Oct 16, 2002
National Register of Historic Places - William and Annie Livingston House
Statement of Significant: The William and Annie Livingston House, constructed ca. 1917, is historically significant under criterion A as a house that represents the early beginnings of suburbanization in the Salt Lake Valley. Prior to this time, some of the wealthy Salt Lake elite had built large summer homes in the Holladay area, but the Livingston House represents a trend for members of the upper-middle class to build homes in the area with the intent of working in the urban core while living in a rural setting. While the real impact of suburbanization would not be evident until the post-World War II growth of suburban communities, the Livingston House illustrates that the trend had its beginnings in a much earlier time. The Livingstons chose to build their substantial house in the relatively remote rural community of Holladay, despite the fact that William Livingston was a prominent Salt Lake businessman and maintained his office in the downtown business district. Their decision to build a Craftsman-style bungalow further illustrates the desire to create a retreat fi-om complex modem life. While many Craftsman-style homes were built in Salt Lake, none could achieve the Arts and Crafts ideal of connecting with nature the way the Livingston home did, set as it was on a large piece of property surrounded with pine trees in the rural community of Holladay. Ironically, the achievement of this isolated, simple life in the setting of nature was dependent on the complex hubbub of commerce in the business district of Salt Lake City and on technological advances in transportation. Like the Livingstons, all of the subsequent owners of the house into the 1950s chose to live outside the urban setting of Salt Lake City, despite the fact that each made a living working in the downtown business district of Salt Lake City. The house is important in the history of Holladay as a marker in the long transition from an agricultural community to a suburban municipality. It is also significant in the history of Salt Lake City as an indicator of a cultural attitude shift towards a preference by those who were tied economically to the urban center to live outside the urban area if they could afford to do so. Furthermore, while this property is most closely tied to the history of the Salt Lake Valley, the trends of suburbanization of rural communities and the upper- and middle-class exodus fi-om the urban core are themes that played out in communities across the United States in the 20th century.
National Register of Historic Places - William and Annie Livingston House
Statement of Significant: The William and Annie Livingston House, constructed ca. 1917, is historically significant under criterion A as a house that represents the early beginnings of suburbanization in the Salt Lake Valley. Prior to this time, some of the wealthy Salt Lake elite had built large summer homes in the Holladay area, but the Livingston House represents a trend for members of the upper-middle class to build homes in the area with the intent of working in the urban core while living in a rural setting. While the real impact of suburbanization would not be evident until the post-World War II growth of suburban communities, the Livingston House illustrates that the trend had its beginnings in a much earlier time. The Livingstons chose to build their substantial house in the relatively remote rural community of Holladay, despite the fact that William Livingston was a prominent Salt Lake businessman and maintained his office in the downtown business district. Their decision to build a Craftsman-style bungalow further illustrates the desire to create a retreat fi-om complex modem life. While many Craftsman-style homes were built in Salt Lake, none could achieve the Arts and Crafts ideal of connecting with nature the way the Livingston home did, set as it was on a large piece of property surrounded with pine trees in the rural community of Holladay. Ironically, the achievement of this isolated, simple life in the setting of nature was dependent on the complex hubbub of commerce in the business district of Salt Lake City and on technological advances in transportation. Like the Livingstons, all of the subsequent owners of the house into the 1950s chose to live outside the urban setting of Salt Lake City, despite the fact that each made a living working in the downtown business district of Salt Lake City. The house is important in the history of Holladay as a marker in the long transition from an agricultural community to a suburban municipality. It is also significant in the history of Salt Lake City as an indicator of a cultural attitude shift towards a preference by those who were tied economically to the urban center to live outside the urban area if they could afford to do so. Furthermore, while this property is most closely tied to the history of the Salt Lake Valley, the trends of suburbanization of rural communities and the upper- and middle-class exodus fi-om the urban core are themes that played out in communities across the United States in the 20th century.
Oct 16, 2002
Posted Date
Jun 28, 2023
Historical Record Date
Oct 16, 2002
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
