Westminster Heights - Individual Blog

My group visited Westminster Heights this week. This neighborhood consists of North, East, and West sides of Westminster College. One thing we found shocking, because of the neighborhood’s close proximity to Westmini, was the vast number of houses that had Utah flags outside or in the windows. What wasn’t shocking was the observation that many of the houses clearly belonged to college students. This is to be expected, because the location of this neighborhood is extremely convenient should you make the poor decision to attend Westminster and even convenient if you choose the good ol’ U.

The houses in this area varied a lot in style, size, and age, but for the most part they were modest, multi-bedroom homes. We saw many distinct bungalows and ranch-style houses, but most of the others were a mix of styles, including hints of Victorian, period-revival and colonial. It was clear walking around that the houses in this neighborhood were built over time so they changed as the “it” style changed. It was also clear which houses were inhabited by college students versus families due to the gardening and decorating, or lack thereof. The Westminster neighborhood seems like a nice, quiet place that people would enjoy coming home to.

Human interaction wasn’t excessively encouraged in Westminster Heights, similar to any suburban neighborhood. Most houses had a garage or cart-port behind the house (because the lots were quite small), thus people could go straight from their car into the garage without really seeing any neighbors. Many people park on the street here due to the small lot size, and even then they don’t seem excited to engage in conversation with their neighbors, as one lady we saw demonstrated. The small lots and consequently small yards also contribute to the lack of human interaction as we didn’t see many children playing in front of their houses or adults mowing their lawns. This lack of interaction could also be due to the age discrepancy in the people living in the area; they range from families with children to elderly couples to college students.

Westminster College is a distinct landmark in this district, as it is often used as a reference point. 1300 East would be considered a path and a boundary, as it is a prominent road used in the area and also separates the college from the east side of the neighborhood. All around, my group enjoyed this walkabout because it was relaxed and I think reminded us of strolling through our own neighborhoods. Westminster Heights is a basic, well-established and highly desirable place to live.