The old mining structure is located in Thaynes Canyon close to Park City Mountain’s Thaynes chairlift.
Its roof, which dates back to 1937, collapsed in winter 2023 under a record-setting snowfall.
On Wednesday Park City’s Historic Preservation Board approved an $18,000 grant for the removal of the collapsed roof, which begins the process of restoring the building.
The local nonprofit Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History is leading the restoration project. This fall the group will conduct an asbestos removal and stabilize the building’s walls to protect it from snow next winter. The goal is to have the Thaynes Hoist House fully rehabilitated with a new roof by 2026, when it could reopen for public tours.
Part of the Thaynes site was used for mining operations between 1939 and 1949, when a workers strike shut down operations.
After the opening of Treasure Mountains - what is now Park City Mountain - the area was used for a “skiers’ subway,” which transported riders from the Spiro Tunnel up three miles to the ski runs in Thaynes Canyon.
UTAH TO INTRODUCE A ‘SKI SUBWAY’ - The New York Times in 1964.
Despite being one of a kind, Brian Buck with Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History says the subway wasn’t ideal for ski days.
“Not very many skiers were lifted at any one time up that cage, and so the lift lines down below must have been amazing,” Buck said.
The “skier subway” was shut down in 1969 after several years of operation. The Park City Museum has some of the original subway cars in its basement.
