Tag Archives: Park City

Park City Egyptian Theater

Published May 3, 2022 / by Jesse Labastida / 1 Comment on Park City Egyptian Theater

1 Reply

write-up by Jesus Labastida Munguia

Placed by: Park City Centennial Commission

GPS Coordinates: 40.6425°N 111.495°

Historical Marker Text (1):

PARK CITY

1884

The Egyptian Theater

In the early 1900’s Park City’s social and entertainment needs were served by a number of flourishing theaters and social halls. When the Dewey Theater, originally on this site, collapsed under a heavy snow load, John Rugar replaced it with the Egyptian Theater built in 1926. It was designed to seat 400 and to accommodate both movies and vaudeville. It became the first “sound movie” theater in Park City.

After being remodeled in 1963, the building opened as the Silver Wheel Theater and old fashioned “meller dramas” were performed for the next fifteen years. In 1978 the building’s architectural integrity was threatened by an attempt to change its facade to a western motif. Preservation of its distinctive Egyptian features was achieved, however, when the building became the home of Park City Performances in 1981.

The Egyptian Revival Style represents a unique period architecture which peaked in America around 1930. Egyptian theaters are rare, and this is one of only two remaining in Utah. Originally the interior contained replicas of Egyptian artifacts. This is a masonry structure with a false front shield its hip roof. Tiles at the base of the ticket booth and pilasters in obelisk shape reinforce the Egyptian Motif.

Presented by the Park City Centennial Commission, 1984

Extended Research:

The Egyptian Theater is an iconic fixture of Utah’s Park City community, standing prominently on Main Street. Its edifice is a beautiful representation of its Egyptian Revival architecture. The history of the Egyptian Theater is just as colorful as its outside design. The site where it is located has had a longstanding reputation for being the place in Park City where members of the community could congregate to enjoy entertainment provided through local theater and arts.[1]

The history of the Egyptian theater traces its roots all the way to “the Big Fire of 1898.” The fire tore through Park City’s now historical Main Street creating a site that two businessmen, David Keith and James Ivers, found suitable to construct the Dewey Theatre– the very first iteration of the Egyptian Theater. The Dewey Theater was known for showcasing the best professional fighters and travelling theatrical troupes of the time. The old Dewey Theater even boasted a barbershop, a candy store, and a state-of-the-art floor that could be raised and lowered to suit the needs of the theater. Sadly, the reign of the famous Dewey Theater would come to an end in 1916 after a heavy snowpack that accumulated on the roof caused it to cave-in. Fortunately, the collapse took place after closing time and no one was injured.[2]

In 1926, a new theater was constructed at the old Dewey Site under a $50,000 contract.[3] The theater was designed in the style of Ancient Egyptian architecture and motifs, heavily influenced by a craze in Egyptology following the discovery of King Tutt’s tomb. The Egyptian theater offered picture shows as well as theatre performances for enjoyment. The erection of the theatre was heavily dependent on the growing demand for entertainment in Park City. John Ruger spearheaded the development project and maintained ownership until 1948 when he sold the theater to Russ Dodderman. Shortly after several changes in management, owners renamed the playhouse the Lu Ann Theater for a period thereafter.[4]

City Officials in Front of the Silver Wheel Theater.

Much like the rest of the nation in the 20th century, Utah saw developments of movie theaters across the state. Many theaters of the early 20th century utilized the previous playhouse and opera house buildings and revamped the theater’s edifice with attention grabbing design motifs ranging from Spanish Colonial revival to Neoclassical architecture. This sudden possibility of movie-going ushered in a new era of connection to Main Street. The Egyptian Theater in Park City is one of two remaining Egyptian Revival theaters in the state, the other is the Peery’s Egyptian Theatre in Ogden, Utah. The attention-grabbing Egyptian architecture seen at the Egyptian Theaters are reflective of the novel craze of movie-going that took place across the United States; it is loud, exciting, and demands the attention of all who walk by it.[5]

By 1959, Art Durrant purchased the playhouse and ran it for a little more than three years before he became burnt out from managing the theater. He subsequently sold the property to a theater management company named Silver Wheel Enterprises. Silver Wheel Enterprises decided to change the name of the location once more to the Silver Wheel Theater for its opening in 1963. The Silver Wheel Egyptian theater would go through many similar changes in management and changes in entertainment, eventually becoming home to the Park City Performances (PCP), a local community theatre organization.[6]

In the twenty first century the Egyptian Theater is a historical testament to Park City’s love for entertainment. The theater today is used for community performances and film viewing, as it is one of Sundance Film Festival’s most desirable venues, where highly praised filmmakers are invited to showcase their films.

For Further Reference:

Primary Sources:

City Officials in Front of the Silver Wheel Theater (Egyptian Theater), Park City, Utah (2 Views). Photograph. Accessed May 2, 2022.

“Dewey Theater Changes Hands.” Salt Lake Tribune. February 20, 1910.

“Egyptian-American Theaters Change Hands.” Park Record. March 11, 1948.

“New Silver Wheel Enterprises Buys Lu Ann Theater in Park.” Summit County Bee and Park Record. March 4, 1963.

“New Theatre Will Be On Dewey Site.” Park Record, July 2, 1926.

“Silver Mill, Theater Group near Agreement on Egyptian.” Park Record. September 22, 1983.

Secondary Sources:

“About Us.” Park City Shows. Egyptian Theatre, December 11, 2021.

Carter, Thomas, and Peter L. Goss. “Egyptian Revival 1920-1930.” In Utah’s Historic Architecture, 1847-1940: A Guide, 135–35. Salt Lake City, UT, Utah: Center for Architectural Studies, Graduate sic School of Architecture, University of Utah, & Utah State Historical Society, 1991.

Roper, Roger. “Going to the Movies: A Photo Essay of Theaters.” Utah Historical Quarterly 67, no. 2 (1999): 111–22.

[1] Carter, Thomas, and Peter L. Goss. “Egyptian Revival 1920-1930. In Utah’s

Historic Architecture, 1847-1940: A Guide, 135–35. Salt Lake City, UT, Utah: Center for

Architectural Studies, Graduate sic School of Architecture, University of Utah, & Utah

State Historical Society, 1991.

[2] “New Silver Wheel Enterprises Buys Lu Ann Theater in Park.” Summit County Bee and Park Record. March 4, 1963.

[3] “New Theatre Will Be On Dewey Site.” Park Record, July 2, 1926.

[4] “New Theatre Will Be On Dewey Site.” Park Record, July 2, 1926.

[5] Roper, Roger. “Going to the Movies: A Photo Essay of Theaters.” Utah Historical Quarterly 67, no. 2 (1999): 111–22.

[6] “Silver Mill, Theater Group near Agreement on Egyptian.” Park Record. September 22, 1983.

Bogan Boarding House

Published May 1, 2019 / by Peter Lewis / Leave a Comment

Leave a reply

write-up by Peter G. Lewis

GPS Coordinates:

Latitude: 40.6410322

Longitude: -111.49453919999999

Marker Text (Placed by the Division of State History for the National Register of Historic Places):

“The Bogan Boarding House, built in 1904, was established as a boarding house for miners after the passage of the mine boarding house bill in 1901. Prior to 1901, single miners were required to live in the company owned boarding houses close to the mines. After passage of the bill, finer accommodations such as this boarding house were allowed to be built in Park City proper to accommodate the influx of single miners. None of the boarding houses that were built close to the mines have survived and this is one of only four existing boarding houses in the entire Park City area to have survived to the present. Known for many years as the Imperial Hotel, this building served primarily as a boarding house for miners, but during the 1918 flu epidemic it was used as an emergency hospital. Marker placed in 1985.”

Picture of the historical marker itself. Captured 1/19/2019.

The structure in present day. Captured 1/19/2019.

Extended Research:

Publication of The Boarding House Law in the *Park Record*, 3/30/1901.

In 1901, a law was passed in Summit County that would improve the living conditions of Park City miners. Prior to 1901, miners could be forced by their employers to live in boarding houses near the mines if they were not married or had no family living in town. Employers could even force their workers to do business exclusively at shops that they owned. Around March 30^th, 1901, the Boarding House Law was put into action in order to prevent mine owners from putting a stranglehold on miners’ lives outside of the mines. The Boarding House Law (displayed on the right) made it so that if an employer were to intimidate or coerce an employee to board at any particular boarding house or do business at any particular store, that employer would be charged with a misdemeanor.[1]

By the start of 1904, living conditions in Park City had greatly improved for miners.[2] Around January 2^nd of that year, John and Anna Bogan had their old company boarding house torn down after the Bogan Mining Company was absorbed into Silver King Consolidated Mine.[3] In its place, a more convenient boarding house was built for them on Main Street in Park City: The Bogan Boarding House.

John Bogan came to Utah from Illinois in 1877 to work in the mines at Alta and Dry Fork. Park City became his home in 1879. He died in 1907 at age 62 and his wife Anna passed in 1919. The Utah Historical Society claims that their sons, John T. and James F. Bogan, retained ownership of the Bogan Boarding House until 1925[4]; however, an article from the September 22^nd, 1916 issue of the Park Record states that Stevens Brothers purchased the Bogan Boarding House that year.[5] Stevens Brothers was a Park City store that acquired various other businesses in town that year, including St. Louis Bakery[6] and a cigar and candy shop named Stanley Rolley.[7] Stevens Brothers ended up returning the property to the Bogan family at some point. Evidence of this transfer of ownership is found in a classified ad that appeared in the July 1^st, 1921 Park Record wherein James F. Bogan listed the Bogan Boarding House for sale at $2,500. The same ad appeared weekly in the Park Record through August 19^th, 1921.[8]

The outbreak of influenza in the state of Utah in 1918 caused Park City to shut down. School and church services were cancelled and social gatherings were prohibited.[9] Park City would not let outsiders into the town without a signed certificate from a doctor stating that they showed no signs of flu symptoms.[10] With no influx of people needing a place to stay in Park City, it’s no wonder that the Bogan Boarding House was used as an emergency hospital during this time.

Park Record obituary of Bernard Larzaro, former owner of the Imperial Hotel. Published 3/4/1937.

At some point, the Bogan Boarding House was renamed the Imperial Hotel. This was done somewhere between 1925, when John T. and James F. Bogan last had it, and 1937. An obituary in the Park Record on March 4^th, 1937 lists the most recent owner of the Imperial Hotel as Bernard Larzaro, a Spanish man who came to Park City the same year as John Bogan.[11] Larzaro may have purchased the Bogan Boarding house from James F. Bogan and he may have been the one to rename it the Imperial Hotel. Larzaro’s obituary is the first time the structure is referred to as the Imperial Hotel in the Park Record.

Imperial Hotel ca. 1968. Credit Park City Magazine.

In January of 1940, a fire caused damage to the Imperial Hotel, claiming the entirety of the original roof.[12] The structure was restored and used as an apartment building in October of 1940.[13] Pictured on the right is the building circa 1968. In the fall of 2015, the building was yet again repurposed and renamed. That fall, it was dubbed Riverhorse Provisions and it continues to hold that name to this day. Inside Riverhorse Provisions is a coffee shop and a small food market (pictured below).[14]

Interior shot of Riverhorse Provisions, currently located in the building. Credit facebook.com/RHprovisions/

The Bogan Boarding House is a landmark that stands as a testament to the personal advancement of miners and other residents in Summit County. It was built by a miner to help improve the quality of life for other miners. John Bogan went from mine worker to mine owner to boarding house owner and, thusly, a caretaker for miners. Surely Mr. Bogan wanted other miners such as he had been to have more comfort than he had. Today his former boarding house still operates within the field of hospitality, continuing to serve both locals and visitors in Park City over 100 years after John Bogan did so.

[1] “The Boarding House Law,” Park Record, March 30, 1901, 3, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[2] “Resume of 1903,” Park Record, January 2, 1904, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[3] “Mining Matters,” Park Record, May 11, 1907, 3, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[4] Utah State Historical Society, “Structure/Site Information Form,” May 29, 1984.

[5] “News About Town,” Park Record, September 22, 1916, 2, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[6] “New of the City during the Week,” Park Record, August 18, 1916, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[7] “News About Town,” Park Record, September 29, 1916, 1, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[8] Park Record, July 1 – August 19, 1921, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[9] “To Ward Off Epidemic of Influenza,” Park Record, October 11, 1918, 3, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[10] Twila Van Leer, “Flu Epidemic Hit Utah Hard in 1918, 1919,” Desert News, March 28, 1995.

[11] “Bernard Larzaro Dies,” Park Record, March 4, 1937, 3, Utah Digital Newspapers.

[12] “Hotel Destroyed by Fire,” Park Record, January 25, 1940, 5, Utah Digital Newspapers.