SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – You will hardly find anyone who understands the atmosphere and feel of Utah’s capital better than Bryant Heath, a resident of Sugar House.
“Each neighborhood has its own character, just like the avenues have their own unique architecture and just the feel of the avenues is so much different from the Sugar House with the bungalows and business district near 2100 South, and that is different from Rose Park or Glendale. ”Heath explains to ABC4.com.
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The reason he knows so much about each of SLC’s dozen or so different neighborhoods; he’s walked every single street in Salt Lake City.
As of January 2020, Heath, an avid runner, started a project to explore every street in SLC on foot. It took 118 runs for his 994-mile trip in December. Along the way, he made mental notes of interesting places he had seen on his runs and was interested in the variety of murals he saw in the area. Heath estimates that he has seen over 400 murals in over 280 different locations in Salt Lake City.
“Some people produce interesting graffiti text and then you have portraits or characters in a wide range of different styles,” says Heath, calling the variety of murals as big as the different neighborhoods in Salt Lake.
Heath has since compiled his observations in another project, a Google Map that shows the location of every mural in the city, broken down by district and accompanied by a photo of the artwork. Driving around and taking photos of all the art in town has become a family affair. Heath likes to take his four-year-old daughter out to hunt for murals, and she’s quite adept at finding them.
“She loves it, she’s like a mural hunter now, always on the lookout,” he laughs. “Whenever I drive her around, she says, ‘Dadda, papa! There is a mural! ‘”
Here are Heath’s favorite Salt Lake City murals, broken down by neighborhood or area, and why he likes each one:
Famous jazz characters
Artist: Trent Call | Location: Main St. and 100 S., downtown | Courtesy Bryant Heath
You can check this out, and I’ve probably done it a half a dozen times, and you pick up various interesting tidbits. Dr. Dunkenstein above in the text and Godzilla for Gobert on the right with an outstretched arm for a blocked shot like. Every time you look at it, you notice something different. There is just so much going on.
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Virgin Mary
Artist: El Mac and Retna | Location: 200 S and 200 E., Central City / East Central | Courtesy Bryant Heath
I have a feeling that it really is one of the most famous, both because it is just so incredibly big, like the scale, and is in this district. That’s 200 S 200 E, if you walk through these alleys you will have dozens and dozen of different works of art and murals and these alleys. This large landmark attracts people so they can explore all of the artwork of this particular type of collection in this area.
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Colorful portrait
Artist: Chuck Landvatter | Location: 600 W and North Temple, Rio Grande | Courtesy Bryant Heath
I’m a jerk for huge portraits, Exhibition A: that great Virgin Mary. Obviously, the color scheme is the most interesting part here. I just really enjoyed this one. It’s in a great area where you can see the main streets. The color scheme and the shapes, I really appreciate them.
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Open countries
Artist: Josh Scheuerman | Location: 300 W and 800 S, Granary District | Courtesy Bryant Heath
It’s this incredible landscape of Utah, and I like the comment. He’s got the open land for sale sign, it’s like this whole public land use debate. Who exactly is this public land intended for? He touches that a little. Should this be developed for commercial purposes or should this please everyone? I find that beautiful scene and then the sign very, very moving.
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Atlas water scene
Artist: Shae Peterson, photo courtesy Bryant Heath
The detail is just amazing. You can see it from a mile away just by how big it is. Knowing with hindsight that everything was done with spray paint is just remarkable. I’ve seen hundreds of these murals and still don’t know how murals are actually built, it just seems like a lot of black magic but knowing that this was done with spray paint just blows me off.
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Sugar house around 1940
Artist: Josh Scheuerman | Location: 1100 E and 2100 S, Zuckerhaus | Courtesy Bryant Heath
What I like best is the hyperrealism. This is exactly what the area looked like at that time with the monument in the middle, near the square at 1100 E and 2100 S. It is interesting that from the mural you get a glimpse of how it used to look and then you know that you literally drive one block and you can see what it looks like now. So this dichotomy between past and present is pretty interesting.
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Indigenous woman
Artist: Jessica Sabogal | Location: 700 W and North Temple, west side | Courtesy Bryant Heath
Again, I’m a sucker for large portraits and this one is gigantic. I think it’s a good nod to the Westside’s cultural diversity. Very moving. I don’t speak Spanish, but “No se vende” is “Not for Sale” if I’m not mistaken. So it’s a strong picture with a strong message and that’s what I liked the most.
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R.A.M.
Artist: Evan Jed Memmott | Location: West Temple and 2260 S, South Salt Lake | Courtesy Bryant Heath
There are many microbreweries in this area, as well as distilleries and small shops. When you walk around there, you notice the different murals, so I especially like the ram in front of Clever Octopus, a really cool shop. I just like the color scheme on the Aries, and it’s kind of eccentric, and of course the geometric pattern is just very noticeable.
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Bigfoot
Artist: Gerry Swanson | Location: 2000 E and 3300 S, East Millcreek | Courtesy Bryant Heath
That’s the most fun, and there aren’t too many murals in Millcreek. It’s on the side of a Big O tire, and if you’ve ridden the 3300 S, you’ve undoubtedly seen it. Maybe you’re scratching your head like, ‘Is that a giant bigfoot?’ but you think, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool!’ It’s really nicely done and spans two buildings. It’s pretty unique that they did this, but I just think it’s a really fun mural.
Glowing flowers in Millcreek Gardens
Check out more of Heath’s strange and interesting sightings around Salt Lake City on his Instagram slsees. The Google Map of SLC’s hundreds of murals can be found here.
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