CHALK GARDEN CO-OP
The space housing the Chalk-Garden, a shop that has its own rich history, is especially unique because it was the site of the McCornick bank that originally occupied the building. The safe rooms have been converted to dressing rooms, with the original safes still intact! Look up and the ceiling still contains intricately detailed vintage crown moldings and chandelier light fixtures.
The store level entrance on Main Street leads to a sweeping staircase to the second floor of the boutique. Everything about this space has been constructed to blend together the historical craftsmanship with the present era. The displays combine vintage appliances and old books with current, trending merchandise for sale. In addition to the Co-op boutique, the space also houses a Lunatic Fringe salon and the Lanny Barnard Gallery. The result is cutting edge fashion and style housed in one of the original buildings from Salt Lake’s first commercial district. It’s simply a combination you can’t find anywhere else. And if all that didn’t convince you to pay a visit, Ty Burrell from Modern Family is a co-owner… you never know who you might bump into while shopping.
STARBUCKS
The Starbucks will also be a wholly unique space for Salt Lake Urbanites to enjoy. It’s a much larger space than most downtown coffee stores. The “subterranean” feel takes you a few steps below street level, and features much lower ceilings than the normal Starbucks store. The sandstone seen on the outside of the Crandall building will also be the walls on the interior of the space. The overall results will be an open, inviting space where you can sit and enjoy yourself, a little different from the “zip through for my coffee” feeling Starbucks stores frequently present. And not to worry, there is a wheelchair ramp to aid the descent from street level.
HISTORY
Canadian Entrepreneur William McCornick commissioned the construction of the building (1890-1893) so he could open a banking house, McCornick & Co. The Crandall Building features stunning architecture and beautiful local Kyune sandstone still present today on the exterior. Much of the buildings from this era used this stone found in Kyune Canyon near Colton, Ut because they found they could easily excavate sizeable enough chunks for construction. McCornick & Co. went on to became the largest private bank west of the Missouri River and survived the Depression, while McCornick himself became one of Utah’s premier business men of the time. The building changed owners three times before being purchased by the Crandall family in 1955. Since then a variety of business tenants have leased offices on the building’s upper floors and various businesses have occupied the commercial spaces on the main floor. However, with the latest renovation of downtown Salt Lake City, the Crandall family felt that preserving such a historic part of Salt Lake’s past was important when renovating the space you see today.
https://www.facebook.com/ChalkGardenCoop
http://geology.utah.gov/geo_guides/slc_bldg_stones/pi60st15.htm
