Cosmic Aeroplane 1960's to 1990's

369 W. South Temple location (near the Depot) and the shop at 871 E. Ninth South.

The Cosmic Aeroplane was the brain child of Steve Jones and Sherm Clow — first opening its doors in June 1967. It was a small place on the corner of Ninth East and Ninth South that sold underground newspapers, bells, beads, paraphernalia, and other assorted ‘hippie’ merchandise.

(L to R) East and West Bays — Cosmic Aeroplane at 238 E. First South.

1967 to 1969: Photos from the Cosmic Aeroplane at 9th and 9th

1969 to 1974: Photos of the Cosmic Aeroplane on 369 South Temple

1974 to 1976: Photos from the Cosmic Aeroplane at 366 S. West Temple

1976 to 1991: Photos of the Cosmic Aeroplane at 258 East First South

(Or follow the links in the Menu Bar near the top of this page.)

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366 S. West Temple Location

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Other General Links:
A History of the Cosmic Aeroplane by Joe Stohel from the EVENT Newsmagazine 1992.
Salt Lake Sixties — Catalog of the Poster Show at the Art Barn on Finch Lane 1995.
Feelin’ Groovy — The 60’s Counterculture in Utah from Salt Lake Magazine 2001.

Salt Lake City’s Top 100 Catalysts from CATALYST Magazine
Cosmic Aeroplane, A Love Story (Text Only) by J.R. Taylor from CATALYST Magazine
Cosmic Areoplane, A Love Story (Illustrated) by J.R. Taylor from CATALYST Magazine

The September 2014 CATALYST Magazine published a short article about Bruce Roberts as an addendum to their multi-page feature about the Cosmic Aeroplane —
Cosmic Aeroplane Addendum: Bruce Roberts by Becky S. Roberts

J.R Taylor and CATALYST Magazine won an award from the Society of
Professional Journalists in 2015 for Cosmic Aeroplane, A Love Story
J.R. Taylor’s photo and description of the SPJ award. (PDF)

This site thanks CATALYST Magazine for publishing Steve Jones — In Memoriam in their January 2017 printed-on-paper edition — Volume 36, number 1 (with credit to Michael Evans, and the family of Steve Jones.) 2017 was also Catalyst’s thirty-fifth anniversary.

Link to the Online Version (minor and positive revisions by Catalyst‘s staff):
IN MEMORIAM: HOMAGE TO COSMIC CREATOR STEPHEN JONES

Cosmic Co-Founder Sherm Clow noted the passing
of Steve Jones in Rev Willis’ Holy Ground Blog:
Only A Hobo, but One More is Gone

Connie Lewis of UTAH STORIES Magazine printed
an article about Steve Jones in the June issue of 2015:
A Look Back at Cosmic Aeroplane

SALT LAKE MAGAZINE shared a Cosmic Story
in Glen Warchol’s BLOG of November 10, 2016

The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE published a multi-media
online feature on January 27, 2017 called:
Whatever Happened To … The Cosmic Aeroplane?

Tribune reporter Chris Smart began the article while Steve Jones was still alive, after Glen Warchol of “Salt Lake Magazine” suggested the idea. The Tribune’s photo editor Jeremy Harmon gathered the photos, and interviewed Ken Sanders on video after Steve’s passing.

YouTube video of the Salt Lake Tribune interview with former Cosmic Aeroplane partner Ken Sanders in 2017.

Glen Warchol mentions and quotes Bruce Roberts in his Salt Lake Magazine blog, but some information about Roberts, final Managing Partner of the Cosmic Aeroplane, wasn’t emphasized in the Tribune’s later article. For more context and information see:
Joe Stohel’s Cosmic History from The Event 1992 (PDF)

The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE published Whatever Happened To … The Cosmic Aeroplane? by Chris Smart, with fewer photos, in its printed edition on Sunday, January 29, 2017. (The following reproduction was scanned  and posted with permission.)
Salt Lake Tribune_January_29_2017 (scalable PDF)

Additional History and Context —
Clock Mother & Company (with Wendy Leoff, Meridoc, Duffy, and P.T. Holly.) was the Modern Dance group that worked out of the rear space at 369 West South Temple.
The Human Ensemble produced independent plays in the rear space at South Temple, and some of their performers would also join Ed Grisco’s Salt Lake Acting Company.
FM Radio station KRCL began broadcasting at 262 East 1st South Room 222 during 1979, above the thriving Blue Mouse Theater, three years after neighboring Cosmic Aeroplane Books & Records was firmly and finally established at 258 East 1st South in 1976.
Community Radio KRCL 90.9 FM continues to broadcast throughout the Wasatch Front and Northern Utah in 2018.
Cosmic Aeroplane’s Record Department DEFINITELY sold Disco during the days when the store was grossing a million dollars a year at the 1st South location, but Cosmic customers bought OTHER quality fare as well, and continued to do so for another decade.

The SALT LAKE TRIBUNE published an article by Ben Poulton about the passing of the Cosmic Aeroplane’s last managing partner, Bruce Roberts, on March 16, 2010:
Bruce Roberts Obituary 2010

Associated Press covered the public collection of local Alternative posters and printed memorabilia from the Cosmic Aeroplane and other hip and fashionable enterprises from the 1960’s to the recent past, including calendars and especially music concerts, located in the Rare Books division of the Marriott Library at the University of Utah.

Link to Deseret News July 30, 2016 — From The Who to The Decemberists

Note: Article also printed in the on-paper edition of Deseret News August 1, 2016.

The Marriott Library made a blog post about their Poster Collection.

EXPLORE THE LIBRARY’S POSTER COLLECTION

For Mobile Browsers — Further Chapters in Cosmic History:

Cosmic FM Radio — Gateway to “Archived Airwaves”
9th & 9th — Skin Company; Stone Balloon Waterbeds; Bel Viso Spa
Cosmic Allies Vol. II — ‘Women Aloud’ on KRCL-FM
SLC Head Shops and ‘Alternative Business’
— Research by Steve Jones
Tripping Fantastic Light Shows Vol. III — Rainbow Jam
Tripping Fantastic Light Shows Vol. II —
Five Fingers On My Hand / Frank & Stein Visuals
Tripping Fantastic Light Shows Vol. I —
Maynard Associates
Memories of Mother’s Earth Things and the “9th & 9th.”
Cosmic Events — Jane Shurtleff Remembers First South
The Old Mill — Alternative Rock Club on Cottonwood Creek
21st Century Cosmic FM — KRCL and Radio Active
“Dayienu” — A Poem by Lin Ostler
Steve Jones — In Memoriam and Appreciation
SLC AM Radio B.C. — Before the Cosmic (Aeroplane)
Cosmic New Wave Journalism — SLAM a.k.a. Salt Lake Area Music
Cosmic Record Shop — Early Eighties on Vinyl and Cassette
Numenor’s Vernal Equinox Dance Concert — March 30, 1968
Cosmic Allies Vol. I — KRCL FM and Steve Williams.
Cosmic Music — Númenor, Window on the West (Coast)
Cosmic Theatre — The Human Ensemble
The Cosmic Aeroplane & Comic Books — Vol. I
The Cosmic Aeroplane & Comic Books — Vol. II
Cosmic Generations Vol. I — Smokey’s Records at 15th & 15th
Cosmic Roots & Branches: May Fest Memories
Cosmic Roots & Branches: Mother’s, Mayfest, and Jazz
ZioNoiZ ‘Zine — Cosmic Underground of the 1980’s
Cosmic Roots and Branches: The 9th & 9th Community
Cosmic Yellow Pages
Cosmic Bookmarks & Cosmic Paper Project
Cosmic Music — Jordan River Uptown Scrapbook
Cosmic Music — Jordan River/Avant Garde
Bruce Roberts — Chronicle and Concerts
Cosmic Music & Cosmic Bands
The Cosmic Staffers Project V.4 — Smokey’s Blues Hour Etc.
The Cosmic Calendars Project
Mainstream Press Goes Cosmic
The Cosmic Staffers Project V.3 — Jamie Gael, Punk Rock, Etc
Cosmic Locations in 2013
FLASH — Underground ‘Zine
“The Street” — Underground Newspaper
Electric News Archives
Young Bruce Roberts — Journalist
The Cosmic Staffers Project V.2 — Susanne Millsaps
A Mirror of Locusts
The Cosmic Staffers Project V.1: Lisa V; — Mistress of the Boutique
“Utah, Gateway to Nevada” in Story and Song
The Electric News
Anti-War Service People
Interior paintings of the Cosmic Aeroplane at 369 West South Temple

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This page is an independent link to archival material about the Cosmic Aeroplane. The Meuu Bar across the top leads to general pages.

On conventional computer screens “Further Chapters in Cosmic History” are in the right column — listed as “Recent Posts” and followed by a “Blogroll” consisting of the related links shown below.

For Mobile Browsers — Cosmic Businesses & Websites:

The Catalyst Magazine: Official Website
Rare Books Blog: Marriott Library, University of Utah
Back of Beyond Books in Moab, Utah: Cosmic Descendant
Cosmic Colleagues “Lambiek” in The Netherlands
Cosmic Staffer Par Holman in Lambiek’s Comiclopedia
Pappy’s Golden Age Comics Blogzine
Hive Gallery: Cosmic Descendant (Facebook Site)
Raunch Records: Cosmic Descendant (Facebook Site)
Ken Sanders Rare Books: “Creating chaos out of anarchy for a better tomorrow …”
Cosmic Musician Christian Coleman (Facebook Site)
Cosmic Musician Willis Clow
Rev. Willis’ Holy Ground Blog (Sherm Clow Archives)
Salt Lake Concert Posters: Charley Hafen’s Blog
Smoke Blues Band CD (Sherm Clow Archives)
They’re HERE: San Francisco Posters via Postergeist
Underwater Poetry Festival CD (Sherm Clow Archives)

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“I thought there should be a place where you could get underground papers, cigarette papers, jewelry, that kind of thing,” said Steve Jones. “Posters were a big thing at the beginning, dance posters, W. C. Fields posters. It was a head shop, but a head shop in the terms of using your head — I wanted some kind of image of traveling in your head, hence the Aeroplane part. That didn’t necessarily entail drugs, either …”

The Cosmic Aeroplane on First South

We actively request your contributions of pictures, memorabilia, and oral histories concerning the Cosmic Aeroplane — please contact our blogmeister:

Blogmeister Michael Evans is an author and historian.

Email: mike_evans_exile@yahoo.com

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