PI-60 Building Stones of Downtown Salt Lake City, A Walking Tour
36 South State Street
Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution (ZCMI), America's first department store, was organized in 1868 by the LDS Church in an effort to create a self-sufficient society and to limit the influence of non-Mormon merchants. Soon there were six wholesale outlets and 150 cooperative retail stores scattered throughout the territory. ZCMI moved to 15 South Main Street in 1876 and one hundred years later the ZCMI Center Mall opened its doors.The ZCMI Center Mall was rejuvenated in 1991 with the addition of an open atrium food court at the South Temple entrance and redecorated center court, floors, and walls.
The dark green marble floor tiles, "Hualien Jade" (trade name), were quarried in the mountains near Hua-lien, Taiwan. Hua-lien, dubbed the "City of Marble," is located on Taiwan's rugged east coast and is separated from the rest of the country by the Central Mountain Range.
The cream and orangish-brown marble tiles, "Breccia Oniciata," set in the corners of the rectangles formed by the green tiles, were quarried in northern Italy. The beige and cream marble wall tiles, "Crema Marfil," were quarried in Spain.
Continue walking through the mall, turn left at the escalators and exit through the south doors. Cross 100 South and turn west (right).