Maverik Station to be Built on Historic Downtown Main Street2 min read

From Cedar City Historic Commission, For Iron County Today

A soon-to-open Maverik gas station on the corner of Main Street and 200 North in Cedar City has excited interest and some protests about the development on the historic corner as the city gets ready to celebrate its 250th anniversary.

The southwest corner at Main and 200 N. has hosted popular downtown businesses for more than a century beginning in 1920 with the opening of the El Escalante Hotel across from the Union Pacific Railroad Depot. When a new rail- road spur opened in 1923 thousands of tourists, among them movie stars and one U.S. president, Warren G. Harding, poured in to visit nearby national parks.

The El Escalante was sold and demolished in 1971. In 1988 the Town and Country Inn leased the corner to a Sizzler restaurant. The popular restaurant operated for 46 years until last year when the lease expired and was sold to Maverik, Inc.

Maverik Agrees to Conditions to fit Historic Downtown Appearance
The corner is zoned as Downtown Commercial, which means it is legal for a gas station to build there so long as it meets all zoning requirements for a space of 5,000 square feet or less. Maverik wanted to develop a slightly larger 5,400 square foot site, which made it possible for the City to negotiate some conditions to help preserve the historic feel of the downtown area:

● A main entrance on 200 South with a brick facade on the convenience store that matches the rest of Main Street— Trees, benches and landscaping along Main Street
● Number of pumps, signing and lighting limited
● As the Main/200 Intersection is heavily traveled, UDOT stipulated thatthe main entrance to the gas station will be right turn only, with divider islands controlling left turn traffic at the intersection

Why Don’t We have an Official Historic District in Cedar City?
In 2023 the City attempted to have a downtown historic district registered with the National Register of Historic Places. Cedar City Councilman Scott Phillips said the State of Utah sent letters to all businesses in the proposed district notifying them that their property was being nominated as a historic district.

Many property owners protested, fearing government regulations would dictate what they could do with their property. The nomination was temporarily tabled. However, Phillips said the City plans to resubmit an application in the near future.

“There are actually many benefits to being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including increased tourism and qualification for national and state funding grants,” he said. It would also provide future protection and preservation of historic buildings on Main Street.

Cedar City already has one nationally recognized register of 172 historic buildings between College Avenue and 400 South, and between 100 West and 300 West. Regulations for a historic district are dictated by local authorities, who have not placed any onerous restrictions on owners and residents in the area.