Category Archives: Arts, Entertainment, Culture

Dec 17

Salt Lake City Dance and Music: Rainbow Randevu

By Kendra A. Madsen

The Rainbow Randevu was one of the larger music revenues in northern Utah. The dance club previously located at 460 S. Main Street was a popular spot for larger band performers to visit from the 1930s to the 1960s. (Stewart, p. 221) Like many of the popular spots in historic Salt Lake City, the Rainbow Randevu played a large role in the music culture in northern Utah. The ballroom also gave generations of young people a fun place to gather, especially during times of hardship, such as World War II.

Rainbow Randevu ad_1937-09-10_Salt-Lake-Telegram

The September 10, 1937, ad that appeared in The Salt Lake Telegram.

The Rainbow Randevu, previously known as the Rainbow Ballroom, opened for dining and dancing the week of September 10, 1937, according to an advertisement in The Salt Lake Telegram published the same date. The Rainbow Randevu was a popular spot for University of Utah students who were looking to escape their school responsibilities for the weekend. Wilkins and Williams wrote in 1944 that students who were either leaving to fight in the war or had returned from the war would meet at the dance club to enjoy each other’s company.

The Salt Lake Telegram wrote in July 1943 that Louis Armstrong performed at the Rainbow Randevu with other swing performers. Jerry Jones, the manager of the Rainbow Randevu, would often perform with his own orchestra at the Rainbow, and over the years many big-name artists would come to perform at the club. (Raff)

Fire-razes-rainbow-randevu_1948-05-22_Salt-Lake-TelegramIn May 1948, The Salt Lake Telegram wrote that a large fire consumed the Rainbow Randevu, completely destroying the building other than the four outer walls. Officials suspected the cause of the fire to be a cigarette. Days before the fire, the Rainbow Randevu had held an inspection and received approval of its wiring, heating and other equipment in the building. Raff wrote that the fire began with three explosions at 3:45 a.m. Saturday, only two hours after the Friday night performance by the Ink Spots band that was attended by 1,132 dancers had ended. While the firefighters were battling to save the Rainbow, they realized there was no hope for the venue and worked to save the surrounding businesses on the block. Witnesses claimed the flames reached 200 feet in the air at the height of the fire, which left the building as “a mass of twisted steel and charred wood.” (Raff)

In October 1948, manager Jerry Jones chose a new site for the Rainbow Randevu. The Salt Lake Telegram reported that the Coconut Grove would be remodeled to become the new Rainbow site. The renovations included adding 250 booths, a new bandstand, two fountains, a TV room, and a new entrance. Jones said the building would have drapery installed in order to close off certain sections of the ballroom making renovations during the day possible while the venue was open in the evenings.

The music culture in Salt Lake City was fostered by the music venues such as the Rainbow Randevu. (Stewart, p. 221) This was a popular hub for University students and Salt Lakers alike to dance and listen to artists. The venue allowed artists from all over to meet at this cross-road town of the West and try out their music on the attendees of the club. Such cultural spots were the go-to place for many young people at the time and show the importance of having venues where the arts can be celebrated.

Kendra A. Madsen is a communication major at the University of Utah and will be graduating in May 2019.

Sources

 Advertisement, Rainbow Randevu, Salt Lake Telegram, September 10, 1937, 12.

“Rainbow Randevu Adds New Musician,” Salt Lake Telegram, March 26, 1938, 7.

“Louis Armstrong to Appear at Randevu,” Salt Lake Telegram, July 14, 1943, 15.

Pat Wilkins and Norma Williams, “Full Weekend Keeps Utes Busy . . . Playing,” Utah Chronicle, October 26, 1944, 3.

Colin Raff, “Fire Razes Rainbow Randevu,” Salt Lake Telegram, May 22, 1948, 1.

“New Site Set for ‘Randevu,’” Salt Lake Telegram, October 5, 1948, 24.

Stewart, Polly. “Urban Pioneers: The Folk-Music Revival in Utah, 1959-1966,” Utah Historical Quarterly 74, no. 3 (2006): 220-230.

Dec 17

They Paved the Rainbow

By Carley Longhurst

In Joni Mitchell’s hit song “Big Yellow Taxi,” she sings the iconic lyrics, “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” These two lines became the story of a building with one of the richest histories in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rainbow Randevu OutsideBuilt in 1922, the Covey-Ballard Motor Company stood between 400 and 500 South on Main Street in downtown Salt Lake City until 1931, when it was transformed into the Coconut Grove. According to Lagoon history, the ballroom was advertised as the largest in the United States. Sometime during the 1940s, the Coconut Grove was changed to the Rainbow Ballroom. Jerry Jones assumed ownership in 1946 and renamed it Rainbow Randevu. Its popularity continued as the community continued to fill the hall. In 1958 Lagoon bought and named it Danceland. A few years later, the company settled on its final name, The Terrace. Lagoon History shares that a final New Year’s Eve party was thrown in 1981 before The Terrace permanently closed. In August 1987 a fire demolished the building and “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” (Braden)

Every city has certain places that give them their own identity. Between 1931 and 1981, Salt Lake City had a hotspot that almost every young adult would flock to. Many knew this venue as the Coconut Grove, others as the Rainbow Ballroom, Rainbow Randevu, Danceland, The Terrace, or even The Terrace Ballroom. In the late 1950s Budge and Jeannene Hyde referred to it as the Rainbow, saying in an interview that they congregated there every Saturday night with groups of friends. With World War II recently concluded and political unrest sweeping the world, it was a refuge from reality.

The venue had a life where the musical notes of Nat (King) Cole and Led Zeppelin, among so many other incredible musicians, seeped into its walls and no one wanted to miss the chance to be there. (“Danceland Sets Cole”) The Rainbow felt the vibrations of twirling and dancing to Andy Kirk and his Clouds of Joy not long after the Salt Lake Telegram announced in February 1941 that they were coming all the way from New York. Advertisements were scattered through the Utah Chronicle to inform students what big names were coming, just like the one in March 1941 telling how Carl Ravazza was to play at the Randevu.

Rainbow Randevu FireIn May 1948, The Salt Lake Telegram reported the fire that turned Rainbow Randevu “to a mass of twisted steel and charred wood” in the middle of the night. (Raff) Firemen searched, but only found a cigarette as the reason only four walls of the Rainbow were left standing. Covered by insurance, a seemingly positive Jerry Jones wanted to rebuild “as soon as possible.” The Rainbow would reopen to renewed popularity.

After staving off The Terrace lease from Little America Corp, The Deseret News reported in December 1981 of the final three events before the hall closed indefinitely. A concert by The David LaFlemme Band took place, along with the regular Tuesday night dance and a last New Year’s Eve party. Lots of work was needed to meet city fire and public safety codes, and a Little America spokesman announced the hall would remain unused until a use was decided (An Era Ends).

Terrace Ballroom InsideAlready partially torn down, The Terrace couldn’t disappear without a bang. In August 1987, The Deseret News wrote how it took 30 minutes for a fire to demolish a building that was so beloved by a community forever.

Joni Mitchell never performed at The Terrace, but the hall has an undeniable connection to her song “Big Yellow Taxi.” The building with such a rich history that saw so much and could give a look into the lives of several generations is now a parking lot. The Rainbow Randevu left an unforgettable stamp on those who were able to experience its magic and it’s seen within articles written in newspapers.

Carley Longhurst is a senior at The University of Utah, majoring in communication with an emphasis in journalism. She will be graduating in the spring of 2019.

Sources

“Randevu Bills Kirk Group,” Salt Lake Telegram, February 28, 1941, 20.

Advertisement for Jerry Jones Rainbow, Utah Chronicle, March 6, 1941, 5.

Collin Raff, “Fire Razes Rainbow Randevu,” Salt Lake Telegram, May 22, 1948, 1.

“Danceland Sets Cole,” Deseret News, February 12, 1959, 13.

“An Era Ends as S.L.’s Premier Dance Hall Closes,” Deseret News, December 26, 1981, 6A.

Pierce, Scott D. and Twila Van Leer, “Flames Become Last Dancers at the Terrace,” Deseret News, August 6, 1987, 35.

Interview with Budge and Jeannene Hyde, December 1, 2018, author’s collection.

Smart, Christopher. “Whatever Happened to … The Terrace Ballroom?” The Salt Lake Tribune, March 12, 2015.

Braden [no last name], “The Terrace,” Lagoon History Project.

Williams, Carter. “Looking Back at Utah Music and Dance Venues That No Longer Exist,” KSL.com, September 15, 2016.

McCormick, John S. The Gathering Place: An Illustrated History of Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2000.

 

 

Dec 17

The Life of a Japanese-American Artist in the Topaz Internment Camp in 1940s Utah

By Sayaka Kochi

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941, an estimated 120,000 American citizens were forced into isolated camps because of their Japanese ancestry. Their ethnicity separated Japanese-Americans living in the United States from white culture, and racism took away their human rights. Additionally, many were placed in camps under the false pretense of giving them safe places to live at that time.

topaz

Photo of the Central Utah Relocation Center, better known as Topaz. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.

One of these internment camps was located in central Utah; the camp, Topaz, was named after a nearby mountain. Chiura Obata, a Japanese-American artist and former professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was one of those who were sent to Topaz. According to Sandra C. Taylor, Obata was “a sensitive, political aware man” who continued his art activities in the Topaz art school while teaching painting to Topaz internees with a hope of raising people’s spirits in the camp. (Taylor, p. 73)

Obata has been a widely recognized Nikkei artist (Japanese word for emigrants and descendants) since before the abandonment of his life in California. On March 11, 1928, the Oakland Tribune reported Obata’s art exhibition in the East-West Gallery of Fine Arts in San Francisco. His artworks had a variety, and every piece of his work expressed his appreciation of art.

Obata was not merely a well-known artist but also a student-oriented teacher. According to the California Magazine published on March 15, 2016, Obata held his last painting demonstration combined with an art sale for “any art student, regardless of race or creed” before he moved into the camp. In April 1942, Obata closed his art studio due to a relocation to the camp, and along with it, he sold his masterpieces, raised money, and donated all earnings into the establishment of a scholarship for students in the University of California.

His enthusiasm for the arts did not decline but grow, even after he was forced to relocate and was imprisoned in the middle of the desert. The Utah Nippo reported on January 25, 1943, that the eighth governor of Utah, Herbert B. Maw, was presented with the scenery painting of Topaz by Obata in the induction ceremony of the new councilmen of the Topaz community government in the Central Utah Relocation Center. Furthermore, the article of the Utah Nippo published in January 1943 announced that Obata’s silk paintings were sent to President Roosevelt as a gift. Even though Obata was interned during World War II, his artistic talent was never oppressed.

Arts_taught_by_Chiura-1

Two of the watercolor paintings produced by the students taught by Chiura Obata in Topaz. 
Park Record, March 12, 2011.

In 1945, with the end of the bloody chaos across the world, Obata was released and allowed to return to his beloved old home. Soon after he returned to the campus of the University of California as an art professor, three water paintings drawn by Obata, while he was interned in Topaz, were exhibited in the University of Utah. This University of Utah Japanese art exhibition sponsored by the War Relocation Authority was reported by the Utah Chronicle on November 15.

Obata left his teaching job in 1954. Upon his retirement, he got word from Clark Kerr, the first Chancellor of the University of California, who said, “You have been able not only to exercise your own creative gifts to the fullest extent, but also to help develop and guide the talent of students. In addition, your exhibits, lectures and demonstrations have given pleasure and instruction to countless people throughout California and in many parts of the United States.” (In Memoriam, p. 137)

In the midst of turbulent times, Obata was acknowledged to be one of the best artists in spite of his Japanese ancestry. His dedication to arts and his contribution of teaching arts have been outstanding, even now. At the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Obata’s new exhibition named “Chiura Obata: An American Modern” was held in 2018. Through his experiences under the restraint and the patience, he created the arts which carry the strong message: “Who gets to be called American?” (Mann) This message can be sympathetic and relevant with today’s society as well.

Sayaka Kochi is a senior at the University of Utah. She is majoring in communication with an emphasis in journalism.

Sources

“Chiura Obata, Art: Berkeley,” University of California: In Memoriam (September 1978): 137

Cirrus Wood, “Artist Interned: A Berkeley Legend Found Beauty in “Enormous Bleakness of War Camp,” California Magazine, March 15, 2016.

Court Mann, “UMFA’s new Chiura Obata exhibit asks: ‘Who gets to be called American?’” Deseret News, June 1, 2018.

“Governor Maw Visits Topaz,” Utah Nippo, January 25, 1943, 4.

Hal Johnson, “So We’re Told,” Berkeley Daily Gazette, April 20, 1942, 6.

“Jap Internees’ Art Displayed,” Utah Chronicle, November 15, 1945, 1.

“Pres. Roosevelt to Be Presented Silk Paintings,” Utah Nippo, January 15, 1943, 4.

Taylor, Sandra C. “Book Reviews of Topaz Moon: Chiura Obata’s Art of the Internment,” Utah Historical Quarterly 69, no. 1-4 (2001): 72-73.

Dec 17

A Brief History of The Rainbow Randevu and Its Cultural Impact in Salt Lake City

By Cristian Garcia

Salt Lake City has always been the hub for live entertainment and nightlife for the state of Utah and surrounding states. With the state’s flagship university, young population, and abundance of downtown venues, it’s no wonder that entertainment acts gravitate to Salt Lake City. According to The Salt Lake Tribune‘s 2015 article “Whatever happened to … The Terrace Ballroom?,” the venue has been known by many names: Coconut Grove, Rainbow Ballroom, Rainbow Randevu, Danceland, and finally the Terrace Ballroom. The downtown venue located on 500 South and Main Street represented an entertainment icon for generations. The building, a quarter of a million dollar project originally built by the Covey-Ballard Motor Company in 1922, was later transformed in 1931 into the “largest ballroom in the country” spanning across half a city block. Known by its original name Coconut Grove, the venue was the prominent dance and entertainment hall during the years of the Great Depression.

rainbow randevu

Ads such as this one appeared frequently in the Utah Chronicle.

The concert venue was known for hosting a large number of top-tier performers. In 1941, Jimmie Lunceford, the famed saxophone player and bandleader, blessed Salt Lake City with his performance at the great hall. The venue was known as Rainbow Randevu at the time of his performance. According to a Salt Lake Tribune article from 1941, “Jimmie Lunceford and his orchestra will make an appearance for three nights only at Jerry Jones’ Rainbow Randevu Thursday Friday and Saturday. Collectively and individually this organization is a versatile and dynamic musical group.”

The hall has seen significant changes throughout its time in Salt Lake City, from a multitude of name changes, to renovations, and even damaging fires. Billboard reported on November 20, 1948, “Jerry Jones, owner of Rainbow Randevu, Salt Lake City dancery, which was destroyed by a $175,000 fire May 22, this week took a 10-year lease, involving more than $250,000, on Coconut Grove Ballroom in the same city. Jones intends to spend $100,000 in remodeling the room.”

The venue hosted a number of famed acts throughout its time, but it was no stranger to local artists as well. The News-Examiner, the prominent news source of Montpelier, Idaho, reported on October 24, 1957, that “Wayne Hoff, a former Montpelier resident, is appearing with the famed Jones Boys’ quartet at the Rainbow Randevu in Salt Lake City Friday and Saturday. Hoff produced, wrote and directed both radio and television shows before going to Los Angeles in 1952 to sing with bands there prior to joining the Jones Boys, recognized as one of the nation’s top vocal groups. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Hoff.”

Screen Shot 2018-11-29 at 6.29.06 PMThe venue, known as The Terrace at this time, helped lead Salt Lake City into the modern mindset of equality. Before that time, many businesses and hotels still supported segregation. (Salt Lake City Television) Pushing boundaries by allowing admittance by all helped hoist the hall into fond memories from a diverse culture. According to historian Ronald G. Coleman, “By the late 1940s, Robert Freed had succeeded in fully opening Lagoon to Blacks; and when his company acquired the Rainbow Gardens (Terrace), the same policy was adopted.”

The venue failed to remain in its golden era forever. After its closing in the 1980s, the abandoned building sat unoccupied for some time before the decision to demolish it came from the city. According to a 1987 Deseret News article, “Even in the death throes, Salt Lake’s Terrace Ballroom put on a good show on­­ Wednesday afternoon. The memory-rich building on Main Street between Fourth and Fifth South was already half demolished. And at 5:30 p.m., fire added another element to its demise. The fire sent clouds of smoke through the downtown area and caused firefighters considerable concern as it danced inside the rubble. Although fire officials are happy to have one less fire hazard to worry about, the passing of the Terrace is not without a bit of melancholy.”

It is important to see the history of one’s community and the impact it may have had on the culture in that community. Although The Terrace isn’t around today, it was a historical icon and showcased the abundance of nightlife in Salt Lake City. The venue remains in Salt Lake City as a parking lot, but its rich history is retained through headlines in the newspapers and memories of attendees.

Cristian Garcia graduated from the University of Utah with a BS in Communication in Fall 2018.

Sources

“Local Items,” News-Examiner, October 24, 1957, 12.

“Salt Lake Dancery to Jones on Lease,” Billboard, November 20, 1948, 41.

Advertisement for Rainbow Randevu, Utah Chronicle, October 29, 1942, 5.

Advertisement for Rainbow Randevu, Utah Chronicle, November 5, 1942, 3.

“Lunceford Band Will Play at Local Club,” Salt Lake Tribune, May 14, 1941, 8.

Pierce, Scott D. and Twila Van Leer. “Flames Become Last Dancers at the Terrace,” Deseret News, August 6, 1987, B1.

“Covey-Ballard Motor Company Erecting $250,000 Building on Fifth South,” Deseret News, June 24, 1922, 3.

Ronald G. Coleman, “Blacks in Utah History,” Utah History to Go.

Braden [no last name,] “The Terrace,” Lagoon History Project.

Christopher, Smart. “Whatever Happened to … The Terrace Ballroom?” Salt Lake Tribune, March 12, 2015.

Salt Lake City Television, “Salt Lake City History Minute – Segregation,” YouTube, February 16, 2016.

 

Dec 17

OSS war documentary “The War Department Report” leaves mark at the University of Utah.

By Ellie Cook

students see war filmIn the February 3, 1944, issue of The Utah Chronicle, students were invited to attend a campus screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary The War Department Report. The film was originally released to a small number of military personnel on December 7, 1943, by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS). It was directed by Oliver L. Lundquist; David Zablodowsky was credited as the writer, Carl Marzani as producer, Richard Lyford as editor. It was narrated by Walter Huston. (IMBD)

Director Lundquist was described by the Central Intelligence Agency as “a talented architect and industrial designer” who worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the CIA’s predecessor during World War II. Lundquist also created the logo for the United Nations as well as the one for Q-tips.

EPSON scanner imageThe documentary’s project began after a report was made by Major General George V. Strong on “The Strength of the Axis Forces.” The documentary included obtained footage taken of allies by the Germans, Italians, and Japanese. One segment of the film included “startling shots of the Pearl Harbor raid, taken from [Jap] planes.” (“New War Film”)

The American Film Institute notes that the film “marked the first time in history that the high command of the American armed forces made an official report to the country on the strength of the enemy.”

Originally the film was intended to remain “a restricted government film” and was “destined chiefly to be displayed before war plant workers.” (“Cary Grant”) However, it was later publicly released, which eventually earned the film an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

war department reportThe War Department Report is still viewed today, primarily used in military training. The OSS is highly praised for the film’s exposure of the war. Katz writes, “Through their pioneering experiments in the visual display of information … in service of the War Crimes trials … they left a small but indelible mark on history.” The film is kept today in the Academy Film Archives.

Leroy E. Cowles, the University of Utah’s president at the time, described the film as containing some of the “finest combat scenes ever photographed by army or navy cameramen.” In a Utah Chronicle story published in 1944, he highly encouraged professors who had classes at the same time of the on-campus screening to make arrangements in order to allow students to attend the viewing, which was held at Kingsbury Hall on February 3. The viewing included a display of “captured enemy pictures” as well as the film’s screening. (“Impromptu”)

Today, free screenings of recent films remain available to University of Utah students. However, the 1944 viewing of War Department Report stands out among many because students were able to see in real time the reality of the war via footage from the enemy’s perspective. The film is still highly acclaimed today and remains an important asset for military training purposes.

Ellie Cook is a third-year student at the University of Utah studying communication (journalism) and psychology. She has written for Trend Privé Magazine and U NewsWriting.

Sources

Major General George V. Strong, “The Strength of the Axis, delivered before the House of Representatives on 20 October 1943 and before the Senate on 21 October 1943.”

War Department Report. Oliver L. Lundquist, director. United States: U.S. Office of Strategic Services, 1943.

“Cary Grant, McCarey Team on Comedy Plans … ‘War Department Report’ Gives Pessimistic Outlook,” Los Angeles Times, December 21, 1943, 8.

“Impromptu War Film Showing at U,” Salt Lake Tribune, February 2, 1944, 8.

“New War Film Shown In S.F.,” San Francisco Examiner, February 2, 1944, 7.

“Students see War Pictures,” Utah Chronicle, February 3, 1944, 1.

“Documentary (Feature Subject),”  The 16th Academy Awards.

Katz, Barry. “The Arts of War: ‘Visual Presentation’ and National Intelligence,” Design Issues 12, no. 2 (Summer 1996): 3–21.

“The OSS Architect Who Designed the UN Logo,” Central Intelligence Agency, June 23, 2017.

War Department Report, IMDB.

War Department Report, American Film Institute Catalog of Feature Films.

Dec 17

A Brief History of Kingsbury Hall​

By Davis Bulger

Atop 1395 Presidents Circle sits Kingsbury Hall, an elegant building that resembles a smaller version of the museums built during the world’s fair. Kingsbury Hall has welcomed individuals such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Keene Curtis, Carol Channing, Vincent Price, Harry Belafonte, and Maude Adams. It was also the starting place of many performing arts organizations in Utah, including Ballet West and the Utah Opera.

According to the Utah Chronicle on October 16, 1928, Kingsbury Hall was named after Joseph T. Kingsbury, former president of the University of Utah from 1897-1926. Edward O. Anderson and Lorenzo Snow Young designed the building. Anderson was also an architect for the LDS church and designed the temples in New Zealand, Switzerland, and London. The style is neo-classical with an Egyptian revival influence. The hall was designed so it would fit in color and style with the adjacent Park Building.

The Utah Chronicle reported on October 4, 1929, that the auditorium was designed to fix all of the problems that affected typical venues at the time, such as noise level and the capability to see the entire stage from every seat. Many steps were taken in creating this venue to not only make it spectacular to the eye, but also to make it the most functional auditorium Utah had ever seen.

Uofu_kingsbury

Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.

The Utah Chronicle stated on May 20, 1930, that the auditorium was equipped with 2,009 seats. An additional 200 people could be seated on the stage. Throughout the hall, patrons could see the splendid architecture and beautiful murals. The organ was to be installed soon after opening.

According to articles published in the Utah Chronicle in 1930, the stage was carefully worked out in accordance with modern ideals and was designed to be large enough to take care of almost any production. The velvet curtain adorning the stage cost $2,000. The lighting was to be the most elaborate in the city. The switchboard was described as “a masterpiece of electrical genius, capable of producing any desirable lighting effect.” The orchestra pit was to be equipped with a hydraulic lift at a future date.

The Utah Chronicle covered the “impressive” dedication ceremony on May 22, 1930. The play Bluebird was the first production to be staged in the new building. The play was the largest event ever put on at the nUniversity. Tickets were sold at prices from 50 cents to $1. The hall was originally built for extra classroom space, an assembly hall for students and the home of the Theater Program and Speech Arts Department but was later acclaimed as one of the largest concert venues in Utah.

The Deseret News on March 15, 1996, wrote about the renovation of Kingsbury Hall. After two long years and $15 million, the stage was set. Improvements included an enlarged stagehouse that was nearly four times the size of the original backstage area. Also, there were enough dressing rooms for 77 performers and two dressing rooms for stars were added.

Today, Kingsbury Hall is widely renowned as a concert venue, dance performance hall, play auditorium, and just about anything else you can think of. With the renovations over the years, Kingsbury Hall’s beauty and efficiency never cease to keep Utahns and visitors in sheer awe. Kingsbury Hall is one of eight buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Davis Bulger is a junior at the University of Utah. He was raised in Chicago and has lived in Utah for the past seven years. He is majoring in mass communication.

Sources

“Architects Are Now at Work on Kingsbury Hall,” Utah Chronicle, October 16, 1928, 1.

“Kingsbury Hall To Be Completed in Near Future,” Utah Chronicle, October 4, 1929, 1.

“Kingsbury Hall Dedicated May 15,” Utah Chronicle, April 18, 1930, 1.

“Kingsbury Hall $2,000 Curtain Will Be Hung Wednesday,” Utah Chronicle, May 6, 1930, 1.

“Kingsbury Hall Dedication Set for Thursday Noon,” Utah Chronicle, May 20, 1930, 1.

“Kingsbury Hall Is Dedicated,” Utah Chronicle, May 23, 1930, 1.

“Bluebird Scores on Opening Night in New Edifice,” Utah Chronicle, May 23, 1930, 1.

National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, University of Utah Circle, March 1977.

Ivan M. Lincoln, “Celebrating Kingsbury Hall,” Deseret News, March 15, 1996, 1.

Dec 17

Coon Chicken Inn: A Stain on Utah History

By Noelani Blueford

“Coon Chicken Inn: Nationally Famous, Coast to Coast.” That was the tagline used in advertisements for the restaurant chain, which could be found throughout the Pacific Northwest and originated in Salt Lake City, Utah. Opened by couple Adelaide Burt and Maxon Lester Graham in 1925, hungry patrons entered the restaurant through the red-lipped, white-toothed mouth of a 12-foot caricature of a winking black face wearing a porter’s cap. The chain even had a delivery fleet, wherein a car emblazoned with laughing minstrel faces would drive up to consumers homes, according to a January 2015 retrospective article by The Salt Lake Tribune. The restaurant saw great success.

Coon Chicken Inn 2

The restaurant advertised regularly in the Utah Chronicle.

A memoir written by a grandson of the original owners, which is available from the Jim Crow Museum of Memorabilia, describes Burt and Graham’s business practices as normal for the time. They had enjoyed fried chicken from a local business and decided to open a restaurant of their own serving the same food in Sugar House, which was then only a small suburb of the city. The famous logo was added to the storefront, eventually spreading to a large variety of other items nearly five years after the successful opening and growth of the business.

The “coon head” logo and memorabilia was a gimmick to attract customers, claims an article on the restaurant at BlackPast.org. The organization describes the logo as “[saturating] the restaurant’s interior…. Plates, forks, menus, and placemats featured the caricature, as did menu items such as the ‘Baby Coon Special’ and the ‘Coon Fried Steak.’” The logo additionally appeared on a variety of items such as “postcards, newspaper advertisements, matchboxes, children’s fans, and spare tire covers.” African-American communities and organizations near the Seattle location quickly took action against the restaurant. The NAACP and African American newspaper The Northwest Enterprise threatened to take legal action against Graham for libel and defamation of race, pushing for a change in advertising. There was no reactionary movement at the Salt Lake City location, but at the time the 681 Black citizens of Salt Lake City who might take issue with the business comprised only .5 percent of the populace, as recorded in the 1930 census.

Coon Chicken Inn 1

Ads like this appeared in the Utah Chronicle.

Utah’s Coon Chicken Inn closed in 1957, the last location of the chain to close by nearly a decade, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor Department at the University of Washington argues that the presence of this restaurant more than a century after the height of the minstrel era underscores the lasting power of this caricature and the underlying stigmas about race and Black people that continue to exist in the Pacific Northwest.

In Utah, racial tensions were relatively unspoken but persisted in force. The installment of Black troops at Fort Douglas in 1896 and 1899 was met by strong protest from the media and local government, according to “Blacks and the Military In American History” by Jack D. Foner. In 1925, the same year that Coon Chicken Inn opened, a Black Utahn by the name of Robert Marshall was tortured and lynched to the cheers of a crowd in Price. A thousand Utahns petitioned with partial success in 1939 to restrict black citizens to a designated neighborhood away from the city center, and blacks were refused full access to local amusement park Lagoon until the late 1940s, reports Utah History To Go.

Advertisements for Coon Chicken Inn featuring minstrel art were posted in many issues of the Utah Chronicle in the early 20th century; today they provide a rare and important look into an obscured facet of the area’s culture. In its discussion of Coon Chicken Inn’s novelties and other minstrel products, “African American visual representation: from repression to resistance” by Paul Von Blum perhaps sums up the issue best: “All of these [advertising caricatures] were designed for a white population that rarely encountered contrary images of African American dignity. They were fully part of a racist visual culture, viewing such imagery as nothing more than humorous depictions of obvious racial truths. These racist pictures and objects confirmed what most white audiences already believed. Any suggestion that these posters, postcards, toys, figures, film clips, and other objects, had repressive political consequences would likely have led to puzzled or even incredulous responses.”

Noelani Blueford graduated in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism.

Sources

Advertisement, Coon Chicken Inn, Utah Chronicle, January 18, 1940, 4.

Advertisement, Coon Chicken Inn, Utah Chronicle, January 25, 1940, 4.

Coleman, Ronald G. “Blacks in Utah History: An Unknown Legacy,” Utah History To Go.

Foner, Jack D. Blacks and the Military in American History. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1974.

Gibson, Campbell and Kay Jung. “Historical Census Statistics On Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For Large Cities And Other Urban Places In The United States,” U.S. Census Bureau Population Division (February 2005): 106.

Macfarland, Sheena. “Whatever happened to … the chicken restaurant with the racially charged name?” The Salt Lake Tribune, January 13, 2015.

Roth, Catherine. “Coon Chicken Inn,” BlackPast.org.

Roth, Catherine. “The Coon Chicken Inn: North Seattle’s Beacon of Bigotry.” The Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project at the University of Washington.

Von Blum, Paul. “African American Visual Representation: From Repression to Resistance,” Journal of Pan African Studies 5 no. 8 (December 2012): 41.

“The History of Coon Chicken Inn.” Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University.

Dec 17

Why You Would Have Rushed a Sorority at The University of Utah in 1941

By Mallory K. Arnold

The_U_Spreads_The

A portion of the article, “The U Spreads the Welcome Mat,” from the 1942 Utonian yearbook.

Greek organizations have always been a popular topic as well as a controversial one. With sororities and fraternities still going strong in 2018, what might it have been like to try to join such organizations during wartime, specifically for women?

The Utah Chronicle published an article in January 1941 where impartial statistics were given about each house at the University of Utah. According to said article, there were nine sororities and seven fraternities present during the time. It let the women and men trying to rush a house know the year all sororities/fraternities were founded nationally, when they were founded at the U, the address of the house, and who their current executive board was.

Right before Spring Recruitment began in 1941, the Utah Chronicle published an article about university men offering their opinions on each sorority. Although some comments given in the article were nice, others were not. Richard Blackhurst, who was part of a fraternity, said, “The Tri Deltas are plenty cute but their mental capacity has not developed to the highest degree.” Another man named Dave Boyer, who was unaffiliated, said, “Chi Omegas had the most beautiful group of girls on campus.” It seemed as if these men were trying to persuade women to join certain houses based upon their outsider opinion.

Going to college and joining Greek life can be a difficult process. Luckily for the women looking to join Greek life that year, the Sorority Council decided to publish its first-ever University of Utah Rushee Handbook. According to an article titled “Sorority Council to Publish Rushee Handbook,” it gave advice to freshmen with tips to rushees, a rushee’s lexicon, and do’s & don’ts. Rules and regulations, as well as how much dues were, also were listed in the handbook that presented a brief history of each house. The editor of the new book was Martha Havenor. In an October 1941 article by the Utah Chronicle, Havenor was listed as part of the sorority known as Tri-Delta, which made her the perfect person to write the handbook on rushing a sorority.

Sorority pin ad 1.23.41.3

Utah Chronicle, January 23, 1941, page 3.

Another reason rushing a sorority became enticing was because the Utah Chronicle always had advertisements about pins, dances, and other things going on in Greek life. This made readers more curious as well. In 1947 Marian Dawson wrote an article titled “Why I Like Sorority Life” in which she spoke about her decision to pledge a sorority. She said the benefits one gained from belonging to a sorority depended entirely on what that individual contributed. Dawson explained that if one desired companionship of the highest type, she would find happiness in a sorority.

After all of this information on rushing, the 1940s decision to join a sorority would vary from person to person. In conclusion, deciding to rush a sorority in the 1940s seems a lot like it does now.

Mallory Arnold is a junior at the University of Utah majoring in communication with a minor in parks, recreation, and tourism.

Sources

Advertisement for Parry & Parry, Utah Chronicle, January 23, 1941, 3.

“Statistics Give Impartial View of Campus Greek Groups,” Utah Chronicle, January 23, 1941, 5.

“University Men Reveal Opinions Concerning Qualities of Female Greek Organizations,” Utah Chronicle, January 16, 1941, 5.

“Fraternity Row Makes Final Plans for Formal Greek Rush Season,” Utah Chronicle, January 23, 1941, 5.

“Introducing Martha Havenor,” Utah Chronicle, October 2, 1941, 4.

Dawson, Marian. “Why I Like Sorority Life,” The Iowa Homemaker 27, no. 3 (1947).

 

 

 

 

Dec 17

Abolished 1940’s University of Utah Magazine “Unique”

By Janice Arcalas

The November 1942 issue of Salt Lake Telegram called the magazine Unique the University of Utah’s first pictorial magazine. The pictorial magazine’s first issue was published in the spring quarter of 1942. It sold approximately to 200 coeds. The Salt Lake Telegram also reported the magazine featured more pictures than ever in a university publication. The publication contained the work of over 40 business and editorial staff members for the first issue.

In the November 1945 issue of the Utah Chronicle, it announced that Unique would be coming out and sold by “cute” coeds.

According to the Board of Regents meeting minutes from July 1947 to June 1949, University of Utah President Ray Olpin reported that Unique had been abolished due to not meeting the standards of the university, and the action was unanimously approved by the board.

Unique

From the Utah Chronicle, February 24, 1944.

One article from the Utah Chronicle in the February 1944 issue included what was contained in the pictorial magazine. One section said the magazine contained a feature on the personal lives of the new sorority pledges. A few ads, cartoons and jokes were also reported to be contained in Unique. One section said it had a couple of pages about the soldiers. The writer takes time to mention the wonderful job Company B did.

Miss Christie Wicker was the first female editor of the magazine. The Salt Lake Telegram reported in November 1942 that she had waited for the verdict of students as to whether the magazine would be in favor as much as the Humbug, a humor magazine. The Humbug though, was banned by the Board of Regents the previous year because it was “a disgrace to the in-situation.”

The first issue of Unique magazine wasn’t well accepted by students, reported the Salt Lake Telegram in the November 1942 issue, but it engaged students by featuring a section of odd part-time jobs, which kept the pages of topics on the war, gossip, cartoon, and jokes to a minimum.

Unique magazine was staffed by a few members of the Beehive. The Beehive is the University of Utah’s Honorary Activity Society. The Salt Lake Telegram announced that seven university students were chosen to be members of the Beehive in the March 1943 issue. The mentioned members were Miss Wicker, who was editor; Mr. Muir, a business staff and Mr. Brasher, associate editor of Unique.

Unique magazine seemed to be a casual pictorial magazine, but the current magazine of the University of Utah Continuum seems to have a more professional quality to it. On the website it says it aspires to enhance the image of the university and to seek insight on university-related events to help stimulate thought, formulate opinion and place in perspective the unfolding chapters of the university’s history.

Janice Arcalas is a senior at the University of Utah. She is majoring in communication with an emphasis in journalism and minoring in Korean and Korean studies.

Sources

“Anxious for Verdict on Campus Magazine,” Salt Lake Telegram, November 18, 1942, 6.

“Seven University Students Chosen Members of Beehive Honorary Activity Society,” Salt Lake Telegram, March 10, 1943, 14.

“Unique Again Thrills Unique Editor,” Utah Chronicle, February 24, 1944, 1.

D. Huddleston, “Unique Order Pervades Campus as Pat’s Publication Appears,” Utah Chronicle, November 21, 1945, 1.

Dec 14

Andrew Hays Gorey, University of Utah Graduate, Journalist and Editor

By Donald Aguirre

When we think of Utah, images of the Wasatch Mountains, the Great Salt Lake, and orange-rusted landscapes of southern Utah occupy the mind. As we take in these very Utah landscapes, we may encounter hidden gems. Andrew Hays Gorey would be one of those buried treasures.

Gorey was born on June 6, 1921, in Salt Lake City and as his Salt Lake Tribune obituary notes, he found his calling to journalism at the age of 5 when he wrote a story about the death of a pet. The reporting bug inspired an extensive career that stretched from copy boy at a local newspaper to editor of The Utah Chronicle, a political correspondent for Time, and defender of the free press.

When Gorey died in April 2011, The Salt Lake Tribune noted that it had won its first Pulitzer Prize in 1957, the same year Gorey became editor at the Tribune. Gorey was editor by age 24. The Salt Lake Tribune called it the “ridiculous age of 24,” in the same article, noting his talent at such a young age.

Hays Gorey

Utah Chronicle editor Hays Gorey. Used by permission, Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.

Gorey understood how to speak to his local community about national issues. Three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he penned a column where he encouraged his university audience to contribute to the war effort. “The sacrifices we will be called upon to make will be made cheerfully. We know what the goal is; we recognize the intrinsic worth of that goal enough to want to attain it, and to help in the struggle to attain it,” he wrote for the Utah Chronicle on December 10, 1941.

He didn’t skirt the issues, even in his early college days. “It is indeed gratifying that these teethless [sic] organs of the student government system at last came in for a little much-deserved adverse criticism; their past activity, or rather, inactivity, more than warrants condemnation,” he wrote in The Utah Chronicle on November 6, 1941, criticizing the inefficiency of overabundant student councils monitoring school activities. As a columnist at the University of Utah paper, he made his thoughts clear and opinions direct.

The following week on November 11, 1941, in the same publication he addressed those who had called him a “radical” and a “communist” for his scorching criticism, but he never walked his opinion of the student government back. Gorey cherished the First Amendment. His column defending the free speech rights of former Senator Rush Holt—an unashamed isolationist—in The Utah Chronicle on November 19 rang true with his principles.

While he was at Nieman Reports he asked the question on whether balanced and relevant news was being produced beyond eloquent writing and eye-catching headlines. “We must worry not only about what a thorough analysis of the printed article will show we did say—but what the general impression of our entire presentation, headline, play, and article had on the reader,” Gorey wrote in January 1950 in his article, “Making Makeup Matter.”

Gorey_Hays_Shot_2-1

Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society.

In April 2011 The Washington Post reported in its obituary that Gorey had won a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard in 1949 and after his stint at The Salt Lake Tribune he landed a job as national correspondent at Time magazine in 1965. “Gorey was best known nationally for his work at Time [sic] from 1965 to 1991,” wrote Jan Gardner from Nieman Reports, the same publication where Gorey added his two cents when he was alive.

In a C-SPAN interview on January 13, 1984, Gorey defended the existence of the free press and made no apologies for an adversarial and engaged journalistic body. “The interest of the public demands that the press be aggressive, be alert, be skeptical, be cynical if you will and it doesn’t matter if it’s a Republican in the White House or a Democrat, we should be equally vigilant,” he said during the hourlong discussion.

Gorey had shown years prior how tenacious the press could be when he interviewed Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski in November 1973 for Time shortly after the Saturday Night Massacre where President Richard Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox. He pressed for answers on behalf of the American people amid a constitutional crisis.

His columns, editorials and interviews garnered the respect of his colleagues. He was considered a “journalist’s journalist,” by former Salt Lake Tribune publisher Jack Gallivan, as reported by Paul Rolly in The Salt Lake Tribune on April 5, 2011.

Gorey ran the journalistic gamut. He was a University of Utah alumnus who started off as a copy boy and ended up doing a great many things in the service of muckraking.

Donald Aguirre is a senior at The University of Utah. He is a journalism student majoring in communication and is the owner & creator of the blog, The Mockery Times.

Sources

Hays Gorey, “New Foreign Developments Awake America to Fact Of Former Over-confidence,” Utah Chronicle, December 10, 1941, 4.

 Hays Gorey, “Columnist Maintains Council Activity Supervision is Failure,” Utah Chronicle, November 6, 1941, 4.

Hays Gorey, “Editorialist Defends Attack On Activity Councils Suggests Sportsmanship,” Utah Chronicle, November 13, 1941, 4.

Andrew Hays Gorey, “Making Makeup Matter,” Nieman Reports, January 1950, 5,

“Journalism: Mr. Gorey defended a recent editorial published in Time magazine,” C-SPAN, January 13, 1984.

“INVESTIGATIONS: Nothing Is Inviolate,” Time, November 26, 1973,

“Hays Gorey: A distinguished newsman passes,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 8, 2011.

Gardner, Jan. “Spring 2012: Class Notes,” Nieman Reports, March 15, 2012.

Bernstein, Adam. “Obituaries,” Washington Post, April 12, 2011.

Rolly, Paul. “Former Tribune editor and Time reporter was a ‘journalist’s journalist,’” Salt Lake Tribune, April 5, 2011.

“Hays Gorey,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 7, 2011.