The abandoned Saltair Pavillion
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diddleysquat-1 — 12 years ago(June 06, 2013 08:43 PM)
I think the fire that destroyed the first Saltair was not very unusual at the time (1925). Remember, the original opened in 1893, the same year as the Chicago World's Fair. People went to the latter to see this new thing called "electricity" that lit up the exposition. And undoubtedly one of the big attractions at Saltair was the modern lighting it boasted.
It seems like every year the management added a lot to that resort - an airstrip (used in 1911 by the Wright brothers), the Hippodrome movie house for silent films, merry-go-round and roller coaster and still more exotic amusements every year. It wouldn't be surprising if they just reached the point of overload. That happened pretty often back in those days when electricity was becoming more and more common but wasn't as modern and safe as it came to be in later years. There were a lot of fires in those days.
But the decision to re-build Saltair II was probably not the soundest in the world. At the time, maybe. The beach houses and swimming facilities were opened in 1926, but the pavilion wasn't completed until later - possibly as late as 1931. The record just isn't clear on that.
But between 1925, when the grand old Saltair burned, and 1931 (or even 1930), there was major changes that affected how the redeveloped site would prosper for decades into the future. For one thing, there was the great depression and the widespread unemployment and poverty that it brought. Talking movies also appeared. And the popularity of the automobile was constantly growing, all reasons to do something else besides go all the way out to Saltair.
But other things seem more like plain old bad luck. The Great Salt Lake is unpredictable at best. It's shallow. and that means even slight changes in the water level significantly affect the shoreline. In the 1930s and again in the 1950s, the water receded. And when that happens, foul-odored sediment that's normally at the bottom of the lake is exposed to air. It's gooey, slimy, sticky (not popular with swimmers) with the added attraction of making the whole amusement park smell bad. Then in the 1940s, there was a sewage pollution scare. Things just kept going wrong. And with dwindling income came scrimping on maintenance. Gradually the park started to look run-down and cheap. In fact, what had been their main attraction, the Giant Racer roller coaster, collapsed in a strong wind in 1957 - not exactly something that inspires confidence. It reopened for its last summer in 1958, and was then abandoned.
Building the third Saltair just seems like folly no matter how you look at it. They assumed that, since lake levels had been very low for over a decade, the lake was permanently smaller. So they positioned the building closer to the water and erected it on a slab - no elevated pier to accommodate rising waters. But even as construction got underway, the lake started rising. They looked the other way and opened it. Just months later, it was under water. And it stayed that way for ten years.
And that's just dumb. -
ksf-2 — 12 years ago(October 04, 2013 05:57 PM)
history and recent photos (2002) at wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltair,_Utah
this was more interesting than the movie..
For those interested in the subject of abandoned amusement parks,
check out
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_amusement_parks
can click the "USA" section to jump to it. -
dzizwheel — 9 years ago(November 01, 2016 11:09 AM)
Thank you for verifying that first fire in 1967 at the SaltAir II Diddley. My Mother, little brother and I were there about a week before, talked to an old man about the attempt at revival.It had always fascinated me sitting out there on the Great Salt Lake on trips to and from Salt Lake City.
I saw the smoke when it went up in flames on my walk to school in Tooele UT [ Harris Elementary].
My Mother had been at Saltair II as a little girl. She told me one of the reasons it had closed was that a little girl had been killed on the rickety wooden roller coaster. All rumor, I guess, but added to the mystique.
I remember reading in the newspaper at the time,that the building, with it's metal turrets and suggest would have cost the state too much to tear it down, hence, I wasn't surprised, later, when it burned to the ground via arson. I still have the article in a scrapbook.
We had moved by 1968 and I was flipping channels and saw the Saltair and nearly flipped. That was the first time I saw Carnival Of Souls and it's been one of my favorite movies ever since.
Thanks for filling in so many details. -
diddleysquat-1 — 12 years ago(July 04, 2013 02:29 AM)
Thank you!!!
You will love the movie. In the story, it's the old pavilion that draws the heroine to it. It does the same for the viewer.
In a fascinating narrative included in the Criterion Edition (well worth the extra $$$), the producer describes Saltair as the spookiest location he had ever seen. No kidding! And that's before he knew the history. -
lauriehale2000 — 12 years ago(July 26, 2013 12:39 PM)
Hi There diddleysquat=1
I thoroughly enjoyed your back story about Saltair II and your extensive research about the resort.
My mother grew up in So. Utah and made several trips to the Salt Lake area, including Saltair II as a kid growing up in the 1930's. I grew up in So CA going to Disneyland every year and Magic Mountain, yet my mother was always afraid to go on the more wild roller coaster type rides. She would always tell the story about the old roller coaster at Saltair (the Giant Racer) and how she would watch people ride it, it was a rickety thing and always looked like it was about to fall apart with every curve, so she wouldn't ride it. I wanted to see it, but of course by the time she was telling the story, the great coaster had long since blown away. I first went to the Great Salt Lake in 1974, when there was nothing but beaches, no Saltair. I went back in 1981 when Saltair III opened and was disappointed that it was not like the first two. No rides, or games just shops. I can't remember if the Pavilion had opened yet or not. There was just nothing resembling the earlier versions that interested me.
The movie Carnival of Souls was one that scared the crap out of me growing up, and recently I watched it for the first time in some 40+ years. I never new Saltair II was used in the filming. The image of the Pavilion has been in my mind for decades, yet I never knew the connection. I recently did my own research of the properties and was saddened to hear of the on-going problems either economically or with natural disaster. I do not believe in luck or "curses," they are something man has created. The area where the Saltair resorts have been built is exposed to harsh weather because of the salinity of the water, and pollution from nearby Kennecot. The property has a history of falling into disrepair because of the constant cost of weather and element damage. Saltair I was built and dedicated with priesthood authority by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints to create an edifying family environment, and they succeeded in such until the church sold the property. The area is remote, and I think this, with unwise business and marketing decisions have been the demise of its popularity. The rise and fall of the water level should have been planned for. During the 1960's the water level rose to its highest, so the builders of Saltair III should have know there was the possibility of level fluctuation. I lived in the area for a couple of years and never visited the Great Salt Lake. Most locals do not because of the smell. The novelty wears off when you live there, I think. Still, our family is planning a trip to the area in the next couple of months and I plan to make a stop to soak in the mineral rich water, and look at the closed pavilion for nostalgia. The fact that Saltair lives on, whether just as a special event rental, or concert venue shows that it has an energy of survival, no matter what. Thank you so much for your thoughts, research, and sharing! -
diddleysquat-1 — 12 years ago(July 26, 2013 08:08 PM)
Thanks for writing. I still look up what I can find on Saltair and have a huge collection of photos and videos and documents.
The Giant Racer roller coaster supposedly survived the April 1925 fire that destroyed the first Saltair. Assuming that's true, as several sources say, then it was standing since at least 1908 if not earlier. I have a photo dated 1908. And it does look very much the same as it did in the era of Saltair II. So it's no wonder, given the enormity of the maintenance problems, that it appeared shaky and not too safe. It finally collapsed, as you probably know, near the end of summer 1957.
The first Saltair was extremely successful. But when it burned the resort stayed closed all that summer and opened in 1926. But I doubt the second pavilion was in place at that time. There would have been "bathing" and swimsuit rental, as some or most beach houses survived the fire. I've seen various dates for the construction of Saltair II, going as late as 1931. I suspect that it was under construction for a couple of years at least.
There were apparently financial problems that delayed the rebuilding. The original resort was insured for only $100K. That was a bunch of money back then, but still only a fraction of what the construction was worth. So new funds had to be raised to complete the second. Both were built on exactly the same spot. And in 1929 came the stock market crash and the Great Depression. So it started out with two strikes against it.
Saltair III was built on the cheap a decade after the second one (long abandoned) was destroyed by arson. In fact, much of the latest incarnation is facade put around an old airplane hangar. How much choice they had about the location, it's hard to say. But there was definitely an assumption that the water level at the lake had permanently declined. Then, of course, once construction started, the water began to rise to what became an all time high level by 1986.
When Saltair III first opened up in 1981 or 1982, there were a few amusements or rides. I have pictures showing concession stands, a fake lake with what looks like little paddle boats in it, a huge water slide, and a few other things. But when the place went underwater almost as soon as it opened, that was all wiped out. To this day you can see what looks like rubble from the outbuildings piled up on he west side of I-81 about a short ways down the road from Saltair (Google Earth).
The third Saltair is still open, last I heard. It's used only occasionally as a concert venue for raves. That's been pretty controversial. A KSL-TV (Channel 5) report on these events stressed the number of underage kids being hospitalized after overdosing on drugs and liquor out there. That report was aired in (I think) March of 2012. The Saltair website still lists coming events. But with publicity like that, I wouldn't be surprised to see it end before very long.
Glad you're interested in this, too. I would have loved to see the second Saltair (the one in the movie) while it was still standing.
There's a new "Criterion Edition" DVD of Carnival of Souls with stunningly clear images. That video is worth the money if you want to see the movie in a decent format. You really can see what the place looked like in 1961 when the actual filming was done. -
aburbage — 12 years ago(October 04, 2013 07:58 PM)
Wow. Thank you so much for sharing such detailed information! I can see how you got sucked into it. I have long been fascinated by the backdrop of this film. I live in Philadelphia and it reminds me of my childhood memories of Wildwood NJ, Atlantic Cty and Coney Island of the 60's-70's. This relic of a place totally warranted developing a story around it. Still love this movie!
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diddleysquat-1 — 12 years ago(October 04, 2013 09:22 PM)
I live one state away from the old Saltair and never saw Saltair II during it's life, other than in the movie. But like you, I'm originally from the east - New Jersey. In fact, we lived very close to Asbury Park where that old Palace Amusement Park stood for so many years. That's fascinating, too, but there's something extra-special about the old Saltair.
If you get the Criterion Edition of Carnival of Souls - released in the last couple of years with dazzling clear video and audio - you'll see an interview with the producer, Hank Hervey, in which he explains how he got drawn into it.
The size of the grand pavilion was immense, much bigger than photos or movie can show. Hervey caught sight of it driving along I-81 when it stood against the sunset nearly a mile off the road. It was massive and dark and totally still against the late afternoon sun and the breeze from the lake behind it. The contrast between the sunlit water and beaches and the dark, foreboding presence of Saltair had to impress. He called it the "spookiest" location he had ever seen.
It's worth watching the extras if you're inclined to buy the new (not cheap) criterion edition of the movie. Hervey and the cast and crew offer lots of fascinating stories - not about Saltair's history but about the filming of the movie. Amazing stuff! -
collinclink — 12 years ago(December 11, 2013 06:14 PM)
This may be the next best thing to real
in 3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miuq_zNGyG4
