The 9 Line Bike Park is a unique recreational amenity, offering dirt jumps and a pump track for Salt Lake City riders. In 2017, Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands responded to community requests to expand the 9 Line Bike Park at 700 West and 900 South. The bike park, popular with riders of all ages and skill levels, includes jump lines and a pump track. The starting platform for the jumps uses large concrete blocks to stabilize the platform and retain dirt, providing 400 square feet of surface for murals wrapping the blocks.

Shredding the Knar is by artist Charlotte Pili. Pili’s work features riders, bikes, and dust clouds along with the occasional speech bubble exclaiming “Send it!” Pili’s mural send a message of belonging to people of all genders at the parks and action lines show her images to be in motion, just like the riders. The mural’s colors are cohesive with the park’s plants, sky, and dirt jumps and keep the site alive in all seasons. Pili deliberately left space between her images, so the original color and texture of the blocks is visible in places.

This temporary public artwork is intended to remain installed for three to five years. This project was made possible through the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program, with support from Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands.

The 9 Line Bike Park is a unique recreational amenity, offering dirt jumps and a pump track for Salt Lake City riders. In 2017, Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands responded to community requests to expand the 9 Line Bike Park at 700 West and 900 South. The bike park, popular with riders of all ages and skill levels, includes jumps and a pump track. The storage container located on site is used by City crews and volunteer work groups to store maintenance equipment, and provided 208 square feet of surface for a mural wrapping three sides of the unit.

Josh Scheuerman’s Free Flight depicts a fleet of paper airplanes and origami birds in front of blue geometric mountains and a glowing orange and yellow sky. Free Flight showcases the Wasatch Front and mimics sunsets visible from the park. Scheuerman used the familiar image of childhood paper airplanes to evoke the concept of flight after he noticed young kids at the park watching the older riders catch air.

This temporary public artwork is intended to remain installed for three to five years. This project was made possible through the Salt Lake City Arts Council’s Public Art Program, with support from Salt Lake City’s Department of Parks and Public Lands.

Photos by Logan Sorenson and Josh Scheuerman

Prior to being a community park and garden, this site was once home to a two-story, privately owned residential building. The home was scheduled for demolition in 2007. However, before being torn down, the property owner invited over 100 artists of various disciplines to fill the 25,000-square-foot structure with art. The building, full from floor to ceiling with paintings, murals, sculptures and installations, received thousands of visitors and became a visual arts hub before it was destroyed. Later the vacant lot was sold to Salt Lake City Corporation and in 2015 a portion of the land was developed into a community garden managed by Wasatch Community Gardens. In 2017, Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands decided to create a pocket park to function as an inviting and engaging gathering place for the community.

As a nod to the site’s art-infused history, the fence that surrounds the perimeter of the park was designed to include 24 unique designs by local artists to carry on the tradition of displaying the work of Utah’s diverse art community. Sixteen artists were selected to design panels for the park fence: Rob Beishline, Shelley Beishline, Chris Brown, Trent Call, Josh Cisar, Karl Hale, Sarinda Jones, Beyza Kilic, Lenka Konopasek, Juan Luis Molero, Jared Neves, Traci O’Very Covey, Brook Robertson, Heidi Moller Somsen, Shannon White, and Maria Zielinska. All panels were fabricated in Corten steel in 2018.

From left to right:
Photo 1: Shannon White, Untitled // Juan Luis Molero, Untitled
Photo 2: Trent Call, Untitled // Shelley Beishline, Living Roots
Photo 3: Traci O’Very Covey, Veggie Garden // Rob Beishline, Blowing Leaves
Photo 4: Maria Zielinska, Untitled // Sarinda Jones, Substrate
Photo 5: Shelley Beishline, Living Leaves // Trent Call, Untitled
Photo 6: Heidi Moller Somsen, Untitled // Sarinda Jones, Buoyancy
Photo 7: Brook Robertson, Look! // Shelley Beishline, Living Blooms
Photo 8: Karl Hale, Untitled // Lenka Konopasek, Untitled
Photo 9: Trent Call, Untitled // Beyza Kilic, Untitled
Photo 10: Rob Beishline, Triangle Tree // Josh Cisar, Untitled
Photo 11: Lenka Konopasek, Untitled // Jared Neves, Ball
Photo 12: Chris Brown, Untitled // Lenka Konopasek, Untitled

Photos by Logan Sorenson.

In the summer of 2016, Salt Lake City Corporation conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for construction at the new site of Fire Station 14. When the station opened in May 2018, it became the first LEED certified, net-zero energy, Gold fire station in the country, and is an example of the city’s continued dedication to environmental sustainability and innovative design. Utah-based artist duo Shelley and Rob Beishline of Tooza Design, LLC, were commissioned to create two installations for the new Fire Station. The exterior installation, Kinetic Commitment, and the interior installation, Memories in Motion, were completed and installed in Fall 2018.

Kinetic Commitment is a series of seven steel rings, arranged in a simple pattern reminiscent of a large fire hose. The unbroken circular shapes represent the unity and teamwork required by firefighters. Three of the rings are inscribed with words from the Department’s mission, and are mounted to swiveling bases, providing a kinetic, constantly changing quality. This installation represents the firefighters’ work, which is filled with movement, responsiveness, and focused direction.

Memories in Motion is a series of aluminum rings, varying in depth, composed on printed wood panels. The varying depths of the rings provide a fluid and undulating feel, reinforcing the kinetic concept of the exterior installation. Inside each ring, a portion of a large image of firefighters is visible. When viewed from a distance, the entire scene is evident whereas when viewed from other angles, the rings and imagery become abstractions of color. The installation serves as a starting point for Fire Station 14, allowing firefighters to place new images of their experiences within the rings, thus creating a constantly changing mural that documents the legacy and memories of the station.

Kinetic Commitment, 2018, Powder Coated Steel.
Memories in Motion, 2018, Printed Wood and Aluminum Rings.

Photos by Tooza Design, LLC.

The Indiana Bridge, located at 800 South 1000 West, crosses over the Jordan River and serves as the north south connection for the high volume, multi-use Jordan River Trail. The Indiana Bridge was built in the 1940’s and was originally designed in the Federal Style of Architecture. Reminiscent of many Post Offices and other large architectural forms built by the Government in this same Era, its design is still significant and appealing today.

For the rehabilitation of Indiana Bridge, artist Cordell Taylor decided to restore and rebuild this bridge to it’s original design with added elements to enhance its significance in and for the surrounding neighborhoods. The original steel railings have been reused and the cement end-rails and buttresses have been recast in the same/similar style but with graphics that represent the Poplar Grove Neighborhood.

The coloring of the cement end-rails and Buttresses and Sidewalks are a Sonoma Orange typical of Utah’s landscape and bright enough to stand out as a gateway to this neighborhood. The Graphics depict a Grove of Poplar Trees in the light of a burgeoning Sun, a Ribbon of River meandering through a central meadow, and  “POPLAR GROVE” is overlaid onto it identifying the Neighborhood.

A large steel arch has also been added to each side of the bridge to echo its significance as a river crossing and street lighting of the same period has also been added to enhance the design of the bridge and make the pedestrian crossings more visible to oncoming drivers.

It is the artist’s hope that the bridge’s re-design and re-enhancement will help bring vitality to the Jordan River, the Trail, its users of this community.

This public art project was funded through Salt Lake City’s Public Art Program. Special thanks to the Salt Lake Art Design Board, the Salt Lake City Arts Council, Salt Lake City Corporation, and members of the Review Committee for their assistance with this project.