Photo Collective Studios: Literary Ladies to Lenses and Lighting

Over 100 years ago, the Ladies’ Literary Club of Utah needed a home. A large mansion on South Temple would fill that role, and the club brought education, programming and performance to Utah. When that club dissolved, the building needed a new steward. Dave Brewer stepped in to fill that role with the Photo Collective Studios.

After years of running two locations, they moved completely into the clubhouse. The space features a large ballroom auditorium, with large distinctive stained glass windows and intricate carvings. “So when I first saw these windows. I didn’t have any tattoos at the time. The length and the lines, I really liked it. So for our ten-year anniversary at Clubhouse, I brought my tattoo artist, and we did that,” says Brewer. That is a serious commitment to the building and its future.

“So for our ten-year anniversary at Clubhouse, I brought my tattoo artist, and we did that.”

The space is a great venue. From weddings and open mics to film premieres and photoshoots—it can fit any need with its timeless and intricate design. There is a beautiful entryway filled with plants, a bar area on the other side, and one thing after another to gawk at, from vintage organs to vinyl and, of course, photo books and cameras. The space is as unique as Brewer, who is a stylish mustachioed fellow who looks right at home.

The collective offers many services for photographers, from developing, scanning, and darkroom work to equipment rentals and a print room. Including their photo booth for parties, which is one of their more publicly noticeable presences. They know that creatives aren’t always able to afford their services, so they offer creative programming every month. One can try out new material at an open mic, try live figure drawing without having to find a model and get some feedback from peers as well.

Offering this to the public has come at a cost. Preservation and maintenance are the heart of the life for any historic building owner, and Brewer was the one to orchestrate it. They had another building by The Gateway that they used for many years but were looking for something different. “We knew we wanted an industrial space.” When one potential building didn’t work out, they were contacted by Preservation Utah, which owns a building in Memory Grove and does weddings there. They were interested in preserving the clubhouse.

“This is the best building in Salt Lake that nobody has ever heard about.”

From 2013 to 2015, the building’s future was uncertain. “There were, like, 12 offers by the time I came along,” says Brewer, “But they were mostly private architecture firms, big organizations that wanted it as their offices, things like that.” Brewer and Preservation Utah didn’t want someone to buy it just to get a historic easement and tear it down. Rob White of the Utah Heritage Foundation said, “This is the best building in Salt Lake that nobody has ever heard about. It is like finding a Rembrandt in our attic.”

In 2019, they won the National Historic Preservation Grant for ADA Accessibility and updated the building to be accessible for the first time in 100 years. They added a new lift and a new bathroom on the main floor. Brewer seems intent on preserving the building for the foreseeable future, but then, what would you expect of a person who tattoos their windows on their arm?

Read more about photography in Utah:
From Behind the Scenes to the Mainstage: A spotlight on Utah’s Best Concert Photographers
Analog RGB: The Skate Photography of Leo Wilson

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