The Cast iron façade of Salt Lake City’s historic ZCMI store has symbolized pioneering commerce and economic vitality on Main Street for more than 135 years. The Zion’s Co-operative Mercantile Institution retail enterprise, founded in 1868, was one of the first department stores in America.

The ZCMI store was also the only department store to be owned by a religious organization, namely The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, until it was sold in 1999 to The May Department Stores Company, now known as Macy’s, Inc. The ZCMI cast iron façade was the largest of its kind in Utah. In a 1973 store expansion, this beloved façade was slated for demolition. Concerned patrons led a call for preservation and insisted it be restored as a downtown landmark. Restoration architect Steven T. Baird was hired to develop the protocol for this first major cast iron restoration in the country. Present-day restoration methods and procedures for cast iron architecture are a credit to his tireless efforts.

Continuing the legacy of their father, Steven T. Baird’s Sons company, Historical Arts & Casting, Inc., was commissioned in 2007 by City Creek Reserve, Inc., to preserve this historic landmark as part of the City Creek project, a broad, mixed-use redevelopment of downtown salt Lake. The second major restoration of the ZCMI façade was completed in June 2011.

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