Pictures and takealong sheet updated April 11, 2016.
Even though most of this could be done online, we hope you take time to walk around downtown Murray and soak in some of this history, and maybe pick up a little more on the way.
State Street in Murray - about 1920.
As you find the images, match them to the building name and make note of the associated number. There are two pictures that will not be used.
A = 91 This sign is now gone. This was the lodge number for the Cottonwood-Murray Elks, #5.
B = 81
C = 82
D = 33
E = 48
F = 78 This was the Capri Salon, #3.
G = 54
H = 99 This building used to be a barber shop - see below.
I = 34
J = 23 This was a computer shop, #4. Our last name is Bryson - so we HAD to include this - but the sign is now gone!
K = 89
L = 36
M = 62
N = 57
O = 84
P = 45
Q = 68
R = 97
S = 79 This was on the Murray Chapel, #13.
T = 49 #10, Mt. Vernon Academy was torn down in spring 2020. So sad to see this great old building gone!
BUILDING NAMES to match with pictures.
1. Ballet Centre - Current home of a ballet school. This was once a Safeways, then a roller skating rink, then a Boys and Girls Club. It was while it was a skating rink, that Mr. lv2wj’s brother met Mrs. lv2wj’s third cousin (who was living with her in Murray for the summer). They were engaged 2 weeks later and we would otherwise never have met without that fated evening of roller skating!!
2. Massage company - This was the historic Sheranian Clinic and an early emergency hospital. Later it was the office of Dr. Emery Argyle who was Mr. lv2wj’s family doctor, and Mrs. lv2wj went to school at Murray High with Dr. Argyle’s daughter. (updated 3/1/18)
3. Capri Salon - This was the Edward J. Warenski home. He was a Murray business and civic leader. This is the only surviving home of 4 built for Warenski brothers. Building is a different salon now. F=78.
4. Computer Shop - In the part of the building complex occupied by JC Penney. It was still in use through at least the late 1960s, as Mrs. lv2wj remembers shopping there. JC Penney was in Murray for over 62 years. J=23
5. Cottonwood-Murray Elks - After over 62 years, the lodge decided on May 14, 2013 to surrender their charter. At the moment the building is vacant. (Dec 2013). It was a Sprouse Reitz store before the Elks moved in. Sign now gone! A=91
6. Day’s Murray Music - This music store has been in Murray since 1946. If you look at the old picture above, you can see the building has hardly changed. It was originally the First National Bank and the Lyon Drug Store.
7. Desert Star Theater - Started out as a small theater called the Gem, which showed silent movies with a piano for music. It was later closed down and demolished, then rebuilt and expanded into the Iris Theater, the first “sound” theater in Murray. The National Register of Historic Places, notes the Iris Theater, Apartments and Commercial Building, built in 1930, as significant for its role in the urbanization of Murray City. The Iris building is also significant as the only commercial building in Murray built in the Art Deco style.
8. Flower House - This Victorian brick cottage with gabled roof was built for John P Cahoon’s mother in 1902. The building to the west was Money’s Ice Cream Parlor built in 1957.
9. Crow & The Pitcher Café - This building is one of the oldest buildings in historic downtown and was originally Mr. Larson’s harness shop. (updated 9/10/19)
10. Mount Vernon Academy - The first church built in Murray was the LDS Murray First Ward Meetinghouse. It was built in 1907. It was heavily used and enlarged in 1928. It has been occupied since the 1970s by the Mount Vernon Academy. The campus also includes the old Carnegie Library building.
11. Murray Theater - Opened on 28 October 1938. The theater operated as both a first-run and second-run venue for motion pictures, and has been extensively renovated and redesigned during its history. The theater currently hosts cultural events and private parties.
12. Murray Arts Center - Dancing to live bands! This building once house a Grand Central store.
13. Murray Chapel - This building is currently used mainly as a wedding chapel in conjunction with the Murray Mansion. This was the Murray Baptist Church built in 1936 at 4800 South and State Street. It was moved to this location in 1987. Stained glass window is now gone. S=79
14. Murray Mansion - The John P. Cahoon House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a significant example of residential Victorian Eclecticism in Murray and as the home for over twenty years of John P. Cahoon, a pioneer in the brick industry in Utah. In 1902 it was "easily the finest home in the county outside Salt Lake City" and has remained virtually unchanged since its construction around 1900.
15. Desert Star Banquet Center. This is adjacent to the Desert Star Theater. It was once the Pinerose Place and used for banquets and wedding activities and was part of the Iris Building complex.
16. Quaker Church - Originally the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was built about 1915.
17. Barber Shop - Occupies part of what was once the Salt Lake County building, built in 1937.
18. Vine Street Antiques - Not on Vine Street! This building was built in 1910 and part of the vibrant 20th Century downtown Murray.
References: There is LOTS more information about the city’s history and the buildings.
Wikipedia, Murray, Utah
Wikipedia, Murray_Downtown_Historic_District
Wikipedia, Murray_Downtown_Residential_Historic_District
Murray City Historic Designations
Significant buildings in CORE (PDF Document)
Final location: N 40̊° 39.XXX W 111̊° 53.YYY.
Sum total of #1 through 9 plus 333 = XXX (Checksum = 21)
Sum total of #10 through 18 minus 111 = YYY (Checksum =14)
Pictures updated September 10, 2019. Takealong sheet also updated as of that date.