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Text Content

MORMON DETECTIVE


INTRODUCING THE ADVENTURES OF FRANK BROWN, TIME TRAVELER, AND JACK HAMMER,
PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, AS THEY TRAVEL THE MEAN STREETS OF POST WORLD WAR II SALT
LAKE CITY, UT


MENU

 * POST-WAR SALT LAKE CITY
 * SAVING HARRY TRUMAN
 * HINT OF COPPER
 * THE LOST RHOADES MINE AFFAIR
 * AUTHOR BIO

Search for:


THIS IS THE PLACE … THE HOME OF 13 YEAR-OLD FRANKIE BROWN AND PRIVATE
INVESTIGATOR JACK HAMMER CA. 1948

Photo Courtesy Utah State Historical Society

People say a picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe they just don’t like
readin’…
This is where we live and work: the squeaky clean streets of Salt Lake City in
1948. When Jack came home from The War in ‘46 he was 23 years old, too old to go
back to school or live with his Mother. Instead, he took a job as a night
watchman at Auerbach’s department store babysitting mannequins. He’s been trying
to use his skills from his years in the Army as MP, setting up his own business
as a Private Investigator finding stray dogs, cats and husbands. He rents a
small two-room office on Main where he works and sleeps. If you need a good P.I.
ask for him, Jack Hammer, Mormon Detective… If you just want to read his story,
contact me at www.stevenrburt.com.



Broadway in Salt Lake City ca. 1948
Broadway is the home to the Auerbach Department Store where Jack works as a
night watchman. Excerpt from HINT OF COPPER: “Stars faded over the Wasatch as I
finished my shift at Auerbach’s. Mountains east of the city gathered detail,
emerging gradually from silhouette shapes set against a lime-white sky. I spent
my nights protecting department store dummies. That was my side job, the one
that kept me afloat in ‘48.”  



Main Street in Salt Lake City ca. 1948 looking south
Jack’s case, involving stolen Nikola Tesla’s stolen secrets, plays out along
Main Street. The photo show banners hung across the street in preparation for
the Days of ’47 parade. The Walker Bank tower, shown at the center left in the
distance, figures into Bosko Cvito’s big test in HINT OF COPPER, when lights
suddenly go out all over the rest of the city, but NOT in the tower. Jack’s
office, in the Karrick Building, is opposite the bank and another 1/2 block
south.

State Street in Salt Lake City ca. 1948 looking north
Jack parks on State, and walks north to The Beehive Cafe from Auerbach’s. In the
LOST RHOADES MINE AFFAIR, he fills his car with gas at the UTOCO but suffers a
flat tire, delaying his arrival at County General Hospital.

Tiny’s Barbecue at 33rd South in Salt Lake City ca. 1948 (looking west across
State Street)
From HINT OF COPPER: “Tiny’s was across the street, nestled between tall trees
and the Texaco. The clapboard cafe was all signage, not much bigger than the gas
station. The windows were open and the smell of wood-smoked meat drifted toward
me. I jaywalked straight to the front entry.”

Inside the Naple’s Cafe ca. 1948
Jack meets Marko for lunch in HINT OF COPPER, in a small cafe similar to this
one. Marko feeds Jack ethnic dishes from his homeland in the new country of
Yugoslavia and is confused to discover that Jack will not drink beer. Marko buys
his cigarettes from the machine in the center-left of the photo. Jack later
meets Aleks here one night when Marko is absent, but his cheeseburger is cold.

Inside the Peter Pan Billiards Hall ca. 1980                          Photo
courtesy James Davis, SLC.
The Peter Pan Billiards Hall, a few doors north of Jack’s office in the Karrick
Building, boasted serious pool and money pool on 12′ slate tables. Jack gets a
lesson in pool from Red, and uncovers a hint of Bosko’s possible travels to
Bingham in Hint of Copper, while Frankie Brown learns about placing bets in the
toilet room, in My Brother’s Keeper.



Bingham City Hall on the Right ca. 1948
Jack leaves his car parked here, just outside the Bingham Hotel and across from
the tunnel to Copperfield (right of photo), in HINT OF COPPER. The building at
520, next to the Telephone Building, became a euphemism for ladies of the
evening. The crowds gathered in the photo background  are standing at the road
to Carr Fork and Highland Boy. The Gemmel Club and the funicular tram are up
this street, roughly a block. The City Hall and Police Station are in the brick
building on the right.

Traditional Brick Bungalows in Salt Lake City
Low hip roofs and covered porches are common elements of any number of small,
brick homes built in Salt Lake City, starting in the early 1900’s. Garages were
added later in many, as separate buildings behind the main structures.

Outside The Beehive Cafe
This photo, from 1947, looks south down State Street and toward Murray. The
Beehive Grille and Cafe was located at the base of the Whitehall Hotel, shown in
the right side of the photo. The dark brick structure at the center-left of the
photo was the Public Safety Building, where Jack’s Uncle Jim had his office, and
the tall building at the far left is the Belvedere Apartments where Frank Brown
discovered the radio.

Inside The Beehive Cafe ca. 1948
In Hint of Copper Jack’s girlfriend, Sadie, waitresses here during the breakfast
hours. The padded door at the rear opens to the mysterious Twilight Lounge. Jack
frequents the cafe’ to spend time with Sadie and often sees his uncle, Jim, at
the counter. Frank Brown uses the lounge as a jumping-off point for time travel
in My Brother’s Keeper.

Tram to the Office in Bingham ca. 1948
Two small, cable-driven cars rode up and down the hillside from the base of the
hill near the Gemmel Club in Carr Fork, in Bingham. Jack made his way up to the
mine offices and walked in on somebody else’s appointment, providing him crucial
information regarding how much was at stake in the investigation.



The Bingham Hotel, ca late 1940’s
Near the top of Bingham’s Main Street, Jack spent the night here after searching
for Bosko in the Copper King saloon. The one-way tunnel provided access to
Copperfield after the road there was swallowed by mining operations.  A traffic
light, visible just above the old truck, controlled access to the single lane
hole through the mountain.





Typical Float in Day’s of ’47 Parade
Every year, on the 24th of July, Salt Lake City enjoys a parade celebrating Utah
and it’s pioneer heritage. Sadie’s kidnappers contact Jack here in an unusual
manner.

Coliseum at the Utah State Fair Park ca 1940’s
No longer standing, the Coliseum Building stood at the west end of an outdoor
garden parkway, flanked by smaller buildings. It was west and south of the rodeo
grounds. The Coliseum had a dirt floor, suitable for showing livestock and other
agricultural events. In A HINT OF COPPER, Jack confronts Sadie’s kidnappers
here.

Text Copyright 2014-22 Steven R. Burt  All Rights Reserved
Photos Courtesy Utah State Historical Society, Steven R. Burt and James Davis






LEAVE A COMMENT CANCEL REPLY

Δ


STORY POINTS


The Karrick Building still stands on Salt Lake City’s Main Street. Built in
1887, a prominent local jewelry store moved into the building in 1905. The upper
floors contained a private gambling hall and apartments for as many as eight
prostitutes. But after the late 1920’s the upper floors were mostly empty, hence
Jack’s cheap office rent.

The Colt .38 snubnose Detective Special Second Series went into commercial
production around 1947 and was produced in both nickel and a blued steel finish.

“End of the Trail” print, hanging on the wall inside Jack’s office in the
Karrick Building.

Punch Boards were common gambling/gaming devices that sat on cafe lunch
counters. Using a nail-like key, customers would punch out the small dots,
pushing a tiny rolled paper number out the backside of the board.

Nikola Tesla, famed scientist and inventor, died in 1943. Many of his inventions
and ideas vanished and even though he was a US citizen, the US Office of Alien
Property seized 80 trunks of material from his quarters at his death.

The Beeline Gas Station mentioned in HINT OF COPPER was on the corner of 9th S
and 10th E in Salt Lake City. It was called Frank’s Service Station back in
1948, not becoming a Beeline branded station actually until 1960. I used the
name Beeline for purely literary reasons.

Jack drives a ’38 Ford Coupe, similar to the one shown here.

The Newhouse Hotel, prominent in THE LOST RHOADES MINE AFFAIR, stood on the
corner of 4th South and Main Street. Built by Samuel Newhouse as a part of his
attempt to develop a gentile (non-Mormon) hub for business at the south end of
the business district there, it opened in 1915. Unfortunately Newhouse himself
was broke. For many years the Hotel was one of the finest in Salt Lake City, but
was demolished in 1983. The site has remained a parking lot ever since.

Kennecott Copper Mine at the top of Bingham Canyon. In the late 1940’s, the
major world copper producers testified before congress that the known reserves
of underground copper would be largely depleted within 35 years.
See http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre1947043000

Back-painted sign at the Peter Pan Billiards and Barber Shop.



The Telephone Directory for Salt Lake City in 1948 lists a number of assayers
offices, all located on West Temple. There were 5 Jamesons listed, but no actual
Jamasons.

The Mayflower was a popular local restaurant on Main Street in Salt Lake City
between 2nd and 1st S. The interior was decorated with murals of the pilgrims.

My great-grandfather, James W. Burt, joined the Salt Lake City Police Department
in 1920 and retired in 1941 with the rank of Captain. Following his retirement
he was a house detective for the ZCMI department store until his death in
August, 1948. This story does not purport to be a true story from his life, but
I have used his name.The old County General Hospital was located on the corner
of 21st S and State Street. It was built in 1885 and stood until 1965. In the
late 40’s and early 50’s it was also a location for treatment of polio victims.

Bingham was seven miles long and two lanes wide. At the top of the canyon the
road split at Carr Fork, headed up toward Highland Boy. The road to Copperfield
was closed, limiting access to the tunnel next to the Bingham Hotel.

Candy stripers in training in 1957. Volunteer candy stripers originated as a
high school civics project in New Jersey in 1944.

There are many variations and different tellings of stories about the Lost Mine
and Thomas Rhoades. Check out http://www.miningutah.com/id367.html for example.

Happy Jack is the title of a song recorded by The Who. Happy Jack was also a
historical figure and acquaintance of Caleb Rhoades. This story does not purport
to be a true story from his life or any other, but I have used a similar name.

Chee-tos were really spelled this way when they debuted in 1948. In 2009 a
single Cheeto sold on eBay for $35; its shape resembled Michael Jackson doing
the moonwalk.

The Deseret Gym stood close and behind the Hotel Utah, providing swimming and
recreation in the downtown area. Because Jack lived in his office and only had
access to a sink and a toilet, he showered at the gym whenever possible.

Commercial oil operations did not start in Utah until September 1948, but the
search was on. The discovery of a well in Ashley Valley in the Uintah Basin that
produced 300 barrels of oil per day started a boom that continues in the area to
this day.



Nikola Tesla “The transmission of electric energy without wires” in Scientific
American Supplement, Munn and Co., New York, Vol. 57, No. 1483, June 4, 1904, p.
23760, fig. 1

Sugar House Lanes, mentioned in THE LOST RHOADES MINE AFFAIR, was a popular
bowing alley in the Sugar House area during the 1940’s, but is no longer in
existence. It was on 21st S east of 11th E.




JACK HAMMER, MORMON DETECTIVE

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