Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Office

A month after the Great Fire of 1898 leveled most of Main Street, the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Company bought this lot and built — a bet on Park City's future when the ashes were barely cold. The two-story office was designed by Richard Kletting, then Utah's most sought-after architect, who would later draw the State Capitol. It served as the town's telephone exchange for decades, into the Mountain States Telephone era, before passing to a string of shops and, today, a restaurant. Living quarters filled the upper floor throughout.

What the plaque says

This two-story structure was designed by Richard Kletting, who at the turn of the century was considered Utah's foremost architect. Attesting to the company's confidence in Park City's future, Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone purchased the land in July, 1898, only a month after the devastating fire which destroyed most of the Main Street commercial district. The building, completed later that year, was used as an office to serve the company's local clientele, and when Moutain States Telephone and Telegraph Company purchased Rocky Mountain Bell in 1911, the building was retained for the same purpose. In 1964 the building was sold. Since that time it has housed a real estate office, clothing store and, currently, a restaurant. The second floor has generally been used for living quarters. The structure played a significant role in developing communication in this burgeoning mining town. It has had only minor alterations since it was built, and is typical of the Victorian commercial buildings constructed in its time.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Park City — 0.2 mi
  Silver built it. Snow saved it.
• Park City Main Street — 0.2 mi
  A historic mining town turned world-class ski and film festival destination
• Park City Mountain — 0.8 mi
  The largest ski resort in the United States, grown straight out of a 19th-century silver town.
• Deer Valley — 1.5 mi
  A ski-only luxury resort above Park City, now in the middle of the largest expansion in U.S. ski history.

More markers nearby

• Car 19 — steps away
• Frank Andrew Building — steps away
• War Veterans Memorial Building — steps away
• The Oak Saloon — steps away