Allen Park

 Allen Park was a private neighborhood built up by Dr. George Allen in 1931. He was fond of birds and poetry, as well as art. As I understand it, at some point he started to buy up old buildings and had them moved onto his land and rented them out. He also peppered his property with the Mosaic Poems. At some point the estate could no longer afford to keep the various houses in good repair and went to sell the property. It very nearly went to a developer who would have ripped everything out and stuffed in as many houses or apartments as they could. Luckily Salt Lake City recognized the potential of the property and raised the fund to purchase it and turn it into a public park. We visited here when it first opened last year.

I took the week off work for my Birthday and on my actual birthday I decided to walk through here. I had no idea that I was going to get a very special birthday surprise today.

Quick Details:

Length: I did a bit of wandering and ended up doing about 9/10ths of a mile. Trying to measure on google maps it appears to be closer to 6/10ths of a mile (or somewhere in the middle).
Trail Type: Loop with a spur.
Difficulty: Its fairly flat and completely paved. DR2.
Elevation Gain: About 55 ft.
Restroom: No. Closest one I can think of is at Sugarhouse Park.
Dogs? No. As of July 20th 2021 dogs are no longer allowed in the park. Apparently there were a couple incidents with the wildlife.
Other Info:

To Get Here:

Take i80 to 13th East. Head north for approximately 3800 feet. The park will be on the right. Find somewhere to park and head in.

Note: There is no designated parking area. The city recommends parking at Sugarhouse Park.

The Trail:

The visitors welcome sign is a call back to when Dr. Allen owned the place since he would put out a similar sign on Sundays.

Trailhead sign. They really need to replace it with the new No Dogs Rule. It was not immediately clear to me when we tried to do this trail back on October 31st. Security had to tell us to double check the signage and we found this:

Oh. yeah, dogs are no longer allowed. So, that is why I came back today, sans dogs.

I also feel like the est. 1931 should be amended with Opened to the public October 2020.

“Too low they build

Who build beneath the stars”

The main park lane.

“Lo the poor Indian whose untutored mind

Sees god in the clouds or hears him in the winds”

“And the light shined in the darkness”

“Allen Park Drive”

Fun little pavilion.

“An aquatic aristocrat”

“The poetry of earth is never dead”

Emigration Creek.

“And god created every winged fowl”

“All nature is but art”    “A lamp amid the darkness”

“Allen Park”

I totally had to crop this in and show you the random fun thing I didn’t initially notice..

A cool fountain in front of the main residence.

Closer view of the fountain.

The main residence.

“The song of the birds for mirth”

”Allen”

Another little fountain and “The bird of time has but a little way to fly”.

The main residence again.

“Hear how the birds with joyous music

Wake the dawning day”

“Underfoot the divine soil

overhead the sun”

That bridge is looking a bit sketchy.

This house looks like it is about ready to fall into the creek! One of the many reasons Salt Lake City put the fence up. To protect people from some of the more dangerous structures. To protect the historic stuff. And of course to protect the Mosaic Poems as well.

“Fair laughs the morn

And soft the zephyr glows”

Man, this house is in really bad shape. It looks like it might have been really cute before it started to crumble.

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever”

“They are never alone that are accompanied by living thoughts”

The other side. Same quote in the middle and

“The night has a thousand eyes”

Neat little fireplace.

“Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers”

I like the owl too.

“You are nearer gods heart in a garden

than any place else on earth”

“Nature never wears a mean appearance”

Secondary cabin. I don’t know who this was for, but I imagine one of the children.

“The leaves of life keep falling one by one”.

“Flowers preach to us if we will hear”

The other side. Same poem in the middle and:

“The great winds utter prophesies”

“Summer or winter day or night

The woods are an ever new delight”

This one is our favorite, because it totally resonates with us. Both of us just love being in the woods.

One of the still standing duplexes. Due to the small nature of most of the buildings there was local lore that there were little people or “hobbits” living here so the place was dubbed Hobbitville. It was also rumored to be haunted.

“Tongues in trees, books in running brooks,

Sermons in stone, and good in everything.”

The stone pillars tell me there was likely a residence or something here. There is no trace of it though, and there doesn’t seem to have a lot of room for one. Or maybe there was a bridge across to the structure on the other side.

Emigration Creek.

“Give me men to watch the mountains”

“Emigration Creek
Two miles upstream near this canyon creek Brigham Young said: This is the place”

Better view of Emigration Creek.

Some fun historical facts about Emigration Creek.

Emigration Canyon is were the early pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley.

It was the first water that was diverted for irrigation, creating the first water right in the valley.

The hydrology attracted early settlers to take up residence and farming in the canyon.

Due to the farming, they decided the creek was not fit to be protected as watershed.

In 1931 Mr. and Mrs. Hogle donated land at the mouth of the canyon that became the Salt Lake Zoo, which eventually became Hogle Zoo.

Record snow packs in 1952 and 1983 caused horrible flooding. The 1983 flooding caused 10 million dollars of damage along Parleys, Emigration and Red Butte Creeks.

In 2014 the Seven Canyons Foundation formed a 100 year vision to uncover and restore our damaged creeks. In 2020 they began restorative work on the 3 creeks confluence where Parleys, Emigration and Red Butte Creeks all meet.

That last factoid is my favorite! It’s always bothered me that the early settlers had some preference into burying creeks!

Downstream.

Another duplex with a well.

Another duplex. Dr. Allen really had a thing for fireplaces! I know Mary Rose was one of the daughters, so I am guessing this was her house.

The importance of riparian zones for birds and some of the birds you might find here.

Another duplex.

The old neighborhood.

Another little house.

Another duplex.

Another old house.

Tiny duplex.

Another duplex. Nobody lives in this old neighborhood anymore so I don't feel too intrusive taking pictures. However, some of the houses appear to be in pretty good condition. I feel like they could be used for some purposes. Maybe a 24 hour security guard even? 

Well, hello friends.

The security guard was taking pictures of the deer as well, so I was trying to be as quiet as I could. Do you have any idea how impossible it is to move quietly when the ground is covered in leaves?

The back end of the park has this little turn around.

“Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground”

“Gods in his heaven all’s right with the world”

“Pour down your warmth great sun”

“Intellico ut credam” That appears to be Latin for “I think so I may believe”.

The full pillar.

That is a big as squirrel!

An informative sign about the Mosaic Poems.

Dr. Allen’s wife, Ruth would collect discarded tiles from a nearby tile store and bring them for for Dr. Allen to make his murals. He liked to make these murals to share his passion with poetry with visitors.

He quoted 20 poets throughout the park. Mostly from the Romanticism period.

Little bit of color hanging on.

The last little duplex.

Our little deer friends are still hanging out.

The neighborhood.

After we started walking away from the deer me and the security guard got to talking. She tells me these deer are here all the time and she thinks they are a family unit. With a male, female, and a smaller fawn.

The neighborhood again.

“Earth fill her lap with pleasures of her own”.

The security guard observed that I was taking pictures of the mosaic poems and asked me if I had seen the 2 harder to see ones by the house. I wasn’t 100% sure so she offered to point them out to me. She then informed me that there are 38 in total (pretty sure that’s the number she told me). So once I finish up I am going to count and see if I am missing any of them.

My final count came to 40 or 41. Maybe she said 48? I think I did miss a few. Or maybe I posted a duplicate or two. Eh, Maybe I have to come back again.

The deer are heading this way as well.

Hi cutey.

“List to natures teachings”

The neighborhood.

“Earth has not anything to show more fair”

I was a little worried I had missed the back of this one, but I got it on the way back.

“Tis beauty truly blent”

Another fun fact my new friend shared with me. All these log benches came from trees that were downed during the great September 2020 windpocolypse.

Old pond. I wonder if Salt Lake plans to ever restore the ponds and fountains.

One of the peacocks. My new friend informs me he is named Jeremy.

The main residence. My friend informs me that this, and the other cabin structure were built tongue and groove style with no nails or screws. I’d say they seem to be holding out the best.

The accomplishments of Dr. George Allen.

He helped establish The Tracy Aviary, Hogle Zoo, and the Salt Lake Zoological Society.

Served as president for the Sugarhouse Chamber of Commerce, and the Salt Lake Zoological Society.

Was a member of the Salt Lake Library Board, The Masons, The Odd Fellows, American Pheasant Society, Chamber of Commerce and GOP.

He was a surgeon for the Standardville Coal Mines, then several Salt Lake businesses including the Sugarhouse Penitentiary.

After marrying Ruth Larson they had 4 children. Mary Rose, Amy, George Al Jr. and Sally Ann.

In 1931 they bought the 8 acre parcel that was farmland, and transformed it into the urban oasis it is today.

Peacock. I can’t remember the 2 additional names that this one is one or the other.

Last time we were here I initially thought this was a turkey. Then eventually I starting thinking you know, it is hanging out with the peacocks, so maybe it is actually a peahen? Nope, definitely a turkey. I don’t recall if he has a name.

Such a beautiful bird.

So my new friend pointed out to me the Mosaic Poems that you can technically see from here, but just not that great. We’ll come back to those.

Another old cabin. I like the rooster.

“A strong bird on pinions free”

“Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when dawn is still dark”

This was the security guards favorite one. I kind of like it too.

“Beauty is truth, truth is beauty”

Heading back to the main path.

My new friend informs me this is a Ginkgo tree. Apparently these trees tend to drop all of their leaves right around the same time. I looked up a couple videos of it, and I haven’t found anything as dramatic as she made it sound, but they do consistently drop once they start. Wikipedia says it can take 1 to 15 days though.

Huge squirrel!

You can see the Mosaic Poems that are behind the main residence, but not very clearly.

Back to the peacock.

The turkey again.

And then something completely unexpected and wonderful happened. She opened the fence to allow to me see them a little bit closer! What?!?!? Yay! I don’t think she did anything wrong as she could keep an eye on me and make sure that I don’t go anywhere I shouldn’t or do any damage.

The main residence.

Peacock.

“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree”

"Nature is the art of god."

This one has darker text on the stone, being wet and with the lighting today was harder to capture (of all the luck having this once in a lifetime opportunity and have bad lighting). I like the all seeing eye too.

The back of the house with the fantastic colorful patio.

“I hear the wind among the trees playing celestial symphonies”

This one you can see kind of alright from the main path, but it is definitely better from here.

Jeromy again.

Neat little waterfall.

Back of the house again.

Dr. Allen seemed to be really fond of fireplaces.

The side of the adjacent cabin (the one with the rooster on the front).

Turkey and peacock.

I so wanted to explore some more, but I understood the wonderful gift this former stranger had given me today, and I didn’t want to take advantage.

I did manage to let her know that she had no way of knowing it, but she happened to give a really special birthday gift and I appreciated it, as well as all the fun facts she shared with me today.

Peacock.

Turkey and squirrel. The guard informed me they have a problem with the squirrels getting into the birds food.

Peacock again.

Fun archway.

The fountain again.

The little greenway between the main lane and the southern spur.

The ginkgo tree again.

The turkey again.

With a squirrel.

The main residence again.

The neat pavilion at the front.

“Would that hen would truer”

“Every flower enjoys the air it breathes”

The greenspace again.

"Lo the bird is on the wing"

A final look.

I really enjoy strolling through this park. Particularly now that the hype has died down. I am really happy Salt Lake decided to save it. There is just something magical about it.  I had the place pretty much all to myself for the first half, and then got to enjoy learning some fun facts about it with a new friend on the 2nd half. Not to mention the wonderful birthday surprise I got today. I kind of wanted to remove a squirrel due to lack of parking, but there really isn’t a whole lot they can do about that so, 10 squirrels!

As for difficulty, it is completely paved and fairly flat. DR2.

Dogs were never preferred, but now they are absolutely not allowed. Be sure to leave Fido home.