This project was created as part of a downtown improvement program. It was installed at this location in the center median to mark the west end of downtown and welcome motorists who are entering downtown from the North Temple overpass.

In response to a national call for proposals, artist Eric Thelander of Albuquerque, New Mexico, designed and fabricated the benches for the sidewalks of the Sugar House Business District. Thelander’s work addresses both creativity and comfort, in a fine example of craftsmanship, with the fabricated metal framework and the detail and finish of the concrete “cushions.”  Thelander designed these outdoor “sofas” as a tribute to the history of furniture sales – both new and second-hand – that are an integral component of the character of Sugar House.

Four larger-than-life-sized cast bronze sugar beets were commissioned by the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City for the Sugar House Business District.  Selected through a public competition, artist Day Christensen arrived at the concept of the sugar beet as a symbol for the community.

These sugar beets were installed in advance of the 150^th anniversary of Sugar House, which was celebrated in April, 2004.

Day Emil Christensen is a sculptor and mixed media artist. He has been commissioned for numerous public art works in Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Art and Design and a Master in Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 2008, Christensen was awarded a grant from the Utah Arts Council as part of the Individual Artists Services Grants program. He currently resides in Highland, Utah.

This project was completed in partnership with the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City for the downtown business district. The series of benches, thirteen in all, are located within a three block area on Main Street.

This pair of benches feature elaborately designed bronze branch backs and legs with stone seating. They are located on the NW corner of 200 South Main.

This sculpture, placed in the median island so pedestrians and drivers alike can experience it, was created by Taylor as a tribute to the neighborhood.  Now experiencing a renaissance, the district has been alive with warehouse, industrial and railroad activities for over a century.

Gerhart’s swimming Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, Utah’s state fish, commemorate the course of Parley’s Creek, now diverted underground by urban growth in Sugar House. The artist was originally commissioned for one “school” and later, asked to create another. The second school in installed on a median in a busy intersection and is eye level; easily viewed by drivers waiting for the traffic light to change.

The Bonneville Cutthroat Trout derives its name from the ancient Lake Bonneville, and is the Utah State Fish.  The trout are depicted swimming upstream not in annual spawn, but in a last retreat from disappearing vestiges of riparian ecosystem.  They commemorate the course of Parley’s Creek, now diverted underground by urban growth. As urban sprawl makes harder demands on the local ecosystem, the last remnants of biodiversity disappear unnoticed.

This is the second school of Cutthroats in the project. They are located in the long narrow median on the west side of the 1300 East 2100 South intersection. This location allows motorists to engage in this intimate artwork while waiting at the stop light. The first school of trout is located 2 blocks west at 2100 South 1050 East.