The early Chamber and its predecessor, interested in sharing information to entice business, as well as chronicle Utah’s business climate, began with book publishing. Here are some selected titles found in archives: 1888. Salt Lake City: a sketch of Utah’s wonderful resources, prepared and published by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce. “This publication is [...]
Never short on promotional ideas, the Club sponsored a fundraising campaign with chambers and commercial clubs throughout Utah. Sales of the “I am for Utah” button were intended to boost advertising for the state. In another move, Ogden and Salt Lake Commercial Clubs agreed to co-sponsor billboards promoting Utah at Echo, Utah; Granger, Wyoming; West [...]
In an effort to boost the flagging copper market, a large player in Utah’s economy, the Salt Lake Commercial Club urged Utahns to “Buy Something Made of Copper.” Club members voted to print 5,000 labels, bearing this slogan, to attach to outgoing mail. Club members who operated local movie theaters also promised to display pre-show [...]
In an attempt to draw suburban shoppers to downtown businesses in 1918, the Salt Lake Commercial Club’s Retail and Wholesale Trades Department designated Wednesdays as "Sale Days." Calling on the patriotism for World War I, an advertisement read, “You want to save every dollar you can, especially at this time, when careful shopping is just as [...]
In May 1915, the Salt Lake Commercial Club supported a movement to “Buy it Now” to help get more money into the economy. May 3 was designated as “Buy it Now Day,” and people were asked to speed up their shopping for significant purchases.
When President William Howard Taft came to Salt Lake City in 1911, it was at the Commercial Club where Taft chose to defend the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1911 landmark decisions to dissolve the Standard Oil Company and the American Tobacco Company; both considered in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. While Taft had intended to speak [...]
Although Mormons and Utah had always been a target of incendiary press coverage up until statehood, numerous publications attempted to discredit Mormonism through scurrilous accounts at the beginning of the 20th Century. In 1910- 1911, muckraking magazines took on Mormons and the State of Utah, attempting to expose new polygamist marriages and un-American disloyalty to [...]
When the Salt Lake Commercial Club opened its swanky new home in 1910, the Tribune hailed its opening reception of 5,000 people: “The brilliant affair at Salt Lake’s beautiful new home for the commercial men of the city marked an epoch in the business and social life of Salt Lake City, and will long be [...]
Salt Lake Commercial Club members were among the primary supporters to build a new State Capitol. It didn’t come without some initial failures. In 1909, most rural Utahns voted against building the “People’s House,” while Salt Lake City and County voters supported the move. The final tally was 4,160 in favor - 7,633 against. The Legislature [...]
As noted in the earlier edition, Salt Lake Commercial Club leader, Fisher Harris, spearheaded the effort to attract Americans to “See America First.” While the wealthy boarded steamships to spend summers in Europe, Fisher led the efforts to get Americans, particularly those living in the East, to come visit America’s western treasures. The Club sponsored [...]