second stairway is provided. The basement is mostly used for storage and mechanical spaces. Including its semi-finished basement and attic, the dwelling is four levels tall. Given the mansion’s several uses and years of vacancy, it is fortunate that its character has been substantially retained. Behind the mansion is the Fisher Carriage House, which was also built of stone and brick in a similar style but was not constructed until 1901. Like the mansion, it features a hip roof, bracketed eaves, ventilating dormers and a projecting front wing. Above its main floor rooms is a single, large, second-story space. This was originally a hay loft but is now available for adaptive functions. Following designs prepared by CRSA, the carriage house was recently renovated and put to new uses, including city offices. CRSA prepared an extensive Historic Structures Report to guide the eventual restoration of the mansion in the hope that its owner, Salt Lake City, would find viable uses for the building. At the time of this writing, the City is using a $3 million bond to fund a seismic upgrade of the structure, which was slightly damaged during a recent earthquake. This project is being completed by GSBS and its engineers. A nonprofit advocacy and support organization, Friends of the Fisher Mansion, has recently completed a master plan, prepared by Bim Oliver, to guide the remaining processes and advance the Fisher Mansion restoration and reuse project. 1. Encyclopedia of American Biography 1947. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. Members of the Fisher family lived in this Victorian Eclectic mansion until the 1940s, when it was deeded to the Salt Lake Catholic Diocese and became a convent housing Our Lady Queen of Peace and Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters. By 1973, the Diocese used it to offer a home and counseling for independent living to homeless men with alcohol and drug abuse problems. As many as 40 men were fed and counseled, and up to 25 residents were housed in the attic dormitory (once the servants’ quarters). The men’s labor included work-crew tasks in contract landscaping. On site, they kept the mansion’s masonry and woodwork in repair and landscaped the grounds. A 9:00 p.m. curfew was meticulously adhered to. In 2006, Salt Lake City purchased the Fisher Mansion from the Catholic Diocese. Remarkably constructed during the national financial panic of 1893, the Fisher Mansion is unlike any of Richard Kletting’s other large residences. During his over 40-year career, Kletting masterfully designed nearly 450 projects, including 50 types of buildings in 30 different architectural styles. Given its key elements, the eclectic Fisher Mansion leans towards Victorian Italianate or Second Renaissance Revival in style. This is due to its hip roof with deep eaves, its rounded, wrap-around porch, curved bay windows and classical detailing, including its bracketed cornice, foliated fascia, carved stone capitals and descriptive cartouches — a signature Kletting feature. Its original exterior doors, transomed windows, ornamental wood and stone trim are intact, although the stone is deteriorated in places. The Fisher Mansion’s interior is mostly intact in its major rooms. The hardwood floors, fancy casework, stairways, fireplaces and even some light fixtures remain on the main and second floors. The west living room has been altered and the home’s rear additions were not designed to be compatible with the exterior architecture. The partially finished, open attic space has the potential to host sizable events if a 18 REFLEXION
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3NDExNQ==