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All the United States Utah Salt Lake City Gilgal Sculpture Garden

Gilgal Sculpture Garden

A hidden garden of stones engraved with scriptures, a Joseph Smith Sphinx, all carved by one man.

Salt Lake City, Utah

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Statue of the sculptor himself, Thomas Battersby Child, Jr.   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
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Sculpture based on the “swords into plowshares” verse, Isaiah 2:4   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
Sculpture based on Ecclesiastes 12   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
Sculpture based on Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream, from the Book of Daniel  
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Gilgal sculpture park, Salt Lake City, UT, 7/5/2023   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
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Angel Moroni on top   joshuasgalbraith / Atlas Obscura User
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Gilgal sculpture park, Salt Lake City, UT, 7/5/2023   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Gilgal Garden is a wondrous little patch of land created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. in the mid-twentieth century. Hidden away at the center of a block behind houses and businesses, it contains 12 original sculptures and over 70 stones engraved with Mormon scriptures, poems, and literary texts.

Child, a Mormon, spent nearly 20 years working on the garden, located on about a half-acre behind his home. The most arresting of his creations is a sphinx with the head of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Faith. However, the garden is filled with all kinds of strange carved images, such as grasshoppers and disembodied heads.

There is even a life-sized statue of Child himself. A visitor must walk a stone path to view these works of art. Each stone is engraved with biblical and literary quotes.

Related Tags

Architectural Oddities Sacred Spaces Statues Monuments Architecture

Know Before You Go

Hours are  April to September: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; October to March: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Entry is free.

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Edited By

jenlukehart, AAlcazar, mdriggs80, candice6193...

  • jenlukehart
  • AAlcazar
  • mdriggs80
  • candice6193
  • WhiskeyBristles
  • Collector of Experiences
  • breaingram
  • Keri Kilgo
  • Taterchips
  • chasepopt
  • joshuasgalbraith
  • RDLG13
  • jyackabonis

Published

December 31, 2014

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Sources
  • http://www.gilgalgarden.org/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgal_Sculpture_Garden
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11817
Gilgal Sculpture Garden
749 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84102
United States
40.75934, -111.86953
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