The Clift family has a long history in Utah.

Francis Clift was born in England in 1832. He immigrated to the United States as a young man, then he traveled to the Utah Territory by ox team along with the Walker Brothers and others. In Utah, he became a pioneer mining man and financier.

Francis Clift's wife, Virtue Butcher, was also English. Her family joined the LDS Church in England and immigrated to the United States in 1849. In 1854, at the age of sixteen, she married Francis Clift. When he died in 1913, Virtue, as his only wife, inherited his large estate. In 1919, she commissioned the Clift Building on the site of the old Clift Hotel, a popular Salt Lake boarding house in the late 19th century.

The Clift Building is one of Salt Lake City's largest terra cotta-faced structures. An eight-story building designed by Leslie Chesebro, the facades are eclectic in design but relate most to the Second Renaissance Revival Style. Aside from modifications along the first floor, the building's architectural integrity is intact.

The Clift Building occupies an anchor position on South Main Street opposite the Judge Building.

Source: NRHP nomination submitted in 1982