452 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, UT, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Joseph and Marie McRae House

Statement of Significant:

The Joseph and Marie McRae House, built between 1911 and 1913, is a two-story foursquare-type house with Neo-classical details. The house is significant under both Criterion A and C. It is significant under Criterion A for its association with the development of one of Salt Lake's central city neighborhoods. Joseph McRae was a sheep rancher and woolgrower who saved his money, retired and built the large foursquare around the corner from his growing family's modest Victorian cottage. The McRae family owned the foursquare house until October 2001. Joseph McRae's daughters Alice and Marie lived in the home until their deaths. Because it has had only one owner there have been few alterations to the home since it was built. The house is architecturally significant under Criterion C because it is a rare surviving example of a foursquare in one of Salt Lake oldest residential neighborhoods. Moreover the nearly pristine historic integrity of the McRae house is particularly remarkable considering the historic neighborhood has been under pressure from encroaching commercial development with much of the integrity of the neighborhood being compromised. The imposing foursquare and its property includes many once common, now rare, residential features, such as wrought iron fencing and rails, an original screened porch, perfectly preserved hearth tiles, and push button light switches. The well-preserved details of McRae house stand as a tribute to Joseph McRae, who lists himself as the builder on the city building permit, and the unknown craftsmen and artisans he employed. The Joseph and Marie McRae House is a contributing resource in one of Salt Lake City's historic neighborhoods.

HISTORY OF THE JOSEPH AND MARIE N. MCRAE HOUSE:

A man named Charles Smith was the original occupant of the property on which the McRae house sits. The Plat B land was platted in 1848 and it is not known how long Charles Smith lived there. He sold the property to Benjamin F. Pendleton (1818-1881) in 1867. It was probably Benjamin F. Pendleton who built the adobe house on the northwest corner of Lot 7. The house still stands at 446 East 500 South just west of the McRae house, but it has been modified beyond recognition. Pendleton sold the property to his son-in-law Carlos N. Gillett (1842-1880) in 1873. A frame house on the lot that would be later occupied by McRae house was built by a member of the Gillett family. After Carlos Gillett's death the property was split among his wife Celestia Ann Pendleton Gillett (1843-1923) and his children in 1890. His son Benjamin F. Gillett (1876-1933) sold the house at 452 East 500 South to Frederick Barrow (1871-1968). Fred Barrow, a stationer for Barrow Bros., and his wife Sarah Millie Smith (1872-1955), lived in the home until 1906 when they sold the property to Joseph McRae. The Barrows then left the city and began farming the area around present day 2100 South. Most likely the frame house was used as rental unit for about five years. The frame home appears on the 1911 Sanborn map. It was probably demolished later that year. According to Joseph McRae's son Herbert, his father began building the foursquare in 1911 and finished in 1913, the same year Herbert was born.' The Salt Lake City building permit register lists a July 9, 1912, permit for a two-story, eight-room, brick house to be built at an estimated cost of $3,000. Joseph McRae was listed as both owner and builder, with no architect noted.