Herbert S. Auerbach photograph collection, 1900-1940

Herbert Samuel Auerbach was born on October 4, 1882 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Samuel Hiram and Eveline Brooks Auerbach. Herbert’s father, Samuel H. Auerbach (1847-1920) was a Jewish immigrant from Germany who, with his older brother Frederick, founded a department store in downtown Salt Lake City in 1864. His mother, Eveline Brooks Auerbach (1860-1924), was the daughter of another prominent Jewish Salt Lake City family who built the Brooks Arcade in downtown Salt Lake City. Together they had eight children, of which Herbert was the eldest.

Herbert Auerbach graduated from high school in Salt Lake City in 1896. Afterwards, he attended classes in Germany and Switzerland, receiving diplomas in industrial studies in 1898 and 1899. Auerbach was a violinist, and during this time he also studied music at the Conservatory of Music in Lausanne, Switzerland and gave performances in Europe. In 1905, Auerbach graduated from Columbia University with a degree in mining engineering and in the following year he earned a master's degree in electrometallurgy from Columbia University. After college, Auerbach worked as a manager for mining, real estate and department store firms in Idaho, Colorado, and Utah. In 1911, he began working for his family’s business, taking on co-leadership roles with his younger brothers, George and Frederick. Under the leadership of the second generation, Auerbach and Bros. department store was expanded, moving from Main Street to the southwest corner of State Street and Third South.

In addition to his work as president of the Auerbach Company, Herbert Auerbach designed and built the Centre Theatre across from the department store. Auerbach served on numerous committees and clubs in Salt Lake City, including the Alta Club, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Water Board of Salt Lake City, and the Colorado River Basin Water Users Association. He pursued politics and was elected to the Utah State Legislature in 1925; he served two terms. Auerbach played violin and composed music throughout his life, composing over 100 ballads and religious songs and collaborated with Anthony C. Lund of the Tabernacle Choir. In addition to his lifelong interest in music, Auerbach was an avid historian, serving as president and vice president of the Sons of the Utah Pioneer and collecting numerous artifacts of Western memorabilia, including many items said to belong to Joseph Smith, which he exhibited in Auerbach’s before donating the collection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Auerbach also contributed scholarship and translations to the Utah Historical Quarterly, including a translation of Father Escalante’s journal. Herbert Samuel Auerbach died on March 19, 1945.

In addition to his work as president of the Auerbach Company, Herbert Auerbach designed and built the Centre Theatre across from the department store. Auerbach served on numerous committees and clubs in Salt Lake City, including the Alta Club, Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan Water Board of Salt Lake City, and the Colorado River Basin Water Users Association. He pursued politics and was elected to the Utah State Legislature in 1925; he served two terms. Auerbach played violin and composed music throughout his life, composing over 100 ballads and religious songs and collaborated with Anthony C. Lund of the Tabernacle Choir. In addition to his lifelong interest in music, Auerbach was an avid historian, serving as president and vice president of the Sons of the Utah Pioneer and collecting numerous artifacts of Western memorabilia, including many items said to belong to Joseph Smith, which he exhibited in Auerbach’s before donating the collection to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Auerbach also contributed scholarship and translations to the Utah Historical Quarterly, including a translation of Father Escalante’s journal. Herbert Samuel Auerbach died on March 19, 1945.