There's a new centenarian in town - the Salt Lake City-County building, which rose from controversy to become one of Utah's most remarkable landmarks.
With glasses of sparking apple cider in hand, Mayor Deedee Corradini led about 50 well-wishers in toasting the grand building Wednesday on the 100th anniversary of its dedication."To the building, all the people who've worked in it over the past 100 years and all the future generations who will work in it for the next 100 years," the mayor said.
The toast capped a small ceremony in the City Council chambers to mark the milestone. Throughout much of the day the Utah Philatelic Society sold commemorative cacheted envelopes and souvenir cards with a special cancellation in honor of the occasion. The envelopes and cards are the third in the society's Centennial series, which also noted 100th anniversaries of the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple and of Saltair.
The city put on a formal rededication for the City-County Building last July, expecting little interest on the real anniversary because of the holiday season. Still, "we couldn't let the week go by without some event," the mayor said.
The building's birth 100 years ago came in the midst of controversy about its location, its cost and its design. The government building was first planned for 100 South and State Street, with a price tag of $150,000.
Displeasure with those plans cost one architect and a sitting mayor their jobs.
The city and county eventually joined together to build the government office at 400 South and State Street, but the stately building they designed came at a hefty price. When the work was finished and bonds paid off, taxpayers had shelled out $2.3 million to pay for the building.
Over the years, the building has housed the city offices, the county government, the 3rd District Court and the Utah Legislature. Today the city is its sole occupant, although the county is still co-owner of the building.
"The people who walked through these halls and came to our courts felt they were in a place of power and majesty because of this building," said 3rd District Judge David Dee, who helped oversee renovation of the building between 1986 and 1989.
Michael Leventhal, executive director of the Utah Heritage Foundation, said the City-County building belongs to a small group of grand local government buildings still in use around the country. Only a handful of those buildings will withstand another 100 years of use.
"This is one of them," he said.
Councilman Stuart Reid said within the building the will of the people has been carried out, sometimes resulting in tears and other times in joy.
"Those expressions have hallowed the halls of this building," Reid said.