Dotted along State Street’s nearly 18 miles are motels, tattoo shops, schools, bars, mom-and-pop stores and millennial-owned ventures. Most importantly, though, there are people. These are their stories.
Story and photos by Kathleen Stone
Michael John Nikols, Owner, Coachmans Dinner & Pancake House 1301 State St. Coachmans has been part of Salt Lake City’s culture for more than five decades. Although it ran into trouble when police discovered a cocaine ring running from the kitchen back in the day, it recovered. Nowadays, oldies play in the restaurant while families enjoy their modestly priced meals. “We’ve been, in my opinion, a landmark and almost an institution when it comes to Salt Lake,” Nikols says. “Back then, you would drive [on State Street] through Draper, that was nothing back then, through Sandy, which was nothing back then again, then Murray, which was a little bit bigger, and then Salt Lake ... you’d keep going from city to city to city and you would get the chance to decide where you wanted to eat,” he says. “And guess what a big, I would say, decision-maker for people? That signage.”
Theresa Nielson, Students for a Democratic Society, Justice for Abdi Protest Salt Lake City and County Building 451 S. State St. Still within sight of the Capitol, a group of protestors stand outside of the City and County Building. Theresa Nielson has marched down State Street prompted by various movements, including denouncing Trump’s divisive rhetoric and demanding justice for Abdi Mohamed. “It’s just a very large road. It’s easy to march down, it’s a really prominent place in Salt Lake City,” she says. “Some people are, like, ‘Wait what’s the point of doing this? What actually are you changing? You know, I think one thing is it visualizes the issue. It shows this actually affects how public [offials] talk about things, how government officials talk about things. When you have thousands of people mobilizing on the street, it’s on the news, it gets people rallied up, and it continues the conversation around the issue.”
Murray City holds dedication of Murray Park’s “Chief Wasatch” sculpture. It honors Utah’s first native occupants, the Southern and Northern Ute, southern Shoshone, Goshute, Paiute and Navajo Tribes.
1986
Tattoo artist Don Brouse opens ASI Tattoo on 1136 S. State St. His shop is one of the first in the state.
June 8, 1988 DEREK CARLISLE
November 23, 1985
Matthew Allred, Communications Director Epic Brewing Co. 825 State St. Less than a decade ago, Epic was a small brewery looking to serve sustainable, full-strength beer to Salt Lake City. It now has more than 100 employees, an additional location in Colorado and a recently opened restaurant in Sugar House. “Originally, the building was a Mexican restaurant, and then after that it was an Asian restaurant … and then it was closed, fenced off and barricaded for about two years,” Allred says. “There was a terrible slate roof on top of it, and it had fences and the whole thing was overgrown with weeds. It was a really big eye-sore right here on the corner. We came in, and we built this brewhouse on the front of it, and it has these big picture windows so you can see the brewing operation on State Street, and that was a big point to really change the façade. Asked to pinpoint what he likes about State Street the most, he says, “there’s such a large variety of businesses. Some that have definitely been entrenched for, you know, 50 years. We have some of the hotels and momand-pop stuff, but I think what’s really great about State Street is there’s a really big emphasis on local. We’re 100 percent locally owned and operated, so I think we’re a great fit for the character of State Street.”
South High closes its doors. After four years of renovations, the building gets new life as Salt Lake Community College’s South City Campus.
DEREK CARLISLE
Christine Brandt, State Investment Officer Utah State Capitol 350 N. State St. Though she’s preparing to retire, memories of her 30 years working at the Capitol flood Brandt’s mind: A truck drove up the stairs inside the Capitol, children sang by the live Christmas tree in the rotunda and a tornado tore through the area. “Well, looking down State Street, nothing really has changed. The trees still line the streets,” she says. “We were here during the tornado. That was a big event. … We knew there had been an issue, but we didn’t actually know there had been an issue until we walked out. All of the trees had been uprooted, from the Capitol grounds all the way down State Street. They were laying across the streets. That’s actually what started the renovation of the Capitol.”
ENRIQUE LIMON
42 | AUGUST 18, 2016
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