Masonry Magazine March 1977 Page. 8
(Top, left to right) "Hold until it sets" is the work procedure when installing terra cotta units. One masonry craftsman checks spacing while another holds the unit in place. In the next picture, the terra cotta is cleaned after its installation. What can a coal bucket be used to carry besides coal? It worked fine for this masonry craftsman who used the bucket to pour grout into the cavity of the composite wall of terra cotta and concrete masonry units. (Bottom, left to right) A detail of the lower section of the balustrade is shown. The open space in the terra cotta was completely filled with grout, tying the terra cotta units to the concrete masonry unit wall. The Hotel Utah's finished balustrade is seen with Salt Lake City's beautiful landscape in the background.
Enduring Elegance of Masonry
(Continued from page 7)
structures, terra cotta may be gaining a new lease on life. Robert A. Fowler, AIA, and Edward Joe Ruben, AIA, of Robert A. Fowler Associated Architects, describe the Hotel Utah as being in the style of the "grand hotel" of the turn of the century. Says Ruben: "The architecture of the building is a well-appointed, classic revival with certain art nouveau touches." Gray marble, ornamental plaster, gold leaf, red carpet, chandeliers, and leaded art-glass are the principal interior finishes.
Easy To Maintain
The exterior is a beautiful white, smooth, glazed terra cotta, all handmade. Other exterior finishes, such as wood sash, metal copings, cornices, roofing and cast iron, had deteriorated substantially. Only the white terra cotta maintained its original appearance. While the new addition was being constructed, the exterior of the old section was remodeled and the interior updated.
The Hotel Utah was designed in 1910 by the Los Angeles architectural firm of John Parkinson and Edwin Bergstrom. The present architects, Robert A. Fowler Associated Architects, were surprised to find that the hotel had almost all of the original 1910 architectural drawings on linen. The Fowler firm was even more pleased to discover that Gladding, McBean & Co. was still in business and had the original shop drawings from which the terra cotta units were produced.
In a 1911 issue of the Hotel Monthly, which Stuart G. Cross, executive vice president of the Hotel Utah has preserved, it states, "No other hotel in the world has a more interesting or beautiful setting, or more self-contained features for pleasure and comfort of the guests than the Hotel Utah. It is located on the highest ground in the city neighboring the Mormon Temple and Tabernacle."
Architect Ruben observes that "because cost is always a concern, an architectural precast-concrete contractor was invited to submit a preliminary price proposal to substitute precast concrete for terra cotta. The precast price was
masonry March, 1977