The abandoned Saltair Pavillion
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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 -
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FrederickofHollywood — 11 years ago(July 31, 2014 05:49 AM)
Wow, glad I found this thread.
I remember seeing this movie a few years back and I liked it.
I happen to be from the Salt Lake City area. I live about 20 miles from Great Salt Lake and just last Sunday the 27th, on kind of a whim, my girlfriend and I got curious about old Saltair, and decided to drive out there. It was finally destroyed by fire the year I was born, 1970, so I never got to see it. I have been to, and or driven past Saltair III many times and just never thought much about it. They have an occasional concert there, and a gift shop with some cool postcards and photos, etc., and of course, salt water taffy :).
Anyway, we got out to the site on the frontage rd. off of I-80. You have to park, and walk through a small gate to walk out there. The two "earthen projections" as they are called, still extend outward toward the lake. The northern one was part of a drainage system, and the southern one, is the actual approach to what used to be Saltair. They are mostly just gravel, rocks, and weeds now, and a lot of broken up concrete. The lake has been receding for several years due to drought, and the water is a good mile and a half from the road, so you can walk down from the raised area, onto the lake bed. There is a lot of area there which as recently as the early to mid 90's was completely covered by water, so it is a little soft and mushy. I have to say, it is eerie to walk across that surface. You all may have seen the old photos of people floating and swimming in the lake, with that massive palace in the background. You can just see it in your imagination! It's like something that was there for so long, and occupied that much space, had to leave some ghosts behind
As of now, there is a lot of debris there, some boards, wires, bricks, pieces of wood. Others have said that if you look around, you can find old dishes there from the caf. Didn't see any of those, though What is left behind are a lot of the pilings that Saltair sat on. There are a few taller, ornately carved posts visible also. You can follow perfect rows of pilings along the ground which formed the piers, along with some slanted boards which I imagine were the stairways from the pier directly down to the water. We followed them out until they once again disappeared into the lake.
Really an interesting and fun afternoon out there. Kind of sad also, and most definitely spooky! I can see why the director of Carnival of Souls wanted to use the pavilion. It definitely added much to the movie -
diddleysquat-1 — 11 years ago(July 31, 2014 03:37 PM)
Amazing report! There's hardly a spot on the planet with a more fascinating or eerie history. I'm too far from the scene to go out there myself and explore, much as I'd like to. Maybe one day. But your account of your visit there is very, very much appreciated.
Should you ever get a chance to go back and take pictures or video to post online, I'd love to see it. -
essex9999 — 11 years ago(August 20, 2014 01:33 AM)
Saltair is a fascinating and spooky place, isn't it? I visited it on a whim while in SLC in the early 2000s. There were very few people there, and the sense of isolation and desolation was striking. For an Easterner like me, that feeling is accentuated by the dry, barren surroundings, which feel otherworldly anyway, without any help from mysterious abandoned buildings. Unfortunately, I wasn't familiar with COS at the time, or the experience would have been even eerier.
By the way, I was equally fascinated by the weird sculpture isolated in the desert by the side of I-80, west of Salt Lake. I think it's called the "Tree of Life". I also seem to remember passing a massive, abandoned (?) salt or nitrate plant out in the middle of nowhere a little further west on the Interstate. And I was very aware that Dugway Proving Grounds were somewhere not far off to the south.
In other words, I came away with the impression of Utah as a bizarre, creepy place, and I mean that as a compliment. -
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diddleysquat-1 — 11 years ago(August 02, 2014 06:34 PM)
It would be hard to find anything more fascinating or full of intrigue than the history of the old Saltair(s). The collector's special edition of the movie has a lot of special material, including a good bit of background about the making of the film and some about the setting, as well. It's worth the price, honestly.
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MissMargoChanning — 11 years ago(August 02, 2014 09:14 PM)
I'd like to eventually own that but I only have a collection on one DVD. My husband got it for me one Christmas one year along with a Roger Corman collection.
I am checking out the history of Saltair. Such a sad history!
"Fasten your seat belts!
It's going to be a bumpy night!"