Irving Jerome “Izzi” Wagner photograph collection, 1910-1970

Irving Jerome “Izzi” Wagner (1916-2005) was born to Harry and Rose Wagner and raised in Salt Lake City. The Wagners were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. They owned and operated the Wagner Bag Company, a manufacturer of industrial bags and packing materials, out of their home. When Harry Wagner died in 1932, Izzi assisted his mother in running the family business. Izzi married Jeanne Rasmussen, a former vaudeville performer, in 1942. Soon after, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served in World War II; however, soon after his company landed at Guadacanal, Izzi Wagner caught malaria and was sent back to the United States.

The company expanded in the 1950s to include cardboard and general packaging; it later merged with St. Regis Paper, becoming the largest independent distributor of industrial packaging in Salt Lake City. In 1993, the company was acquired by Ernest Packaging Solutions, a California packaging supply company.

Izzi Wagner was involved in the development of Salt Lake City, particularly its downtown area. Wagner was a member of the Salt Lake Planning and Zoning Commission and sat on the Salt Palace Advisory Board and on the Airport Advisory Board. He purchased Trolley Square to redevelop it into a shopping and restaurant complex. Soon after Jeanne’s death, Wagner began planning the construction of a performing arts center to honor his late mother and wife. The Rose Wagner Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1997. The Center is a three-venue complex that includes the Jeanne Wagner Theatre. It houses the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, Plan-B Theatre Company, and the Sundance Film Festival. In addition to the Wagner Center, Izzi built the Wagner Industrial Park and the Jeanne Wagner Jewish Community Center. Izzi Wagner died on February 1, 2005.