Salt Lake is full of public art that showcases the artistic community’s creative range. So when two notable Salt Lake public artworks — the Whale and Sphinx — were booted out of Axios’ best public art in the Mountain West bracket, we were shocked, nay, appalled!
So we’re sharing our favorite public art and celebrating how they inspire us and brighten up the city, especially as the Glendale neighborhood council seeks volunteers to paint two murals.
📍 900 S. and 1100 E.
Also known as the Whale, this colorful humpback sculpture stands 23 feet tall. Stephen Kesler is the artist behind this iconic sculpture that has drawn some surprise, and even some ire from Salt Lakers since it was unveiled in 2022. Kesler said his work represents a “community that bursts through expectations.”
Gilgal Garden. (Ali Vallarta/City Cast Salt Lake)
📍 749 E. and 500 S.
The sculpture body is that of the mythological creature prominent in Egyptian and Greek art and mythology, and the face carving is an ode to Joseph Smith, the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s located within the Gilgal Garden, which was once the backyard of Thomas Child, an LDS bishop and masonry contractor.
📍 444 E. and 600 S.
Four prominent Black women are celebrated in this mural within Richmond Park, which was unveiled at a Juneteenth celebration in 2022. It features a portrait of each woman — Jane Manning James, Elizabeth Taylor, Elnora Dudley, and Mignon Barker Richmond — and a banner connecting the four women, symbolizing the significance of Black women in Utah’s history. The art installation is a collaboration between Better Days, Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation, and more Salt Lake organizations.
The Hoodah troll sculpture. (Courtesy of Bryant Heath)
📍 400 W. and 700 S.
This 15-foot-tall troll guards over the Granary District. Furniture-maker Garth Franklin built Hoodah in 2023 section-by-section outdoors out of lumber and assembled with a glue gun. Franklin has dedicated the sculpture to the neighborhood, referring to the Hoodah as an “environmentalist and a protector,” adding that Hoodah serves as a reminder to “speak up for the people and places that cannot speak.”
📍 250 S. and 400 W.
Jann Haworth created this Downtown mural as a remake of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” album — the iconic cover Haworth helped design in 1967. An icon of the 1960s pop art movement, Haworth now calls Utah home. She created the mural in 2004 with contributions from over 30 artists with the goal of highlighting diversity.
Murals at Glendale Park. (Ali Vallarta/City Cast Salt Lake)
📍 Glendale Park
This interactive art installation features murals of 16 prominent advocates and leaders, plus colorful benches and sculptures. It was created by Chuck Landvatter, Jared Steffensen, and J. Dayton Crites and installed in 2021 to serve as a gathering place for the community and to facilitate play and interaction.
