Templeton Building

When Zion's Savings Bank wanted a headquarters worthy of a growing city, it hired one of its own: Joseph Don Carlos Young, a son of Brigham Young and a Rensselaer-trained engineer. His six-story Templeton Building, finished in 1890, put the bank on the ground floor and a luxury hotel above, its top-floor dining room looking out over Salt Lake City. The Hotel Templeton fell to the financial panic of 1893 and was turned to offices; the building itself came down in 1959, replaced by the tower that stands here now as the Zions Bank Building.

What the plaque says

The Templeton, a six-story brick and stone building, constructed in 1889-1890, was designed by Joseph D. C. Young, a son of Brigham Young and a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The impressive structure was erected by Zion’s Saving Bank and Trust Company and helped establish Salt Lake City as an important regional banking center. The bank occupied the main floor while the upper part was occupied by the Hotel Templeton. This luxury hotel, with a dining room overlooking the city from the top floor, did not survive the financial panic of 1893 and the building was retrofitted for office use. Until its demise in 1959 the building housed offices of lawyers, dentists, music teachers, architects, and other businesses. It was replaced by the 18-story Kennecott Building — reclad in 2007 and now known as the Zions Bank Building.

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 — 1.5 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
• “Leaning into the Light,” Joseph Smith, the Boy – Statue — steps away
• Federal Reserve Bank — steps away
• Zions First National Bank — steps away