Mid Century Modern architecture is a very popular style for home buyers, especially due to the television show Mad Men. There was a boom nationally and locally of buyers looking for "Mid-Mod" open-space concepts in the past two decades, with its bold use of interior color and focus on integrating nature into not just landscape plans but sometimes bringing the greenery inside, with interior patios. We have plenty of Mid-Mod homes as well as commercial buildings in Utah.

One of the most stunning examples of a commercial building is the Steiner American Building at 505 E. South Temple, with its floating, precast concrete canopies that extend around the building's edges. It has very Frank Lloyd Wright vibes in and around it, although it wasn't built until 1967.

Another is Bonneville Towers Condominiums at 777 E. South Temple. That was built in 1964, and we locals call it the "wedding cake building" because of its tiers on top of tiers. And you can't miss the University Heights condos at 130 S. 1300 East, with its unusual modern canopy/porte-cochère out front. The old First Security Bank Building at 405 S. Main—now the Ken Garff Building—was one of the first high-rises to go up here after the Great Depression. The three-part windows are classic Mid-Mod design, and the building was brilliantly rehabilitated to show off its original interior and exterior features.

The city's former Redevelopment Agency, now called the Community Reinvestment Agency, will be helping to restore the former Public Safety Building at 315 E. 200 South, investing $1 million to help change the use from a commercial office building (a.k.a. the old "Cop Shop") into a residential one that will be known as The Grove. It will feature 244 housing units, of which many will be available for purchase to buyers who earn between 41% and 80% of the area median income. There will also be rent-to-own options when The Grove is finished in the next few years.

There are fantastic Mid-Mod buildings to see when traveling in the West, like the Theme Building at LAX and the La Concha Visitors Center at the entrance to the Neon Museum's Boneyard in Las Vegas. Denver has the MCM neighborhoods like Virginia Village, Harvey Park and Bow Mar, and Palm Springs, CA, has a huge concentration of MCM homes like the famous Sinatra Residence, the Tramway Gas Station and St. Theresa Catholic Church.

In our capital city, we have a cluster of Utah architect Ron Molen-designed homes in West Valley City around 4100 South and Constitution Blvd (2700 West) known as the Westshire homes. He was famous for sunken living rooms and built-in furniture.

The Capri Condos at 3600 South and 900 East is a 55+ community of one-level units, many with the original sunken living rooms also intact. There are also smatterings of the 1950s style in the upper Avenues and lower foothills as well.