Steiner American Building
505 East South Temple
1967, William Moyle Browning, SLC
George A. Steiner started the American Linen Supply Company in 1895 in Salt Lake City because it was a great place to do business and raise a family. Under George and later Richard Steiner's leadership, the company experienced remarkable growth through several decades. By 1959, the newly-named Steiner American Company was 
internationally recognized with more than 22 linen production plants worldwide. Total sales by 1967 topped $41 million.
With accelerated company growth came the need for a new office headquarters. Richard Steiner, company president at the time, wanted to set a standard for their new international prominence by having a South Temple address. Steiner's direction to architect William Moyle Browning of the firm Scott, Louie and Browning, was to go horizontal, not vertical, and to not violate the street's history with something so different, or relate so closely to compete with it. This required a very original solution that would be modern by design yet from anything else. Browning worked with a restrictive site to design a modern brick and concrete edifice that kept cars hidden, yet created an open office floor plan with one of the first supercomputer rooms in the state. The building has changed little since its construction and received the AIA 25 Year Award for continuing to have relevant, good design for over two decades.
Having a South Temple address for Steiner American came at the expense of one of the great mansions of the street. The Cosgriff-Weir Mansion had been vacant for many years and though Steiner initially wanted to renovate the building for their offices, cost estimates and too small of building size became determining factors in its demolition. While Steiner American became one of the first private companies to locate on South Temple, the demolition of the Cosgriff Mansion became the rallying point that helped form Utah Heritage Foundation as a historic preservation advocacy organization.
Top: Entry Plaza
Right: Wide view of building from F Street.
Left: Entry tower concrete and brick detailing.
Bottom: Parking garage underneath building.
