1797 South 1400 East
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Nephi J. Hansen House

Statement of Significant:

The Nephi J. Hansen House, built in 1912, is a two-story, foursquare-type house with Neoclassical details. The house Is constructed of pressed brick, sits on a stone foundation, and has an asphalt shingled hipped roof. Although essentially a foursquare, there are two additional rooms at the rear giving the house approximately 3,000 square feet of space on two floors. The house faces west on a sloped lot on the east bench of Salt Lake City. The property includes a number of mature trees, landscaped lawn areas, a garage built in 1959 and a small greenhouse (c. 1990). The Nephi and Laura Hansen house is in excellent condition and contributes to the historic resources of the neighborhood.

The foundation is constructed of rock-faced red sandstone laid in ashlar courses. The main floor sits above a raised basement level of sandstone. The walls are constructed of high-quality fired red brick. The brick Is laid in a running bond with flush mortar joints. The window lintels and lug sills are red sandstone. On the main floor level, with one exception, the sills are half as thick as the lintels. The roof is hipped with the ridge perpendicular to the street. The roof was recently rebuilt and covered with architectural-grade asphalt shingles. The house has three chimney stacks, one on either side of the west main rooms and one at the rear. The stacks are brick with three belt courses at the top. The south chimney is wider than the other two.

The main facade faces west. There Is a wide hipped-roof dormer in the center of the roof on the west elevation. The dormer has three square fixed-pane windows and is sheathed in narrow clapboards. All eaves on the house, including those on the dormer and the porch, are wide with overhangs supported on wood brackets set about one foot apart. These bungaloid elements are painted white, as are the soffits. At the main floor level, a set of curved concrete steps with sandstone-coped railings leads to a nearly full-width porch on a sandstone deck. The most dominant feature of the facade are the four large Tuscan columns supporting the second-story balcony. The columns are wood, painted white, and set on a square plinth over sandstone, half-height piers. There are two pilasters and stone piers at the rear corners of the porch. The columns connect to a large plain wooden frieze and wide, bracketed eaves which extend from the floor of the balcony. Between the piers is a rail of ornamental iron. At the balcony level, a different style rail connects four large, square, wood balusters and two smaller engaged ones. The front entrance is set slightly off-center to the south, and the door and transom are original. North of the door is a tripartite window with a leaded-glass transom over a large fixed frame, flanked by narrower one-over-one windows. To the south Is a single large pane window with a leaded-glass transom. The frames of these windows, as with all other windows on the house, are painted white. The second story is more symmetrical in appearance with a door to the balcony between a pair of tripartite windows similar to the one on the main floor, but slightly smaller.

The south elevation features a pair of small leaded and colored-glass windows with a stylized tulip pattern flanking the projecting brick chimney stack. There Is a large picture window near the middle of the elevation on the main floor. Originally, this opening had a tripartite window roughly the same size as the front window. This window was replaced by the large single pane picture window at an unknown date. Towards the rear are a pair of one-over-one double-hung windows. The second floor has three one-over-one windows with the lintels at the level of the eaves. There are two windows at the basement level. The north elevation Is similar to the south. On the main floor are another pair of tulip windows, one long, narrow window, and two shorter ones. There are four windows on the second floor and three in the basement.

The east elevation at the rear of the house has been modified somewhat. Originally the back door was at the southeast corner, and a small screened porch was attached to the house at this point. Sometime before 1957, the back door was moved closer to the center of the elevation in a location previously occupied by a window, and the screened porch was demolished. The old back door was changed to a single-pane window with a wood lintel and sill, and the lower portion filled with brick. A small narrow window and a larger double-hung window are on either side of the new back door. The door leads to a small concrete deck with steps to the north. There Is a separate original entrance to the basement at the northeast corner of the house. There are three windows on the second floor of the east elevation.

On the Interior the house has 1,540 square feet of space on the main floor. The front door leads directly into one large room serving as both the living room and parlor. Originally, bookcases with leaded glass doors half-height wood Tuscan columns separated the living room from the dining room, however these were removed (date unknown). The result Is that three of the "foursquare" rooms together form one large L-shaped room. The extant original box beams on the ceiling serve to visually separate the spaces. The fourth "room" serves as space for an open newel stair with a closet beneath and a bathroom behind it. To the rear of the main floor are a kitchen and a study.

The Interior of the Nephi Hansen house reflects the Arts and Crafts movement in its wood finishes and built-in cabinetry. The floor is quarter-sawn oak, and oak and gumwood are used for the cabinetry and trim. At the north end of the parlor-living room is a one-foot-deep mantel and two bookcases with leaded and colored glass doors. Smaller bookcases were originally above the tiled fireplace surround with a. mirror above the mantel. The fireplace, mirror, and small bookcases were covered with a rock face (c. 1980s). The tulip windows above the bookcase were blocked on the Interior with paneling at probably the same time. At the south end of the living room, only the fireplace opening remains. The entire wall has been covered with rock (c. 1980s, the south fireplace had already been altered previously In the late 1950s), blocking the tulip windows on this side as well. There Is a rock hearth, probably replacing the original tile. In the dining room, a built-in buffet-hutch with leaded and colored glass doors is Intact and runs nearly the full length of the east wall. On the buffet the original passthrough to the kitchen has been blocked (date unknown, probably 1980s).

glass doors is Intact and runs nearly the full length of the east wall. On the buffet the original passthrough to the kitchen has been blocked (date unknown, probably 1980s).
Throughout the main floor, the box beams, moldings, door-window surrounds and baseboards have been restored and polished during the recent rehabilitation. At the same time, ornamental plaster work similar to the original was applied to the ceiling of the main rooms. The walls have been painted a pale green. The opening to the stair has a pocket door, and the stairwell retains the original paneling. The stair Is L-shaped with square newel posts and balusters. A narrow hall leads around the stairway to two closets and a bathroom. The bathroom has recently been refitted with historic replica fixtures. The half-height walls in the bathroom were added at an unknown date. The kitchen was remodeled in the 1990s in a style which complements the historic features of the house. The cabinets were repaired and some replaced with leaded and colored-glass doors. The floor is tile and there Is a large walk-in pantry (original). The study in the northwest corner of the main floor has been modified by the addition of a closet (c. 1950s).

The second floor has five bedrooms and one and one-half baths. The rooms are placed around the landing with two large bedrooms at the front, and three smaller rooms to the rear. The full bathroom is located at the north end, while the half bath is connected to the guest room in the northwest corner. A long hall bisects the second floor and leads to the balcony door to the west. The large south bedroom was called the "party room" and originally used for parties. It was divided into two smaller rooms in the 1950s. A full-height bookcase was Installed in the smaller portion. The larger bedrooms feature Walkin closets and there is a built-in linen cupboard near the guest room. According to the tax cards, there was at least one original mantel in an upstairs room. Wood used in the upper rooms include maple and ash.

The basement was fully excavated, but unfinished with a concrete floor. In 1998, the current owners finished 75% of the basement to provide a family room, game room, laundry room, bathroom and storage space. The house now has approximately 4,500 square feet of livable space. At the same time, various mechanical systems such as plumbing, heating, and electrical wiring were updated. The attic space is minimal and accessed via a ladder from the second floor.

The house sits on a 0.35-acre parcel of land. There is a large lawn area on the south side with a few mature trees and shrubs. There is a garden and play area in the southeast corner. On the northeast corner Is a four-car concrete and brick garage built in 1959. The current garage replaced an earlier c. 1920s two-car garage with a pyramidal roof shown in historic photographs. A concrete driveway runs along the north side of the house to the garage and the greenhouse is near the garage. The slope of the property is most prominent on the west side where two separate sets of concrete steps lead from the porch to the sidewalk (c. 1920s). The curb and gutter were probably Installed in the 1940s.

The neighborhood consists of mainly post-World War 11 ranch-style houses and duplexes. There are several Arts and Crafts bungalows to the north and east of the Hansen house, but among these contemporaneous homes, the Hansen house is by far the largest and most elaborate. The exterior of the house has been modified only slightly, and though the Interior has been altered somewhat, the recent rehabilitation has done much to preserve and restore the home's historic integrity.