Hotel Sam Sneed (same address as New Hotel J.H.)
Known Name(s)
Hotel Sam Sneed (same address as New Hotel J.H.)
Address
250 West So. Temple Salt Lake City, UT
Establishment Type(s)
Hotel
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
Ad from Salt Lake Tribune, July 22, 1941.
Detailed History
Early editions of the Green Book listed the New Hotel J.H. as the only property in the entire state of Utah. It remained the sole listing from 1940-1947. In 1948 the hotel was joined by the Salt Lake City YWCA and the Astoria Hotel. The proprietors, James H. and Ida Turner purchased the hotel in the 1930s after working as a maid and chauffeur in Salt Lake. The 1930 census showed James and Ida renting a home downtown for twelve dollars a month. Ida was thirty-two years-old and James was forty-five. Rates at the J.H. varied between fifty and seventy-five cents each night with radios and hot water in some rooms. An advertisement proclaimed it was “the newest and best hotel West of Chicago and East of Los Angeles.” An advertisement from 1941 in the Salt Lake Telegram showed rates increasing to $1.50 per night for a double room. James Hampton died of a heart attack in the hotel on May 20, 1945. His death certificate stated that he’d been a member of the community for thirty to forty years. The 1948 city directory continued to list Ida’s home address as the hotel and her occupation as “manager”. The New Hotel J.H. remained in the Green Book through the final issue in 1967. Another Green Book entry, the Hotel Sam Sneed, was listed at the same address from 1951-1967. No records exist concerning the establishment or its owners. Sam Snead was a famous professional golfer during the era, but there seems to be no connection between him and the hotel or the state of Utah.
Sources consulted:
“United States Federal Census” Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0060; FHL microfilm: 2342155, ancestry.com.
Cooper-Rompato, "Utah in the Green Book,” https://issuu.com/utah10/do.cs/utah_historical_quarterly_volume88_2020_number1/s/11140180
Salt Lake Telegram, March 15, 1941, 28.
Department of Health, Office of Vital Records and Statistics. Death Certificates, 1904-1961. Series 81448. Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.
U.S. City Directories, 1822–1995, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1940, 381, 651, digital image, accessed November 15, 2019, ancestry.com.
