Liberty Park-Group Post

Liberty Park was a beautiful, relaxed, safe place for anyone wanting to get away from the noisy, dirty city or a hectic, stressful life. As we strolled through the park we saw many different people doing many different things. Families were playing games, owners were walking their dogs, people were exercising, while others just relaxed. Liberty Park also provides many activities for families to participate in such as basketball, tennis, carnival rides, an aviary, pavilions, geese to feed, and a waterway shallow enough for all ages to enjoy. Everyone was friendly towards others, but seemed to interact only with themselves. As we walked we also noticed that there was little to no graffiti and litter due to the abundance of garbage cans. The park was also beautifully landscaped and it had a lot of varied views depending on where in the park you chose to sit.

One landmark in Liberty Park is their World War Memorial. We liked how it honored everyone everyone who served in the wars instead of just the American soldiers. We felt like it welcomed everyone and helped make the park inclusive to all walks of life. Most of the people seemed to be working middle class hanging out to relax after a long day of work, or playing games and spending time as families. We did find it strange that we didn't see any picnickers as it was a nice day around dinner time, although if we were there on a weekend instead of a weekday it might have been different.

We loved getting out of the city to where we could taste and smell the clean air; spend time in nature; smell the vibrant green grass; get away from the hustle and bustle of the college life. We also thought it would be a nice place to sit and study which is very plausible since Liberty Park is quiet and has free wi-fi. We found Liberty Park to be peaceful, polished, and a very enjoyable place to spend our time.

Library group blog

The city library's designs create an atmosphere for pondering. When my group arrived, our task seemed strangely out of place. We were coming to the library to study the library, not other knowledge. As a result, we felt like we were disrupting the activities of other people there. However, we developed a braoder view of this amazing library.
People of every background can come to the library to study. The library serves a definable purpose for many. For the aspiring intellectual it is a building of unlimited possibilities, for the student it is a quiet place to study, and for the homeless it is a place of refuge. The majority of the people we saw there were minorities. The people we saw needed a computer and some place where they could access knowledge. These people communicated formally in English when it was absolutely necessary. They were most often in pairs or by themselves. The six of us were the largest group and the most talkative group. The children’s section, however, revealed a slightly different variety of people. Here we saw families and groups of children quieting each other as they communicated. They were attempting to abide the social laws of the library and be quiet and respectful of others, yet they were still discovering the social rules. Overall, the people here had come to admire the learning and writing of others. They had come for quiet and introspective study. As a result, their social interactions demonstrated their purpose.

The library’s atmosphere is uniquely designed to welcome quiet introspection from every person. The windows offer plenty of sunlight for optimal study and numerous quiet quaint corners for optimal thought abound. As my group entered the library, I was struck by the sounds and smells of the place. I felt extremely at home and happy. The sound of pages turning and comfortably quiet silence filled the air. Moreover, noises from outside were dampened to make one feel that one was stepping out of the world. The architecture of the library itself was awe-inspiring. The building seemed huge to me, and yet small at the same time. It was littered with little nooks to do one's studying and quiet pondering. I longed to sit down in many places with a good book and stay for hours. Yet the architecture seemed to ask me to explore it with my eyes. Whoever designed it was a genius. The library was a place of study and yet was worthy of studying itself.

The method of organization and communication between the library and people was interesting. Signs and other postings gave us a good idea of what to do and where to go. The children’s section was the most interesting; it communicated extremely visually with few words. Little caves and other entertaining crannies were abundant and fun to explore. This section also had a lot of large stuffed animals of strange varieties and other odd yet entertaining things related to what that particular section of books was about. This public place is open to all ages and classes of people with the common desire to learn.

TRAX -- Group Post

We are venturing out on our first walkabout, the TRAX lines. It is a pleasant evening, 70-80 degrees out and around 5:00 pm, rush hour. We start at the Fort Douglas TRAX stop by the dorms, and since this is only the second stop on the train’s route, there are few people on board. The first few stops are consistent with the first; the trains are not extremely packed with people, and most passengers appear to have some business with the University. We see mostly students, professors, doctors – no one under the age of 17 or 18. As we move down campus, my group is comfortable with our surroundings because with are with the people we associate with every day. Outside the atmosphere is casual as people make their way down South Campus Drive, windows down, listening to music, happy that the work (or school) day is over. We find that there is not much to observe that we don’t see on a daily basis, so our group sits in seats close to one another, chatting about our days and focusing mostly on the various forms of art displayed at each stop.

Once the train turns onto 400 south, we notice a big change in our surroundings. We are suddenly in the middle of rush-hour traffic, and people are not driving so casually anymore. The stops get exponentially busier as we make our way downtown. At the library we make our second departure from the train (we got off at the South Campus stop as well) to admire some more of the art, but find the people there just as entertaining. We now see people that appear to be from every imaginable background. There is a wide rand of age, race, social standing, etc. We no longer feel like chatting and instead are constantly turning in circles to get a full view. There is a man with dread-locks playing the guitar. There is an elderly couple reading the map. More students come to the stop as SLCC is across the street from the library (something we didn’t know). When we board the train once again, we no longer have seats and end up holding on for dear life along with half of the other passengers.

There are a few observations we had of the passengers that were consistent for the entire trip. A major one was that we seemed to be the only people travelling in a group. Other than the sound of the train moving on the track and car horns outside, the train was surprisingly quiet. Most people had head phones on or were reading a book. This made the people-watching a bit difficult, because we couldn’t get a good sense of who each person was. There were no conversations going on, so we was left wondering where everyone was coming from, where they were going, what kind of life they had, etc. Usually, it is easy to know at least a little about a person by the way they talk, interact with others, move through crowds and such, but for most of the ride we were left wondering. This reminded of us of a passage in the reading referring to form versus meaning, “so various are the individual meanings of a city, even while it form may be easily communicable” (p. 9). We witness what this quote was saying on TRAX; we knew everyone was on TRAX because they were trying to get somewhere, which was obvious. What we were unsure of is where people were going, why they were on the train, where they were coming from, etc. We weren’t able to determine the meaning of everything we were seeing.

Pioneer Park Farmer's Market *Group 3*

By: Malynne Cottam

     On a beautiful September morning, our group headed to the Pioneer Park Farmer’s Market, which takes place every Saturday from June to October. When you enter the farmers market, the smells of wonderful produce, amazing pastries, and delicious barbeque send your nose on a trip to somewhere heavenly. As we walked around, we witnessed amazing interactions between the seller and customer, but none between the passing customers. We spoke with several of the venders and found out that some of them had been coming for as long as the farmers market had been around, eighteen years.

     This place is an open space for buyers and sellers to interact and share their knowledge that they have gained throughout the years. This place conveys the message of maintaining our local economy by supporting these independent farmers and to eat healthier, specifically, organic.

     This is a very casual and open event that is open to everyone that would like to come. There is an abundance of free samples that anyone can take. People of all economic echelons are welcome. They have a wooden coin system that partners with the food stamp system to allow people of all classes to have access to fresh foods.

     Our book, City as Text, states that a public place is “[an] area of agreement which might be expected to appear in the interaction of a single physical reality, a common culture, and a basic physiologic nature.” From everyone that we talked to, the image here is a very open place that everyone can come and gain from others experiences. We definitely gained several pieces of information and maybe even a few pounds from all the samples and food that we took home.

Red Butte Garden: Group 1 post

The gardens themselves are organized by a system of paths allowing people to move freely throughout natural and landscaped environments. The grounds are meticulously kept and demonstrate a wide variety of landscaping techniques. There are many small alcoves tucked away with beautiful views and peaceful ambiance.On the evening of Tuesday, September 6^th, our group explored Red Butte Gardens. It was a beautiful day to be outside, it was warm, but not sweltering, and the flower’s in the garden were in full bloom. We als

o happened to be there during the University health fair. Just outside the main lobby were many booths from all different groups presenting on different aspects of health and safety. This was largely a family event, mainly attended by mothers and children. People seemed to not be from any specific socioeconomic echelon, and i

Overall, the garden seems a perfect place for people to go to get away from the city. It would be a beautiful date location. Despite being listed as a public space, the garden still projects a message of exclusivity. There is an entrance fee, and the entire ground is fenced in. It is open to the general public, but visitors are not free to wander in and out as they please.t was a very casual environment. The kids were playing different games at the booths, and playing in the garden, while their parents were looking at the information displayed. In the rest of the garden, people interacted mainly just within their own groups. There were many families, mostly mothers or grandparents with children. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the beautiful day in

the gardens.

I think that Red Butte is a beautiful place to go for a quiet afternoon. They have beautiful grounds, and host a number of fun events throughout the year. It offers people a place to explore their surroundings, and be inspired by nature. Overall I loved visiting that garden, and love going there to relax, study, or just walk around and enjoy the beautiful nature.

Alex Butler

My group visited Liberty Park on a lovely Tuesday evening. I was very impressed with this park. It was a very clean and well kept. The landscaping was was very nice, it was apparent that a lot of work is put into maintenance. Liberty Park is a very open and inviting area. It feels safe and is very family oriented. A variety of people come to the park to relax, play games, walk the dog, run, bike, roller skate, play tennis, write, and more. There is something for everyone. This park has a very laid back atmosphere. Although people don't go out of their way to interact with one another, everyone is friendly. They are just there to do their thing, many come to relax after a long day at work. Most of the people we saw belong to the working middle class. One man described the park as a nice place for "regular folks." He also told us of the many events that go on at Liberty Park such as concerts, sports, and summer camps. It is apparent that the citizens who use this space are very appreciative of the park. This park is easily identifiable because of the contrast to its background. The Image of the City teaches that the use of landmarks involves singling out an area or structure to stand out from it's surroundings. That is what Liberty Park does; when you enter the park you escape the hustle and bustle of city life for a time.

Gilgal Garden (Group Post)

Nestled away in the middle of a neighborhood, between a Wonder Bread bakery and an Office Max, you will find Gilgal Garden. It's not hard to believe that our group nearly missed Gilgal Garden while trying to find it. It's very well hidden in between what appears to be two very ordinary houses in a neighborhood off of 400 S. We visited the garden on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. The place was flat out deserted. We were the only people visiting the space. True, we did visit on a weekday afternoon, but we kind of got the feeling that Gilgal Garden isn't a place that's usually filled with hustle and bustle. The garden seemed like a secret spot, only known by a select few.


One of the first sensory observations that we collectively made was the overwhelming smell of fresh bread. Because the garden is located right next to the Wonder Bread Bakery Thrift Store, the smell of bread was unavoidable. Besides the smells, the garden was visually stimulating. Nearly everything in the garden was carved out of stone. Contrasting the towering stone sculptures was the actual flora of the gardens. The two different aspects worked cohesively to make for a visually interesting experience. The garden was also fun to physically move through. The pathways were either made of wood chips, or marked by stone tablets engraved with LDS scriptures by the the creator of the garden.

The garden was the work of local Utah sculptor Thomas B. Child (1888-1963). Child was the bishop of the LDS 10th Ward for over 19 years of his life. The garden was the result of his years of hard work. Each piece in the garden has special significance to the LDS religion. The overall feeling of the garden was peaceful and most importantly spiritual. Even for someone who isn't part of the LDS Church, Gilgal Garden is still a place that can used by everyone for a moment of quiet reflection. There's not really a need to worry about social relations, echelons or interaction in general because of the solitude the garden provides. A personal spot of recommendation would be underneath a willow tree in the middle of the garden. There's a small bench that's great for shade and perfect for hiding away from the rest of the noisy world. Once you step out of the garden it's back to 400 S. and the smell of Wonder Bread.

Gilgal Garden is an example of what Kevin Lynch in Image of the City refers to as a "node." The central focus of this node is the art of Thomas Child. In this case of this node, the node is not a junction of two streets. It is a square hidden away in a neighborhood. Some types of nodes have a functional purpose, but Gilgal Garden doesn't serve a functional purpose. Its purpose is more cultural and artistic. The garden is an interesting node because once inside the garden, it doesn't have the same characteristics as the rest of Salt Lake City. It is not structured with straight lines or sharply organized. At the same time the node fits into the cultural history of Salt Lake City because of the theme of the art.

The library with my group was an interesting experience because it had a somewhat stuffy attitude. It is an intricate building with many architectural details. However i felt as if we were intruders into the life of library goers. I was the photographer and I must have looked like a tourist because I was so enamored by the glass elevators. They just had such a out landing quality to them that I would never have expected for a library. When we were outside on the roof I felt more at home because we were allowed to talk and be silly. Indoors I just felt disruptive no matter how quiet I tried to be. the children's center was easier to feel comfortable in. The library is a beautiful place but is not somewhere I would take a large group if it was 2 or 3 in a group I would have felt more comfortable. However it would be wonderful to go on your own and study there. There are so many nooks and cranes that there is probably always a quiet spot to study.

It was a lovely monday afternoon around 5 o'clock and my group went to the gateway. The gateway was not busy compared to a saturday. However, there was a surprising amount of foreigners at the gateway. There were people from New Zealand, Canada and other countries however everyone spoke english. I went to the gateway with colin lauren Rebecca kurt and hillary. I was the photographer for the group and it was a challenge to peal everyone away form what they were doing in order to get a group picture. The gateway is like a little downtown area that is well taken care of and has minimal panhandlers. It was a warm welcoming place probably because they wanted you to buy something. However it would have been very different if we had not been such a nice group of people. The Clarke planetarium is a very cool and interesting place to go. There are lots of free things to do and we met some rather odd characters there. I have been here before and it is always the same. There is a carefree happy energy surrounding the gateway and it is a place of friends and hanging out.

Liberty Park-Individual #1

Liberty Park:

Liberty Park amazed me. I never thought of Salt Lake City as a city to prize their parks, but I was incredibly impressed with how well kept Liberty Park was. Not only was it well maintained, but it was gorgeous. The flower designs were bright, creative and fragrant. The grass was freshly cut, green and vibrant. I was also surprised at how many activities there were to do. There were tennis lessons in the tennis courts on the West end, swim lessons in the swimming complex, tours of the Aviary, and carnival rides. Not to mention the playgrounds, wading pools, the placid lake and duck pond among many other features the park has to offer. The peacefulness and overall good vibes were nice reminders of home and felt a lot less intimidating than Salt Lake often times feels.

The landscaping and openness of the park provided for a lot of families and couples. Many people rollerbladed, biked, or ran around the perimeter or the park. Our group saw a lot of different types of activities: relaxing, reading, wading in the stream, playing, etc. The space definitely encouraged people to relax and enjoy the luxuries the park provides. Everywhere I looked I saw people enjoying themselves, whether it was solitary or with friends.

I would definitely consider Liberty Park a landmark, because as we learned in the text it is a site that people commonly mention and is a large chunk of land. We also learned about identity, and structure. I would say that the structure of Liberty Park is very well planned, and flows well throughout the entire park and appears to seamlessly blend with the surrounding residential areas. As for it's identity, it is commonly known as a place where people go to escape the city and lose themselves in the calm for awhile.

Blog post guidelines

Individual Posts

For your individual blog posts (two required) you should discuss the following, as well as include photos, maps, and other graphic images (You can even record video or audio and post it):

a) What stood out to you or surprised you about the area in which you did your walkabout? what did you learn or observe that you did not previously know about the area?

b) How did people use the space? How did the space encourage or discourage human/human interaction? How did it encourage or discourage human interaction with the space itself?

c) Connect your observations with ideas from our text Image of the City.  What insight or observation can you draw from the text to help you interpret and understand the space in which you did your walkabout.

Group Posts

For your group blog posting you should basically give a blog summary of the presentation you did in class.  Make sure to include photos and other graphic images, maps, etc. Because there are five walkabouts and most groups have six people, each group will also post a final blog summary of their final project so that each group member can have the opportunity to do a group blog.  Blog summaries of the walkabout should adhere to the same structure as the class presentations, i.e. the questions or ideas presented in the handout for each specific walkabout.  Think of these as a resource for your classmates.  What can you share and present that will provide information about Salt Lake City for your peers, especially those who are from out of state and may not be as familiar with the city.