Yalecrest Yes Committee / Utah Heritage Foundation

A treasured area of Salt Lake City, there is no other neighborhood in Utah quite like Yalecrest. With the highest concentration of contributing historic structures in the state, the neighborhood has seen its share of controversy over the past year.

Located on Salt Lake City's east bench, the 375-acre neighborhood developed from 23 distinct subdivisions during the early 20th century. In 2007, Yalecrest Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Thirteen years ago, the neighborhood was shaken by a demolition and rebuild of a monstrously large, and not particularly attractive, 10,000 sq. ft. home. This is everyone's favorite bad example, but since then residents have made a concerted effort to put tools in place to preserve the neighborhood. An infill overlay ordinance was approved to restrict building height and setback, but doesn't address demolitions and character.

This place matters to a lot of people. The core committee that has worked on preservation for more than a decade has grown in ranks and more volunteers have taken up the cause. Recently canvassing the neighborhood with brochures and petitions, calling and emailing hundreds of residents to build support of local historic district designation (which prevents demolition), the Yalecrest Yes Heritage Preservation Committee has worked tirelessly to document 640 homeowners who support designation.

This place matters to more than the residents. The Utah Heritage Foundation (UHF) has helped the neighborhood and city consider preservation options. According to UHF, "The architectural quality of the historic district is represented by extreme consistency of the Period Revival styles of architecture that is uncommon in many other Utah districts with hundreds of examples of Tudor Revival, Colonial Revival, English Tudor, French Norman, Mission Revival, and Spanish Colonial Revival styles popular in Utah after the turn-of-the-century."

Mark McGrath, AICP, wrote in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Built Environment, "The Yalecrest neighborhood (aka Harvard Yale) on Salt Lake City's east side is considered by many as one of the premier examples of neighborhood design in the State."

Salt Lake City's new Preservation Plan ranks Yalecrest's status as "compromised," with priority level "high." The objective is to "consider stronger protections to control demolitions and teardowns," while its East Bench Master Plan states, "The older Harvard-Yale area contains many buildings of architectural and historical significance. Conditions may warrant creating a conservation or historic district in this area where the city would review all new buildings, additions, or alterations for compatibility with established neighborhood character."

Nothing is life is guaranteed and with recent prodding from the state legislature, city leaders stepped back from the issue and the neighborhood is in jeopardy. The only thing certain is the area's historic structures are endangered.

This place matters because it's one of the most desirable areas in the Salt Lake City - not because of the big homes that people can build or the additions that people can dream of - but because of the existing wealth of beautiful, historic homes at great risk of being lost forever.

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