Salt Lake City, Utah: Gilgal Garden

Gilgal Garden is a whole layout of stone art, with the Sphinx of Joseph Smith, a huge Mormon cricket, some Biblical body parts, and a self-portrait of the artist, in brick pants, with his tools all anchored to a huge slanting backdrop of stone or plaster. All around the garden are stepping stones with Bible verses and other sayings in them. It's an amazing place.

The house in front was torn down, unfortunately, but everything else is still intact, and the garden is open from 9 to 5 daily. Friends of Gilgal bought the sculpture garden, gave it to the city, and the city has hired a master gardener. There was talk of holding some ice-sculpture events and other activities there during the Olympics, but nothing came of it.

I sent you a plea for help on January 18, 1998. My plea was to help save Gilgal, the eclectic Mormon sculpture park built by Thomas Child, a mason. I have good news: Gilgal has been saved! Someone with money and influence joined the cause and now the park won't be destroyed. The only problem is that now the park is open on weekdays; there was something wonderful about a religious park only being open on Sunday in a state where nearly everything else is closed.

This email is a plea for help. There is a roadside attraction that needs to be saved. Gilgal is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and can be entered at 750 East 500 South. Gilgal is a sculpture park created by Thomas Childs, a Mormon stone mason whose passion for both church and stone are on display in the park. As you might expect, Childs unsettled the heirarchy of the church. Despite his deep commitment to Mormonism, he was perceived by members as a little bit on the fringe and his work was dismissed.

Maybe it was the 2-ton sphinx he carved with the face of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church. Maybe it was that every square inch of ground in the park has biblical scripture etched in granite. Or it might have been the self portrait of Childs with a marble head, granite sport coat, and brick pants. There's more. All of these treasures can be seen on any Sunday, the only day the park is open.

Gilgal is now threatened. Childs' died years ago and left the property to his children. They are preparing to sell the property to condo developers.

They've offered to sell the park to preservationists if they can come up with the cash. I decided to write you when I took my kids to see Santa just before Christmas. The Santa we saw was donating the profits of photos with Santa to the Save Gilgal Foundation. I was moved by Santa's conscientious comittment to Gilgal.