Walter Ellsworth Ware (1861-1951) was born in Needham, Massachusetts. He lived his early years in New Jersey, San Francisco, and Nebraska. After high school, Ware worked in an unidentified architect's office, and later in the Union Pacific drafting offices in Omaha, Nebraska. During his tenure with the railroad, he traveled a great deal in the Intermountain West. He designed several buildings for Union Pacific, including a chemical works plant in Laramie, Wyoming.
In 1899, Ware married Mary Jeanette Harley of Laramie, with whom he had one child, Florence. His daughter later became an accomplished artist in Salt Lake City.
Ware opened an office in 1889 in Salt Lake City, but a year later, because of a building depression, he closed the office and joined a government survey. During this time, he traveled through the Wind River Mountain area of Wyoming. After returning to Salt Lake City in 1891, he reopened his office and practiced architecture there for almost sixty years.
Ware's notable early work consists primarily of residential designs, the most significant of which are the G. S. Payton House (McIntyre House) of 1898 and the Thomas Weir House, built in 1899. Along with these, he designed a number of lesser known houses, several churches, and a small number of commercial buildings.
When the building boom of the early 1900s necessitated an expansion of the Ware office, he sought a strong design partner to complement his own design interests and business acumen. The addition of Alberto O. Treganza, from San Diego, California, widened the range of office capabilities. Ware's projects and building designs changed a great deal after Treganza came. The partnership lasted from 1904 to 1922, after which Ware practiced independently until the late 1930s. In 1938, he formed a partnership with Lloyd McClanahan, which lasted until 1949.
Walter Ware belonged to many Salt Lake City clubs during his lifetime. They included the Masons, Shriners, and Lions. Twice he was president of the Utah chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and was also the first Utahn to be elected to the AIA's College of Fellows. He died in 1951.
The Walter Ellsworth Ware architectural drawings and papers (1875-1984) contain about 700 architectural drawings of buildings designed by Ware and his partners. The majority of these buildings are residences located in the Salt Lake City area. Ware worked with several partners--Alberto O. Treganza, Ezra M. Cornell, and Charles L. Thompson. Treganza contributed, perhaps, the most. About two-thirds of the designs in this collection are of high-Victorian styles, with some neo-classical detail. Other designs reflect the Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, and Prarie Style.
The collection also contains a few of Ware's personal papers such as an autograph book, certificates, a deed, a brochure, name plates, and some sketches and plat maps.
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Architectural cabinet materials were donated in 1982.
The first folder of box 1 was donated in 1994.
Folders 2-7 of box 1 and oversize folders 70 and 71 were donated in January 2006.
Processed by Elizabeth Perkes in 1990.
Addendum processed by Lisa DeMille in 2006.
Andrew Lengyel processed box 2 in August 2006.
Oversize folders 27 and 68 are missing as of May 23 2023.
A photograph was transferred to the Multimedia Division of Special Collections (P1245).
Exterior and first floor plan.
Previously housed in box 2.
Previously housed in box 2.
See Box 1, Folder 1 for photocopies and an original copy in the