Friends of Gilgal Garden photograph collection
Collection
Identifier: P1666
Scope and Contents
Friends of Gilgal Garden photograph collection consists of 1 box containing color photographs, negatives, and slides. The collection also contains digital-only photographs. The images depict the efforts of the Friends of Gilgal Garden group to preserve and restore Gilgal Garden dating from 1996 to 2008.
Dates
- 1996-2008
Creator
- Friends of Gilgal Garden (Organization)
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Note
Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. (1888-1963) was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 6, 1888 to Thomas Battersby Child, Sr., and Elizabeth Livingston Child. He was an expert mason and masonry contractor; husband; and bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Tenth Ward. Married to Bertha Derrick Rumel (1891-1965) in 1911; they had three children. He was president of Thomas B. Child and Co., a masonry contracting firm founded by his father. He built the stone and brick work for many prominent buildings in Utah including: the Ogden High School; the chapel for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington, D. C.; Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints temples in Idaho Falls, Idaho and Los Angeles, California; and more. He served as senior member of the Sons of Utah Pioneers Luncheon Club.
Starting in 1945, at the age of fifty-seven, Child began working on a sculpture park in his backyard. Using stone from all over Utah, he built twelve sculptures and over seventy engraved stones. The sculptures represent Child’s interpretation, in stone, of the basic tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Christianity and work. The park contains many tributes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, like a sphinx with Joseph Smith, Jr.’s face, and other biblical allusions, like Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream from the Book of Daniel. The park also includes personal sculptures, such as an altar to his wife Bertha and a self-portrait statue of Child himself.
Child worked on Gilgal Garden until his death in 1963. After his death, the Grant Fetzer family bought the garden and maintained it until 2000, when they attempted to sell it. The Friends of Gilgal Garden raised enough money to buy the garden and reopen it as a city park. Friends of Gilgal have worked since 2000 to continue preservation and restoration by raising funds to continue their work and keep the park accessible to the public. The purpose of the Friends of Gilgal Garden is to restore, preserve, protect, and maintain the artifacts, sculptures, engraved stones, arrangements, facilities, and land known as Gilgal in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Starting in 1945, at the age of fifty-seven, Child began working on a sculpture park in his backyard. Using stone from all over Utah, he built twelve sculptures and over seventy engraved stones. The sculptures represent Child’s interpretation, in stone, of the basic tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Christianity and work. The park contains many tributes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, like a sphinx with Joseph Smith, Jr.’s face, and other biblical allusions, like Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream from the Book of Daniel. The park also includes personal sculptures, such as an altar to his wife Bertha and a self-portrait statue of Child himself.
Child worked on Gilgal Garden until his death in 1963. After his death, the Grant Fetzer family bought the garden and maintained it until 2000, when they attempted to sell it. The Friends of Gilgal Garden raised enough money to buy the garden and reopen it as a city park. Friends of Gilgal have worked since 2000 to continue preservation and restoration by raising funds to continue their work and keep the park accessible to the public. The purpose of the Friends of Gilgal Garden is to restore, preserve, protect, and maintain the artifacts, sculptures, engraved stones, arrangements, facilities, and land known as Gilgal in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Extent
1088 Items
Abstract
Gilgal Garden is an outdoor sculpture park located in Salt Lake City, Utah, created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. (1888-1963) in the backyard of his home starting in 1945. In 2000, Gilgal Garden was purchased by the Friends of Gilgal Garden and opened as a city park. This collection contains color photographs, negatives, slides, and digital photographs documenting the Friends of Gilgal Garden's efforts to preserve and restore Gilgal Garden between 1996 and 2008.
Arrangement
Arranged by subject.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Mary Lee Peters in 2011.
Separated Materials
See also the Friends of Gilgal Garden records (ACCN 2610) in the Manuscripts Division and the Friends of Gilgal Garden Audio-visual collection (A0008) in the Audio-visual Division of Special Collections.
Processing Information
Processed by Special Collections staff.
Creator
- Friends of Gilgal Garden (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Friends of Gilgal Garden photograph collection, 1996-2008
- Author
- Finding aid created by Claire A. Kempa.
- Date
- 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid encoded in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu