Salt Lake City - Hidden Narrow Streets

[s.p.hansen]

Salt Lake City has giant blocks and wide streets as a default in its original platting. After it became clear that Bringham Young's dream of a large farm in the middle of each block wasn't going to work out, each block had to adapt to handle the need for increased density. These narrow streets that occasionally bisect these large blocks are some of the most eccentric and unwashed parts of the city. They feel like small mining towns.

This is a continuing album of the narrow side streets in Salt Lake City.



Linden Ave:












(Red) Markea Ave:







(Blue) Menlo Ave:













(Red) Iowa St / Penselvenia St:














(Red) Ely Pl / Sego Ave:














(Red) Egli Ct







(Blue) Harmony Ct:

[bflatflat9]

Great thread.
Brings back a lot of memories.
And of course, the upkept properties are owner/tenant, and the not so kept are rental for the most part. Except for the instances of someone getting a good rental deal on a home, and staying for a long period of time.
I just got pre-approved for a home, (I'm trying to buy for the first time finally).
These are some of the areas I may be able to afford, and we like the east central area.

[Comrade]

I was planning on doing one of these tours later this summer. I'll hit up more streets - as there's a good amount. They're fun and definitely unknown to a great deal of people.

[s.p.hansen]

Originally Posted by bflatflat9

Great thread.
Brings back a lot of memories.
And of course, the upkept properties are owner/tenant, and the not so kept are rental for the most part. Except for the instances of someone getting a good rental deal on a home, and staying for a long period of time.
I just got pre-approved for a home, (I'm trying to buy for the first time finally).
These are some of the areas I may be able to afford, and we like the east central area.

These roads are so interesting. From the street they look like driveways going up into private property. I honestly never noticed any of them until last year. All the homes built on these roads are very understated and generally smaller than the ones facing the normal streets, but they have so much character. I would honestly love to find the right little road and just have the money to fix all the homes up and live in one and sell the rest to my friends. I'd put in matching street lamps. It would be pretty fucking cute.

[s.p.hansen]

Originally Posted by Comrade

I was planning on doing one of these tours later this summer. I'll hit up more streets - as there's a good amount. They're fun and definitely unknown to a great deal of people.

Awesome. Mark it on the map when you post them so I don't overlap you!

[s.p.hansen]

Cute little houes on a cute little street. Look how big the cars look!



(Red) Windsor Street:

[Beedok]

Quite interesting. I have to say that the dead end ones seem like they would either end in really tight knit communities or really sketchy areas.

[Future Mayor]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Quite interesting. I have to say that the dead end ones seem like they would either end in really tight knit communities or really sketchy areas.

I dated a girl, very briefly, that lived on a dead end one and it was both, tight knit and sketchy.


BTW S.P. I really like the thread. I knew there were a lot of these streets, but even in your first few there are ones I didn't realize where there.

[s.p.hansen]

Originally Posted by Future Mayor

I dated a girl, very briefly, that lived on a dead end one and it was both, tight knit and sketchy.


BTW S.P. I really like the thread. I knew there were a lot of these streets, but even in your first few there are ones I didn't realize where there.

Thanks

Yeah, these streets fall under a sliding scale of sketchy and charming. Always a little charming even in their worst spots. Of all the untapped potential of cute older homes in the "good part of town" this has to be the most concentrated. There are so many; I've been using Google Earth to map out a lot more because of how hard they are to find just walking down the street.

[s.p.hansen]

Future Mayor and others have mentioned the need for pathways to break up our massive blocks downtown to breath more urban life into our city. As the large blocks of Salt Lake City evolved, it's pretty clear that these kinds of pathways evolved naturally. We see the same narrow streets with homes or storefronts facing both sides. Automobiles and parking lots and garages were the death of these paths.

Edison St is still intact in enough areas to create an interesting little pathway of pedestrians and commerce. It has grown into a vibrant little slice of urban life perpendicular to 2nd Street's vibrant street life. Floral St has died off with just a hint of evidence that it was also just like Edison St. at one point.

These light commercial pathways would be a great means of breaking paths through our large blocks with its denser commercial buildings on the block corners.

Map of Salt Lake City from 1954:





(Red) Edison St / Floral St:

















Here's the last evidence of Floral St.

[Future Mayor]

I agree with you again S.P. I don't know what's wrong. lol

This mid-block and small streets are the perfect opportunity to bust up the blocks, and create some fantastic streets that are gathering places in the city. I do like Edison St and I think it has some serious potential to become a nice N/S connecting, commercial/retail corridor. With the bars Cedars and Este on the north end, and the Coppers, and some art galleries on the south end, it's a prime candidate for some serious increase in usage.

I would suggest that the city leave Edison the width it is, leave it one way traffic, but install new sidewalks and streets at he same grade so that the two blend into one another. If the southern portion were developed correctly, and I'm not suggesting taking out any of the existing 300 S buildings, just developing the parking, that could be a great gathering street in the city, particularly once the St Street Project gets completed and has the connection from State to Floral to Edison.

[Future Mayor]

To expand on my Edison/Floral St thoughts, and after reading a great article regarding streets as gathering place, I came up with some ideas that would completely transform that block without taking out any of those 300 South facing buildings. As it partially pertains to narrow streets, but more towards overall development I will post it on the main SLC thread.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...=1#post7399547


Referring back to the residential narrow streets, I think the city needs to look at connecting those that don't connect through, it would provide a more fluid street, a safer street and would break up blocks. I also think these narrow residential streets would be a great opportunity for new creative house designs on vacant lots, or on the crap shacks that are currently there.

[Liberty Wellsian]

My favorite hidden narrow street in SLC is Almond street from 300 N to Apricot Ave

[s.p.hansen]

^^^

I love Marmalade!

Marmalade is its own beast outside of the original grid. Those narrow streets are driven by topography; the ones in the grid are more like "how do we make this massive grid work!"

[s.p.hansen]

(Red) East Pl:


https://heritage.utah.gov/history/ea...otgunHouselink









So in Salt Lake City you may actually find yourself living in a shotgun shack. I never knew we had these in Utah. I've only ever seen them in New Orleans. I wonder if this was a black neighborhood back in 1890.

Originally Posted by s.p.hansen

Windsor St:

Upon further inspection, these previous houses seen on Windsor St are also shotgun houses. They were built 6 years after the ones above in 1896.


(Blue) Fletcher Ct:

[delts145]

This thread couldn't be more entertaining and appropriate for this forum. Extremely useful in reminding us of what we often are too busy to realize is right under our nose. Thanks S.P.!!


Mod note: Late to the party here, so adding a note to this post rather than grave-digging the thread. There's nothing wrong with this thread. If you're not interested in the subject matter then ignore it. I've deleted all the posts complaining about it and directly responding to complaints about it. The forum is here to talk about things in cities. There is no rule against things some people might think are mundane. -Cirrus