecture was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's Larkin Administration Building. The structure was built of reinforced concrete and veneered with bluff-colored brick. The exterior included several sculptures and bas-reliefs of trade workers created by Utah-born artist Mahonri Young. Inside were spaces for woodworking, machinery, a forge, and a foundry. In 1920, additions for more shops (such as auto repair and electrical) were built.[1]

In the 1990s, the building was demolished, although some of Young's sculptures were spared.[12][13][14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Utah State Historical Society (January 2, 1980). National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Technical High School (Report). National Park Service.
  2. ^ "Manual Training in Salt Lake Schools". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. September 7, 1902. p. 22. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  3. ^ "New Features Provided For Coming School Term Which Begins Sept. 8". Salt Lake Telegram. Salt Lake City. August 29, 1902. p. 2. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  4. ^ "Utah's Schools in Front Rank of Progress and Efficiency: Progress at High School". Deseret Evening News. Salt Lake City. December 17, 1910. p. 57. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  5. ^ "Schools Once More Call To The Wild". Salt Lake Herald-Republican. Salt Lake City. September 3, 1911. Section 2, p. 6. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  6. ^ "Salt Lake City Public Schools". Deseret Evening News. Salt Lake City. December 16, 1911. p. 74. Retrieved April 6, 2025. This building was erected on the present high school grounds and is to be the main building of the extensive technical high school which will be maintained apart from the regular high school when the latter is moved into its new quarters on the east bench.
  7. ^ "Schools To Open On Tuesday Next". Deseret Evening News. Salt Lake City. August 30, 1913. p. 16. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Model Technical High School For City". Salt Lake Herald-Republican. Salt Lake City. November 27, 1910. Section 3, p. 11. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  9. ^ "Technical School Will Be Delayed". Salt Lake Herald-Republican. Salt Lake City. September 1, 1911. p. 9. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  10. ^ "Technical School Partially Opened". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. September 12, 1911. p. 14. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  11. ^ "New Technical High School Is Completed". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. March 7, 1912. p. 3. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  12. ^ Bryson, Robert (October 3, 1994). "Historic Statues Soon to Lose Home". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. pp. B1, B3. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  13. ^ Derrick, Karen G. (December 11, 1996). "Preserve West High Sculptures". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. p. A22. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  14. ^ Cortez, Marjorie (July 29, 1997). "West High School's SOS gets $olid answer from builders council". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. p. A1. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
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