Federal Reserve Bank

By the 1920s Salt Lake City wanted a Federal Reserve branch building to match its rising standing — and getting one took a fight. A branch had opened in 1918, but the building stalled in politics until Utah's Senator Reed Smoot pushed through an amendment to fund it. Finished in 1926 in granite-faced concrete, it replaced Brigham Young's old Gardo House on this corner and stood as a symbol of the city's regional clout. The Fed left in 1959; the building came down in 1984 for the Eagle Gate Tower, whose bronze doors were salvaged from it.

What the plaque says

The bronze entrance to the Eagle Gate Tower once graced the Federal Reserve Bank building that stood on this corner. A branch of the Federal Reserve Bank first opened in Salt Lake City in 1918, but efforts to construct a building were repeatedly delayed by politics and federal regulations. Utah's Senator Reed Smoot came to the rescue, sponsoring an amendment financing construction. The Salt Lake architecture firm of Young and Hansen designed the handsome structure of reinforced concrete with granite facing which was completed in 1926, replacing the earlier Gardo House. The building’s stately grandeur symbolized the city’s emerging role as a regional urban center. The Federal Reserve Bank moved to new quarters in 1959, but the building continued to serve as a bank until it was demolished in 1984 to make way for the Eagle Gate Tower.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Salt Lake City — steps away
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Temple Square — steps away
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Ensign Peak — 1.4 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 1.8 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• City Creek — steps away
• Gardo House — steps away
• Brigham Young's Office — steps away
• The Lion House — steps away