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Sugar House (also sometimes seen as Sugarhouse) is one of Salt Lake City, Utah's oldest neighborhoods.
Location
The neighborhood is located roughly from 200 East at its western edge to 2000 East at the east and 1300 South to about 3300 South north to south. Many local businesses, although not strictly located within the bounds of Sugar House, use the name because of the area's name recognition. See also: Grid system
About the neighborhood
The Sugar House community council has mostly shunned big box stores, and there are curbside businesses along the intersection of 2100 South and Highland Drive (1100 East), including independent clothing and shoe stores, music shops, artist studios, public art galleries, a coffee shop, and an adult interest store called Blue Boutique. However, the neighborhood is home to a large shopping center that features a ShopKo, a Toys "Я" Us, bookseller Barnes & Noble, clothing retailer Old Navy, several fast food and family restaraunts, and a 10-screen dollar theater. A strip mall is also located on the corner of 2100 South and 700 East, and several other businesses line 2100 South. The corner of 2100 South and 1300 East also features three low-rise office buildings.
Between the shopping center and 2100 South is a small park which is practically invisible, aptly named Hidden Hollow. Students from Bryant Middle School have been involved in protecting Hidden Hollow from commercial development. Sugar House Park is a park located between I-80, 2100 South, 1300 East, and 1700 East. Each Independence Day, the park is host to one of Salt Lake City's biggest fireworks shows, as well as a street arts fair.
The neighborhood's name is officially two words (Sugar House) although it is often written as one (Sugarhouse). Sugar House is also the site of Westminster College, Salt Lake City.
History
Sugar House was officially established in 1853, six years after Brigham Young led the Mormon settlers into the valley.
Despite its name, not a single cube of sugar has ever been produced in the area. The name came as a suggestion from Margaret McMeans Smoot, the wife of the mayor of Salt Lake City, Abraham O. Smoot, and was inspired by the sugar mill being built in the area at the time. The mill was never finished, due to problems with materials never arriving from Arras, France, and the project was scrapped, leaving the area with its name. The mill did, however, produce unrefined molasses.
The first Utah state prison was located in Sugar House during the 19th century and early 20th century, but all the buildings have been torn down, and the land converted to Sugar House Park and Highland High School.
In 1928, at the dedication ceremony of the Sprague library, Mayor John F. Bowman suggested Sugar House from then on be referred to as "South East Salt Lake City." This suggestion was thoroughly rejected.
During the early 20th century the corner of 1100 east and 2100 south was known as "furniture row" because three furniture stores were located there. However, economic reasons and the influx of big box stores and furniture chains has led to the demise of two of them. Only one, Sterling Furniture, remains after Granite Furniture went out of business in 2004, after more than 80 years of operation. The Southeast Furniture building remains, but has been converted into multi-use office and retail space.
During the 1980s, Sugar House became run down and crime ridden, the epitome of inner-city struggles. Sugar House Park was notorious for drugs, crime, and illicit rendezvous. An effort to revitalize the area was undertaken during the latter part of the decade, and today Sugar House is considered by many to be one of Salt Lake's most desirable neighborhoods.
A private effort was started by Doug White to establish a vintage style Rail Trolley to connect the Sugar House Business District to the TRAX station on 2100 South in South Salt Lake. Other suggestions have called for TRAX or the planned commuter rail to eventually run along this route.
External links
"Sugar House, Salt Lake City, Utah"