Boulevard Gardens pedestrianized block in Salt Lake City

I've mentioned the book Pocket Neighborhoods by Ross Chapin, which is a beautifully written book about "courtyard housing," old and new.  

Such housing is rare, even though it has been constructed in various places certainly since the 1920s.

A kind of example is how Minneapolis pedestrianized the street for the two block Milwaukee Street Historic District in the late 1970s, or how "Exposition Boulevard" facing Audubon Park in New Orleans is a sidewalk faced by houses.

I happened upon an example in Salt Lake City.  I was cycling on the sidewalk and I probably wouldn't have noticed if I were on the street or driving,  (I hadn't noticed before and I've been on that block a bunch of times.)

It's called Boulevard Gardens, it was constructed in 1929, with 23 houses (one lot was never built upon).  I didn't check out the rear of the houses, apparently there are still some original garages extant.  Boulevard Gardens is historically designated, and was built as an early example of a "suburb" although these days it's decidedly in Salt Lake City's core ("Salt Lake City’s ‘street without a street’ is a 90-year-old hidden gem —one that homeowners and historians hope to preserve," Salt Lake Tribune).

There is another example in Salt Lake, although the housing was not for the middle class,  It's utilitarian and small, most likely  for railroad workers as it is down the street from the old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad passenger station.  

The one story rowhouses are part of the La France Apartments "complex," fronted by 3-story tenements ("RESIDENTS SHOW OFF A FORGOTTEN WAY OF LIFE," Salt Lake Deseret News).  The buildings are scheduled to be demolished as part of a redevelopment project spearheaded by the Greek Church, which abuts and owns the buildings ("Massive new development would give Salt Lake City an upscale Greek Town," Salt Lake Tribune).

La France Apartment Rowhouses.  Photo: Leah Hogsten, Salt Lake Tribune.

While the Church states that it will offer the same number of affordable units in the new building, there are no plans to preserve the buildings, which are truly unique, not just in Salt Lake City, but nationally, as an example of this type of housing.

Like the case of the Redwood Drive In in West Valley City--Utah's fastest growing city, which may end up becoming larger in population than Salt Lake City ("Cultural master plans and Drive in theaters?"), this is a tough call from an urban planning standpoint.  The planner side of me says it's an acceptable loss, the historic preservation side says absolute no to demolition, because the property is so unique and distinctly relevant to SLC's urban residential and industrial history.  

Because the property is so unique, I would choose to save the property at some cost to density.

Interestingly, while there are extant examples all around the country, this particular urban design form was never widely adopted.

Milwaukee Avenue, Minneapolis

Exposition Boulevard.  The houses have garages or other access from the side or rear, and may have two different "front entries" one for the sidewalk, the other for vehicles.