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Six homes in Salt Lake City's tree-lined University neighborhood will be showcased Saturday, April 30, during the Utah Heritage Foundation's 45th annual Homes Tour.

The homes, built between 1900 and 1925, include Period Revival cottages, English Tudor and Prairie style homes. The latter style was made famous by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and replicated by the local architectural firm Ware & Treganza.

The University neighborhood developed over several decades, which resulted in an architectural variety that is rarely paralleled in the state, said Kirk Huffaker, the foundation's executive director. Many residents of the area immediately west of campus taught at the University of Utah and were influential in the fields of medicine, theater, dance, art, architecture and science.

After World War II, the U. saw an influx of students and this area grew in diversity and population density. Several high-rise apartments built in the midcentury are still a very visible part of the neighborhood. With preservation in mind, this neighborhood sought out, and received, a local historic district nomination in 1991, Huffaker said.

The homes tour, which attracts between 700 and 1,200 people each year, gives participants a chance to see how to live a modern lifestyle in historic homes. Lana and John Schowengerdt's home, which will be on the tour, is a perfect example.

Designed by Ware & Treganza, it includes the classic components of a Prairie-style home: horizontal lines, a square four-room main level and horizontal bands of windows, designed to blur the lines between the inside and outside. The Schowengerdt home still has many original features, including its hardwood floors, wood trim, pocket doors, decorative stained-glass window, coffered ceiling and front porch swing.

The Schowengerdts, who have lived in the home for nine years, have tried to be "good stewards" by updating the kitchen and bathrooms to modern standards, while still keeping an eye on history.

"We've feel a responsibility to renovate certain aspects of the house so that it will be attractive for another family in the future," said Lana Schowengerdt, noting that older houses that aren't updated regularly or become rundown are often demolished in favor of new construction.

University Homes Tour

Six homes in Salt Lake City's tree-lined University neighborhood will be showcased during the Utah Heritage Foundation's 45th annual Homes Tour.

When • Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where • Tour headquarters and day-of ticket sales take place at 1200 East and 100 South

Cost • $20 in advance; $25 day of tour

Details • utahheritagefoundation.org​ or 801-533-0858 ext. 107