‘We can try and recreate it, but it’s not the same;’ Expert shares history of buildings burned in downtown fire

SALT LAKE CITY — The buildings destroyed in Monday night’s massive fire have been a staple of Main Street for decades.

According to Downtown Alliance SLC, the buildings date back to the 1920s.

Executive Director of Preservation Utah Brandy Strand said the buildings that house Los Tapatios Taco Grill, White Horse, Whiskey Street and London Belle are at least 100 years old.

“To see just a block, a whole section of buildings that we’ve grown to love and have created memories inside of, just to kind of be wiped out all of a sudden, it’s a jarring experience,” Strand said.

Dave and Erin Sabo live in Bountiful but came to see the charred remains of the businesses they love to visit.

“People that would come into town would ask, ‘Where’s the place to go and be amongst a good area of town, good people?’ and I would always recommend this whole area,” Erin Sabo said.

Dave Sabo said that on any given Friday or Saturday night, the area around these bars and eateries is bustling with people.

“Everybody’s feeling the positive vibe of downtown, and that’s dearly going to be missed,” he said. “I mean, look at this. It’s tragic.”

He and his wife said they don’t know how the businesses will rebuild.

Strand said there’s a lot of history along this stretch of Main Street. She said this section used to go by a different name.

“In the early 1900s, Main Street was ‘Whiskey Street,'” Strand said. “I’m sure you could understand why it would be called that, but we had a thriving alcohol industry. We actually had quite a few beer providers and beer creators.”

Today, Preservation Utah does downtown walking tours, including a historical pub crawl.

Strand said it’ll take a lot to rebuild.

“A lot of times we think, oh, we can just build it back,” she said. “There’s no replicating the materials that were used to build those buildings.”

She said these businesses played a huge role in making the culture of downtown what it is today, like the city’s Open Streets program.

“We’ve really been paying attention a lot as a city to our Main Street, activating Main Street, getting people to walk along the businesses and along the sidewalks,” Strand said.

She and patrons of these businesses hope the charm and vibrance of this corner of our city returns.

“I just hope and pray that everybody comes out on top after all of this,” Dave Sabo said.