Hansen Planetarium in Salt Lake City sold to O.C. Tanner

The historic Hansen Planetarium building has a new tenant: Salt Lake City today announced that it is selling the building to jeweler O.C. Tanner.

The company will buy the building for $1.2 million. O.C. Tanner's large store has been housed on the ground floor of the Eagle Gate Tower since 2005. Many of the tower's tenants have moved to make way for the redevelopment of the block for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' City Creek Center.

The sale comes after the city reviewed O.C. Tanner's request and the request of one other unnamed entity to buy the building at 15 S. State Street.

The request for proposals on the building went out in March. According to a news release from the city, the two requests were reviewed by an administrative committee with input from the local development community.

The building was originally constructed in 1904 to house the city's public library. The building is noted for its unique architecture and engineering features, including its dome, which O.C. Tanner will donate to the planned Zion's Gateway to the Stars planetarium in Orderville, Kane County.

The city's announcement says O.C. Tanner has agreed to use the building in a way that preserves its historic nature. The deal will not be finalized until it passes the muster of the city's Historic Landmark Commission, which will take into account any proposed changes to the building.

The commission will likely consider the sale at a Sept. 5 meeting.

The planetarium moved into the State Street building in 1968, but the building has been vacant since the Clark Planetarium opened at the Gateway in April 2003. In 1979, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

O.C. Tanner opened its first store in Salt Lake City in 1976. It moved into the Eagle Gate location at 20 E. South Temple in 2005. Another O.C. Tanner store is located in Park City.

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