Salt Lake City has many murals that each add some spice to the neighborhoods they are in. Here are five that are easy to get to from campus that I feel are important to Salt Lake City and its artistic identity.

Utah Jazz by Karabo Poppy

The Utah Jazz is one of the few professional sports teams Salt Lake has, and this commemoration on the side of Valter’s Osteria on 173 West 300 South shows how important they are to our city’s culture. Just three blocks from the Vivint Arena, the mural is a beautiful illustration of the team in a way that very much celebrates their namesake, with music notes and a saxophone dotted between the players. There are many ways to get to this mural from campus, including the Red Line, the two, the four or the 220 buses.

Joe Hill by Josh and Heidi Belka

If you have ever driven around downtown, you have probably seen the face of Joe Hill on the side of Ken Sanders Rare Books, on 268 South 200 East. Hill was a Swedish immigrant and a proud member of the IWW union who was executed in 1915 on little to no evidence of murdering a store owner. He has since become an incredibly important figure in the union circles of Utah. This mural (and Ken Sanders Rare Books) are must-sees for anyone new to Salt Lake City. Similar to the Jazz mural, the Red Line, two, four and 220 buses all get you within walking distance.

Neighborhood Zen by Josh Scheuerman

Ninth and ninth is one of the most popular little shopping districts, with stores ranging from coffee shops to movie theaters to children’s toys. On the side of Dolcetti Gelato swims two beautiful koi fish. In Japan, koi fish represent standing tall in the face of adversity, which gives this gorgeous mural a lovely message. With its location on ninth and ninth, the 209 and the nine buses will drop you off right in front of this mural.

Golden Eagle by Chris Peterson

Hawkwatch is a wonderful charity that exists to protect raptors through education, monitoring and research. The side of their building on 2240 south 900 east will catch the attention of anyone driving by, and will hopefully entice some people to stop in. Utah has some fantastic birding spots and I highly recommended trying it out if you haven’t. Who knows, you might even see a Golden Eagle! Sugarhouse is pretty easy to get to from campus, the 21, the 209 and the Red Line to the S-Line will all drop you off close to this big bird.

Bigfoot by Gerry Swanson

Utah isn’t the Bigfoot sighting hotspot that the pacific northwest is, but it still has its fair few sightings in the mountains. Anyone can see them on 3300 south 2002 east, on the side of a Big O Tires. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any reported sightings near the mural, but I like to imagine they come down and admire it from time to time. The 223 bus drops off right near the mural.

These are only a fraction of the murals that Salt Lake City has to offer. A Google user put together an accessible map of them which was published late last year. If you have the time, I highly recommend trying to visit some that make our city unique.

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@EthanBlume 07