Story Wall - Gallivan Utah Center - Salt Lake City, UT - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Located in the central area of the Gallivan Utah Center, this art piece, appropriately titled, "Story Wall", is described by the Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog as: "Two sections of bronze plates, engraved with Utah's tribal legends, from the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone. The first section is made up of 56 plates. The second section consists of 21 plates that span across a bridge."

Its dimensions are listed as: "(First section: approx. 24 in. x 102 ft. x 1/4 in.); (Second section: approx. 24 in. x 36 ft. x 1/4 in.)."

Above the wall, in the planter, a plaque reveals the following:

"These legends are based on stories told by the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone tribes of Utah. They are told as a method to teach values and ethics, to explain life, and to entertain. Most of these legends were collected by John Wesley Powell, manuscript 794-a, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1873. The story, "Why the Birds Built Different Kinds of Nests", was told by Bernice Cesspooch for the Duke Indian Oral History Project, Marriott Library, University of Utah, 1968-1972.

The following stories: How Mountains, Valleys and Canyons Came to Be, Wy Birds Build Different Kinds of Nests, and Senawahv and the Snow Bird are copyrighted by the Uintah Ouray Utah Tribe. Any of these stories requires their approval."

These bronze plates are fitted side by side along a half wall surrounding a sunken grassy area on two sides. From a distance, it is hard to discern that this is more than just a bronze wall. As you get closer, and depending on the light, it becomes clear that the wall is full of engraved words.

This "Story Wall" is situated in Gallivan Utah Center, in the central plaza. Galivan Utah Center occupies much of the inner block bounded by State Street, 200 South, Main Street, and 300 South.

The John W. Gallivan Utah Center is furnished with an array of unique art projects, an amphitheater, an ice rink and pond, a huge outdoor chess board, and an aviary. Its inviting atmosphere is complemented with performance areas of all sizes, lots of seating, intimate spaces and vantage points that make the Center a comfortable and fun place to enjoy the activities, casual strolling or "people watching."

The Center provides a focal point for the downtown crowd to gather for lunch or a short reprieve from the day's hectic work schedule. Special events such as exhibits, fairs, performances, parades, festivals and holiday celebrations make the John W. Gallivan Utah Center a lively and exciting gathering place year-round.

TITLE: Story Wall ARTIST(S): Day Christensen DATE: 1993 MEDIUM: Bronze plates CONTROL NUMBER: IAS UT000099 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: The Main Street entrance to the plaza is at 239 South Main Street. This piece of art is situated in the central area of the Gallivan Utah Center. DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: The only difference I can tell, is that the "Remarks" section of the Story Wall inventory paraphrases the accompanying plaque. The following is the entire wording of the plaque: These legends are based on stories told by the Ute, Paiute, Goshute, and Shoshone tribes of Utah. They are told as a method to teach values and ethics, to explain life, and to entertain. Most of these legends were collected by John Wesley Powell, manuscript 794-a, Bureau of American Ethnology, 1873. The story, Why the Birds Built Different Kinds of Nests, was told by Bernice Cesspooch for the Duke Indian Oral History Project, Marriott Library, University of Utah, 1968-1972. The following stories: How Mountains, Valleys and Canyons Came to Be, Wy Birds Build Different Kinds of Nests, and Senawahv and the Snow Bird are copyrighted by the Uintah Ouray Utah Tribe. Any of these stories requires their approval.

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Date Logged Log   09/14/2011 Chasing Blue Sky visited it