Yalecrest facts for kids

Yalecrest - Harvard Avenue Streetscape

Yalecrest - Laird Avenue Streetscape

Yalecrest - Princeton Avenue Streetscape

Yalecrest is a beautiful neighborhood in Salt Lake City, Utah. It's famous for its many different styles of old homes. This area is often called the "Harvard-Yale area" because many streets are named after famous universities.

The neighborhood looks very neat and tidy. All the houses were built around the same time and have similar sizes. They also have lovely gardens and streets lined with big shade trees. Most of the homes still look like they did when they were first built.

Yalecrest has 1,487 homes. Most of them were built between 1920 and 1940. Some of the newest homes were built after World War II. You can find many unique house styles here, like English Tudor, English Cottage, French Norman, and Spanish Colonial. Experts say the variety of homes in Yalecrest is "unrivalled in the state." The neighborhood became a part of the National Register of Historic Places on November 8, 2007. One home, the George Albert Smith house, was listed even earlier in 1993.

The very first home in Yalecrest was built in 1912. Back then, this area was mostly empty land on a rolling hillside. From Yalecrest, you can see amazing views. To the east, there are the tall Wasatch Mountains. To the west, you can see the wide Salt Lake Valley, the Oquirrh Mountains, and downtown Salt Lake City. A small stream called Red Butte Creek flows through one part of the neighborhood. This area is now a popular park with small outdoor theaters. Yalecrest also has three churches, three shops, one school, and two parks. For many years, Yalecrest has been home to important people like professionals, business leaders, and artists.

How Yalecrest Began

The land that is now Yalecrest was first used for farming. The early residents started moving in around the 1870s. Farmers like Gutliffe Beck and Paul Schettler had farms here. Gutliffe Beck's farmstead was near where Yalecrest Avenue is today. Paul Schettler grew crops like silk worms. David Lawrence had fields of alfalfa. Jim Carrigan built a house and farmed 45 acres. None of these early farmhouses are still standing today.

Many things helped Yalecrest grow in the early 1900s. Salt Lake City's population grew very fast. Also, the air in the city was often smoky from coal furnaces and factories. People wanted to live somewhere with cleaner air. The east bench, where Yalecrest is, was higher up and had fresh air. Land developers saw a chance to build new homes. They advertised the clean air of the bench. It was also easy to get to downtown Salt Lake City. Streetcars ran along 1500 East, making it simple for people to travel.

Famous Architects Who Built Here

Many talented architects designed homes in Yalecrest. Here are some of them:

• J.C. Craig – Designed a house on Michigan Avenue.
• Lorenzo Snow Young – Designed the Bonneville LDS Ward building.
• Glen A. Finlayson – Created an interesting Art Deco house on Diestel Road.
• Slack Winburn – Designed a house on 1300 East. He studied architecture in France.
• Fred J. Swaner – Designed a house on 1400 East.
• Dan Weggeland – Developed the Normandie Heights area.
• Raymond Ashton – Designed the George Albert Smith House and Sprague Library.
• Walter E. Ware – Designed a house on Yalecrest for Charles and Minnie Miller.
• Taylor Woolley – A student of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He designed a house on Yale Avenue.

Churches in Yalecrest

Yalecrest has several important church buildings:

• Yale Ward - This red brick church was built in 1925. It was designed by Taylor Woolley, who also lived in Yalecrest.
• Yalecrest Ward - This church was built in 1936. It has a unique Art Deco style and is made of concrete.
• Bonneville Ward - This church was built in 1949. It's a red brick building designed by Lorenzo Snow Young.

Parks for Fun

Yalecrest has two lovely parks for everyone to enjoy:

• Miller Park - This park follows Red Butte Creek. It was named after Lee Charles and Minnie Viele Miller. Minnie Miller gave two acres of land to the city in memory of her husband.
• Laird Park - This park was created in 1945. It's located on 1800 East between Laird and Princeton Avenue.

Local Shops and Businesses

In the past, Yalecrest had its own grocery store:

• Duffin's Grocery Store - This store was built in 1925. It was the only market in Yalecrest. It was designed to look like the homes around it. Later, it became a hair salon and is now a house.

Today, Yalecrest has a few different businesses:

• At 1700 East and 1300 South, there's a restaurant called Sea Salt. The building also has a clothing shop and a spa.
• Another restaurant nearby is "Eggs in the City."
• There's also a small coffee shop called Java Joe's at 1300 East and 900 South.

Schools for Learning

• Uintah Elementary School - This school was built in 1915. It helped teach the growing number of children in the area. The school was made bigger in 1927. The original building was torn down in 1995, and a new school was built in its place.

Protecting Yalecrest's History

Yalecrest is a historic neighborhood, but it doesn't have special rules to protect its old homes. Being on the National Register of Historic Places doesn't stop people from tearing down houses or changing them too much. About 91% of the homes in Yalecrest are important to its history.

However, some houses are being torn down, and new, much larger homes are being built. This can make neighbors upset and change the historic look of the area. Since the early 2000s, Yalecrest has had the most demolitions of any area in Utah.

A group called Yalecrest (Keep Educating and Encouraging Preservation) was started in 2013. This group works with residents to help save the historic nature of Yalecrest. They want to find ways to protect the neighborhood from too many demolitions and out-of-place remodels.