Today, on a recommendation from a friend, I visited the OC Tanner Flagship store. For those of you unfamiliar with OC Tanner they are a large Utah company that specializes in fine jewelry and gifts.Beautiful and unique architecture combined with the ease of accessibility, are two of the things that have always attracted me to Salt Lake City. I can't get enough of downtown—so, while I was wandering around today I made it a point to visit 15 South State Street. (Near the area of downtown currently going through a huge renovation / transformation with the City Creek project.)
I'm going to completely skip describing the contents of the store, impressive as they are, and focus on the building. OC Tanner's flagship retail store was built in 1905 as Salt Lake City's first public library building—before that Salt Lake had a territorial library as early as 1851. The original plot of land was donated by John Quackenbos Packard and valued at $20,000, the building cost $100,000 to complete and was home to over 14,000 books.
Like many public buildings constructed at the turn of the century the library was designed in the Neoclassical style by the New York firm Heins and LeFarge (of the New York Subway). After the building's life as a library it became the Hansen Planetarium until 2001.
Today after two years and a complete gutting of the building (by Big D Construction) the new store is fabulous—worth the visit. Much of the original design has been restored, including the stairs to the second floor, and of course the exterior. I'll let you experience the rest for yourself. Whether you're looking for a diamond or not, give it a visit.
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