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KPCW and the Park City Museum present Park City History BitsGet a taste of Park City history every week this summer with a new bit provided by the historians of the Park City Museum. A new nugget of history silver debuts every Thursday and replays throughout the week.0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efae480000 This series of Park City History Bits is brought to you by the Park City Museum, where you can explore Park City history every day on Main Street, and sponsored by Julie Hopkins of Keller Williams Real Estate.

Park City History Bits - July 25, 2013

Premiered July 25, 2013 

Did you ever wonder why a siren goes off in Old Town every night?

This is Diane Foster, with your weekly Park City History Bit.

Lots of locals have their own theories why the siren goes off every night – from calling home miners from the bordellos and bars to checking that everyone made it out of the mines alive. The truth, however, is more practical and nostalgic.

Built in 1901, the Bell Tower on Main Street housed a 1,500-pound bell to alert residents and firefighters of danger. To ensure the siren worked, the fire department performed a daily check at 10 p.m. This test soon doubled as the city-wide curfew for local children, and the “Ten O’Clock Whistle” was born. Though there is no longer any curfew, and an electric siren replaced the bell in 1948, you can still hear the siren sound every night at 10 p.m.
 

This Park City History Bit is brought to you by the Park City Museum, where you can explore Park City history every day on Main Street, and sponsored by Julie Hopkins of Keller Williams Real Estate.

Monika served as a sales associate in Underwriting and Fundraising for KPCW from 2011 - 2016, but that was after nine years as a volunteer DJ, and most of them as a co-host of the KPCW Classifieds Show. Her background includes everything from running ELIZAS in an immunology lab to waiting tables to writing for newspapers and magazines. Her real passion is creating memes.
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