What was the Seven Canyons Fountain?
If you have walked through the center of Liberty Park, you have probably passed the Seven Canyons Fountain, a representation of Salt Lake City’s canyons, waterways, and mountains. Donated to the residents of Salt Lake City by O.C. Tanner in 1993, the Seven Canyons Fountain became a well-known feature of Liberty Park and emphasized the “life-giving” power of water in the Salt Lake Valley. An interactive space for children to play and explore, the fountain was a collaboration project between two architects, a landscape architect, and a sculptor – Boyd Blackner, Elizabeth Blackner, Stephen Goldsmith, and John Swain.
Unfortunately, the space closed in 2017 due to maintenance issues and health concerns.
What's next?
The next chapter for the Seven Canyons Fountain is a collaboration project between the Salt Lake City Arts Council, the Salt Lake City Department of Public Lands, Salt Lake City Engineering, and Stephen Goldsmith (one of the original artists). The reimagined space will be called the Seven Canyons Refuge, and will be an interactive art feature using light, sound, and sculptural elements to create a multisensory experience.
Major project themes:
- Relationships with sister species (especially birds).
- Water systems of the Bonneville Basin.
- Utah’s first Peoples and early human imprints.
Featured elements in Seven Canyons Refuge:
- New sculpture works, including:
- People Perches – cast bronze sculptures that invite visitors, especially children, to explore birdsong through sound and touch (including braille and sonogram forms).
- Cast bronze site repairs inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi, symbolizing healing and resilience.
- Traditional Japanese Shishi odoshi water features made of bamboo. This will encourage visitors to engage in hands-on water stewardship.
- Expanded access to multi-sensory experiences.
- A representation of Salt Lake City's historic streetcar lines, powered by Big Cottonwood Creek, tying transportation history to regional hydrology.
- New etched granite tiles featuring Indigenous imagery and natural elements created by members of the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation Tribal Council.
- A redesigned Great Salt Lake feature, reimagined as a spiral, focused on play and education.
The Department of Public Lands is excited about this impactful art project that will be a focal point of Liberty Park. The Grand Opening of the Seven Canyons Refuge will be on October 16 at 10am. We hope to see you there to celebrate this meaningful space!
