Alfred McCune Home facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Alfred W. McCune Mansion
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Alfred McCune Home in 2015
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 Location in Utah
Location in the United States
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| Location | 200 North Main St, Salt Lake City, Utah |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1872 (carriage house); 1900 (main house) |
| Architect | Dallas, S.C.; Monheim, Henry |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001937 |
| Added to NRHP | June 13, 1974 |
The Alfred McCune Home is a grand mansion located on Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was built around the year 1900. This beautiful house was made for a man named Alfred W. McCune. It sits on the side of Capitol Hill at 200 North Main Street. The mansion has 21 rooms and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical building.
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Meet Alfred McCune
Alfred McCune was born in Calcutta, India. His father was in the British Army there. His family later joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). They moved to Utah Territory, living first in Farmington and then in Nephi. Alfred joined the LDS Church in Farmington in 1857.
Alfred and Elizabeth were childhood sweethearts. They got married on July 1, 1872, in Salt Lake City. Even though Alfred wasn't very active in church service, he gave a lot of money to the church. The church president, Heber J. Grant, wrote in his journal that McCune was always in good standing with the church.
Alfred McCune was a very successful businessman. By the time he was 21, he was already building parts of the Utah Southern Railroad. He became a rich railroad builder and knew many other wealthy people. He owned parts of mines in Peru with famous people like J. P. Morgan and William Randolph Hearst. He also had businesses in Utah, Montana, British Columbia, and South America.
People respected McCune for being honest and friendly. He was also very generous, giving money to many good causes. He cared about his community and wanted to be a politician. In 1899, he ran for the Senate as a Democrat. He ran against Frank J. Cannon and others. No one got enough votes, so Utah couldn't send a senator to Washington that year. McCune tried again later but lost to another rich businessman, Thomas Kearns.
The Grand McCune House
The main house was finished in 1900. Alfred's wife, Elizabeth McCune, had many interests, just like him. She held important positions in the LDS Church. She was also good friends with Susa Young Gates, one of Brigham Young's daughters. Elizabeth strongly supported women's rights. She went to a big meeting in London in 1889 about women's issues. After that, Queen Victoria even invited Elizabeth to Windsor Castle.
Alfred McCune wanted his home to be very fancy and impressive. He paid for his architect, S. C. Dallas, to travel for two years. The architect visited places in America and Europe to study different building styles. They chose a Gothic Revival design with some ideas from East Asia. The house was built to look like one Alfred and Elizabeth saw in New York City.
While the house was being built, the McCunes needed a place to live. They rented the Gardo House from the LDS Church for a few years. The Gardo House had been used by church leaders. The church was happy to find a good tenant and rented it to them for $150 a month.
The McCune home was built on a spot that made it stand out. No expense was spared on its decorations. McCune had special wood like mahogany shipped from San Domingo and oak from England. He even got rare white-grained mahogany from South Africa. The red roof tiles came all the way from the Netherlands. A huge mirror wall was brought from Germany in a special train car. The walls inside were covered with fancy silks, tapestries, and Russian leather. The outside of the house was built with red Utah sandstone. But some fancy parts, like the fireplaces, used special stone like Nubian marble. The house was finished in 1901 and cost a million dollars, which was a huge amount of money back then!
What Happened After the McCunes?
Alfred and Elizabeth McCune lived in their beautiful home until 1920. Before they moved to Los Angeles, they gave the house to the LDS Church. They hoped it would be used as a home for the church president, Heber J. Grant. However, President Grant didn't want to live in such a fancy house. So, he decided to turn it into a music school.
The house became the McCune School of Music. This school operated until 1957. After that, it was used by the Brigham Young University Salt Lake City Center until 1972. In 1973, the LDS Church sold the house to a group of people in Salt Lake City. They wanted to make it a cultural center for the community.
Later, it became the Virginia Tanner Modern Dance School. Dance lessons were held in the ballroom. Since then, the building has been privately owned. It is often rented out for events like wedding receptions.
In 1999, a tornado hit Salt Lake City and damaged one of the house's chimneys. Philip McCarthey, who owned part of The Salt Lake Tribune newspaper, bought the building. He started fixing it up after the tornado. He finished the restoration in November 2001.
The McCune Home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. There's also a carriage house on the property, built in 1872. It was designed by architect Henry Monheim and was part of an older house on the site. It was kept when the McCune mansion was built.
Images for kids
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Alfred McCune Home in 2015
See Also
- Alfred W. McCune
