Peoples Co-op

The People’s Co-op Building in Lehi, once located at 151 East State Street, is a quietly dramatic chapter in the town’s commercial and architectural story. It was erected in 1902-03 as the new flagship for the People’s Cooperative Mercantile Institution (a branch of the ZCMI cooperative system), replacing earlier structures on the same block. 

From its opening, the building was meant to be more than just a store: it was a statement. It offered 22,000 square feet of space combining warehouse and retail functions, and was ahead of its time in Lehi by being wired for electricity, outfitted with Bell telephone service, and even linked by pneumatic tubes to other buildings in the Co-op complex. The sidewalks out front were the first concrete sidewalks in Lehi, giving the building a modern flourish that merchants observed with envy.

The building was crafted in brick over an ashlar sandstone foundation, and local masons Andrew Fjeld and Charles Ohran (who had built other notable structures in Lehi) are believed to have laid its walls. Architecturally, it carries a Late Victorian commercial character: the facade is divided into three bays on the street level with large display windows, a middle clerestory section for light, and upper masonry detailing capped by a pressed-metal classical cornice. The central bay once carried a Co-op emblem in an oval cutout. 

Over time the People’s Co-op Building wore many hats. As competition increased and shopping patterns shifted, the Co-op’s fortunes waned. In 1937 the ZCMI parent announced it would close the People’s Co-op branch in Lehi, and the large building was parceled out to various new tenants. In its next lives, it became a roller skating rink (branded “Niagara” among others), then a furniture store under the name Grass Furniture, and later a wholesale warehouse for Christensen’s. 

Today, the building is home to Osmond Designs, a furniture and décor business, a full-circle return to one of its earlier commercial uses. Though its ground floor was once modernized in the 1960s with an aluminum glass storefront, the upper masonry and cornice still preserve much of the original character.

In many ways, the People’s Co-op Building is a symbol of Lehi’s transition: from pioneer co-operative ideals to the rise of modern retail, from local craftsmanship to electrical innovation, and from a single flagship mercantile to a hub for many lives and businesses. Its endurance is a tribute to Lehi’s own resilience.