Hamberg Castle.
Courtesy, Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. [1]
In the heart of Provo once stood an elegant house nicknamed "Hamberg Castle," built by the German physician Dr. Julius Hamberg.
Little is known about the doctor’s background or reason for settling in Provo, but he is listed in the 1884 Utah Gazette and is mentioned in Provo records as “an early-day doctor who came to Provo." [2]
All that is known is his father "had been a gardener for German nobility and Julius had a taste for luxury." Dr. Hamberg constructed the lavish home for himself and his wife. [3]
Constructed during the second half of 1884, the home boasted several castle-like features, including four turrets with pointed roofs, a central turret with narrow windows resembling arrow loops, and crenellations. The entryway was supported by two pillars, with an eagle over the entrance and the interior had a "a huge library or foyer." [5]
The booklet "Provo: The Garden City of Utah; Its Resources and Attractions," published under the auspices of the Provo Chamber of Commerce in 1888, featured the home as one of the architectural highlights of the city, as shown in the two following photos:
Shortly after moving there, Eliza gave birth to her ninth child, Robert Wilson Stewart – my grandfather - on Christmas Eve of 1904 in the Hamberg Castle.
Eliza and Andrew’s tenth child, Samuel Elwood Stewart, was also born in the home during the Spring of 1909.
In the Fall of 1918, Andrew Jackson Stewart Jr. passed away unexpectedly at the age of 72 after a medical procedure. With his passing, the fortunes of Eliza and her children changed drastically. Unable to make ends meet, she sold Hamberg Castle and moved with her four unmarried children to Salt Lake City in 1918 where she ran a boardinghouse for the rest of her life. [11]
In later years, family members fondly remembered their prior home as "the old castle."
My grandfather, Eliza’s son Col. Robert W. Stewart later recalled:
In 1975, Hamberg Castle was listed on the Utah State Register of Historic Sites and was owned and maintained by Historic Utah, Inc., a preservation firm. [14] [15] Toward the end of that year, a newspaper reported that the Hamberg Castle was "in the process of restoration now." [16]
The home was listed for sale in 1976 along with other historic pioneer homes on the condition that "these historic state landmarks will be sold only to parties who agree to preserve them." [17] A newspaper reported that the “Hamberg Castle” was “now in sad disrepair,” and that "the turrets are gone, the ceilings lowered, the weeds spring up in the yard.” [18] Historic Utah, Inc., hoped to sell the property, and the owner saw “good potential for restoration in it,” and “an opportunity to return to the quality Julius Hamberg must have known there.” [19]
Unfortunately, they were unable to find a buyer for the property within the specified time frame. Since they lacked funding to maintain the deteriorating house, in April of 1977 the home was demolished despite it being on the Utah State Register of Historic Sites. [20]
A 6-unit apartment complex now occupies the property where the Hamberg Castle once stood at 185 South 400 West.
The destruction of this site proved a loss to the historic and architectural atmosphere of Provo, which one newspaper described as "[a] unique example of early foreign influence in residential Utah architecture." [21]
[2] “Old Pioneer Homes Hold Much of Provo’s Heritage.” Provo Daily Herald. Sunday, February 29, 1976. Page 29B.
[3] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[4] “Old Homes Make State Register.” Orem-Geneva Times May 22, 1975. Page 4.
[5] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[6] https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=446528
[7] Source: "Provo: The Garden City of Utah; Its Resources and Attractions," D.C. Dunbar & Co., Publisher. Omaha, Nebraska, 1888.
[8] Source: "Provo: The Garden City of Utah; Its Resources and Attractions," D.C. Dunbar & Co., Publisher. Omaha, Nebraska, 1888.
[9] Provo 1908, Sheet 21. https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=322118
[10] “Old Pioneer Homes Hold Much of Provo’s Heritage.” Provo Daily Herald. Sunday, February 29, 1976. Page 29B.
[11] “Mary E. Stewart Called by Death.” Sunday Provo Herald. May 19, 1946. Page 2.
[12] Robert Wilson Stewart, Sr. Life Sketch.
[13] “Hamberg Castle Information Sought by Herald.” Provo Daily Herald. Thursday, January 1, 1970. Page 2.
[14] “Old Homes Make State Register.” Orem-Geneva Times. May 22, 1975. Page 4.
[15] “Public Open House Slated for Historic Provo Home.” Provo Daily Herald. Thursday, October 30, 1975. Page 4.
[16] “Old Homes Restored by ‘Historic Utah.’” Orem-Geneva Times. October 30, 1975. Page 13.
[17] “Old Pioneer Homes Hold Much of Provo’s Heritage.” Provo Daily Herald. Sunday, February 29, 1976. Page 29B.
[18] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[19] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[20] “Points of Interest Include Distinctive Older Homes.” Provo Daily Herald. February 27, 1977. Page 139.
[21] “Old Homes Make State Register.” Orem-Geneva Times. May 22, 1975. Page 4.
All that is known is his father "had been a gardener for German nobility and Julius had a taste for luxury." Dr. Hamberg constructed the lavish home for himself and his wife. [3]
"The Hamberg Castle was built during the pioneer era (1884) and was constructed of adobe, yet the home was far from the typical frontier home. Dr. Julius Hamberg was a German emigrant and he designed his home in the manner of a miniature European estate. The lavish flat-roofed residence was situated in a magnificently landscaped yard complete with a large fountain, large beds of flowers and domesticated deer and peacock." [4]
Hamberg Castle, 1908 Provo City Survey, 185 South 400 West [9]
Constructed during the second half of 1884, the home boasted several castle-like features, including four turrets with pointed roofs, a central turret with narrow windows resembling arrow loops, and crenellations. The entryway was supported by two pillars, with an eagle over the entrance and the interior had a "a huge library or foyer." [5]
Hamberg Castle in Provo.
Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society. [6]
The booklet "Provo: The Garden City of Utah; Its Resources and Attractions," published under the auspices of the Provo Chamber of Commerce in 1888, featured the home as one of the architectural highlights of the city, as shown in the two following photos:
Residence of Dr. Julius Hamberg. [7]
Interior View of Dr. Julius Hamberg’s Library. [8]
Some accounts indicate Dr. Hamberg later took in a student from Brigham Young Academy to serve as an apprentice and groundskeeper for the estate. The student fell in love with the doctor’s beautiful young wife, and they eloped, leaving the doctor alone and distressed.
He left Provo and went to California where he lived in a home for retired army veterans. His wife, under the name of Emma Hamberg Smart, obtained ownership of the palatial home in May 1885.
In December 1904, Mary Eliza Smith acquired the Hamberg Castle. She lived in the home as the second wife of Andrew Jackson Stewart Jr. [10]Mary Eliza Smith Stewart, affectionately known as “Eliza,” moved her 7 surviving children to Hamberg Castle in Provo from the family farmhouse in Benjamin to be closer to her husband Andrew, who lived a block away in another house with his first wife, Dorothy Melissa Riggs Stewart.
My great-grandmother, Mary Eliza Smith Stewart (1865-1946)
Shortly after moving there, Eliza gave birth to her ninth child, Robert Wilson Stewart – my grandfather - on Christmas Eve of 1904 in the Hamberg Castle.
My grandfather, Robert Wilson Stewart, Sr. (1904-1996), was born in the Hamberg Castle and lived there the first 14 years of his life.
Eliza and Andrew’s tenth child, Samuel Elwood Stewart, was also born in the home during the Spring of 1909.
The family of Andrew Jackson Stewart, Jr. and Mary Eliza Smith Stewart on the steps of Eliza’s home, “Hamberg Castle” in Provo, in 1910. Back, left to right: Marguerite, Addie, Quinby, Theresa, and Lucile. Middle, left to right: Mary Eliza Smith Stewart, Samuel, Andrew Jackson Stewart, Jr. Front: Allen, Robert, and Paul "Pat" Barrett.
In the Fall of 1918, Andrew Jackson Stewart Jr. passed away unexpectedly at the age of 72 after a medical procedure. With his passing, the fortunes of Eliza and her children changed drastically. Unable to make ends meet, she sold Hamberg Castle and moved with her four unmarried children to Salt Lake City in 1918 where she ran a boardinghouse for the rest of her life. [11]
In later years, family members fondly remembered their prior home as "the old castle."
My grandfather, Eliza’s son Col. Robert W. Stewart later recalled:
My earliest memories are of the old Hamberg Castle and North Fork of the Provo Canyon where the folks spent their summers. [12]Over the next fifty years, different tenants occupied the house. By 1970, three families were living in the home, although it had deteriorated and was desperately in need of restoration. [13]
In 1975, Hamberg Castle was listed on the Utah State Register of Historic Sites and was owned and maintained by Historic Utah, Inc., a preservation firm. [14] [15] Toward the end of that year, a newspaper reported that the Hamberg Castle was "in the process of restoration now." [16]
The home was listed for sale in 1976 along with other historic pioneer homes on the condition that "these historic state landmarks will be sold only to parties who agree to preserve them." [17] A newspaper reported that the “Hamberg Castle” was “now in sad disrepair,” and that "the turrets are gone, the ceilings lowered, the weeds spring up in the yard.” [18] Historic Utah, Inc., hoped to sell the property, and the owner saw “good potential for restoration in it,” and “an opportunity to return to the quality Julius Hamberg must have known there.” [19]
Unfortunately, they were unable to find a buyer for the property within the specified time frame. Since they lacked funding to maintain the deteriorating house, in April of 1977 the home was demolished despite it being on the Utah State Register of Historic Sites. [20]
A 6-unit apartment complex now occupies the property where the Hamberg Castle once stood at 185 South 400 West.
The destruction of this site proved a loss to the historic and architectural atmosphere of Provo, which one newspaper described as "[a] unique example of early foreign influence in residential Utah architecture." [21]
[1] https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=446528
[3] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[4] “Old Homes Make State Register.” Orem-Geneva Times May 22, 1975. Page 4.
[5] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[6] https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=446528
[7] Source: "Provo: The Garden City of Utah; Its Resources and Attractions," D.C. Dunbar & Co., Publisher. Omaha, Nebraska, 1888.
[8] Source: "Provo: The Garden City of Utah; Its Resources and Attractions," D.C. Dunbar & Co., Publisher. Omaha, Nebraska, 1888.
[9] Provo 1908, Sheet 21. https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=322118
[10] “Old Pioneer Homes Hold Much of Provo’s Heritage.” Provo Daily Herald. Sunday, February 29, 1976. Page 29B.
[11] “Mary E. Stewart Called by Death.” Sunday Provo Herald. May 19, 1946. Page 2.
[12] Robert Wilson Stewart, Sr. Life Sketch.
[13] “Hamberg Castle Information Sought by Herald.” Provo Daily Herald. Thursday, January 1, 1970. Page 2.
[14] “Old Homes Make State Register.” Orem-Geneva Times. May 22, 1975. Page 4.
[15] “Public Open House Slated for Historic Provo Home.” Provo Daily Herald. Thursday, October 30, 1975. Page 4.
[16] “Old Homes Restored by ‘Historic Utah.’” Orem-Geneva Times. October 30, 1975. Page 13.
[17] “Old Pioneer Homes Hold Much of Provo’s Heritage.” Provo Daily Herald. Sunday, February 29, 1976. Page 29B.
[18] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[19] “Restoring the Past.” The Daily Universe, Brigham Young University. Vol 29. No. 132. Tuesday, March 30, 1976.
[20] “Points of Interest Include Distinctive Older Homes.” Provo Daily Herald. February 27, 1977. Page 139.
[21] “Old Homes Make State Register.” Orem-Geneva Times. May 22, 1975. Page 4.
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