Our preservation team completed historic research and documentation on the historic Hymas Fourplex, including measured floor plans and elevations for this unique structure. This late example of Art Moderne architecture was a subject of intrigue for many as they passed by the building over the years.
This fourplex was the dream of local carpenter Newel Hymas. Around 1944, he completed the basement where he lived while constructing the upper floors. The walls were built using cinderblocks he made himself. He achieved this with little help and with an injured leg from an accident while working as a fireman at the Ogden railyard.
Newel’s previous work includes a bungalow on Jackson Avenue and an extensive remodel of a theater in Paris, Idaho – the town where he grew up working in the family confectionary. For a time, he owned a bakery and sandwich shop in a building that still stands on Monroe Avenue. Newel was also a musician and built his own guitar. The group he performed with was often featured on local radio. He moved back and forth a lot between Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Idaho, but spent most of his time in Ogden and made this building his home until he died in 1958.
