Reservoir Park in Salt Lake City.

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• Parks in Salt Lake

(from Preservation Utah’s walking tour)
Reservoir Park & The Art Barn
54 Finch Lane The Art Barn–1931-33, Taylor Woolley, SLC
Art Barn gallery open to the public Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm, and most Sundays, 1-4 pm.

Today, the reservoir in Reservoir Park sits beneath the tennis courts in the southwest corner of this block. Salt Lake City constructed the 5 million gallon, concrete lined reservoir in 1900 to “hold surplus water which runs to waste at night.” In 1919, the city purchased the north half of the block, including three houses on South Temple, for use as a public park. The reservoir was not covered until 1956.

The Art Barn has been a resident of the park since the early 1930s. The Art Barn was founded in 1930 by women who wanted local artists to “have a place to meet and gain inspiration from one another.” The group met briefly in the Judge Barn on 100 South, but in 1931 requested permission to build in Reservoir Park. Utah architect Taylor Woolley, who trained in the studio of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the new building. The Art Barn women raised the money for its construction by hosting numerous “entertainments,” including a debate on prohibition.

As the building neared completion, some people objected that the name “Art Barn” was not sophisticated enough for the new art center. “The Art Barn,” however, won overwhelming public support in a newspaper contest held to name the building. The non-profit Art Barn offered free public exhibitions and workshops for over 40 years. In 1976, the Salt Lake City Arts Council was established to take over the work of the Art Barn as a community arts organization. The council continues to occupy the building today.

The block between 1300 East and University Street, and South Temple and 100 South, encompasses a park, an enclosed reservoir and associated wall, and a c.1930 building known as the Art Barn. The park, Reservoir Park, is located at the corner of 1300 East and University is a large green space with lawn and mature trees.

The reservoir, located on the corner of 1300 East and 100 South, has a historic wall that rises from the street level at that corner. It serves as the western border of the enclosed reservoir that includes tennis courts on the concrete top. This wall is constructed of concrete and incorporates recessed geometric designs and evenly spaced posts with every other one capped with a tapered spire and an electric light.

One historic building, the Art Barn, built c.1930, exists mid-block on a small street called Finch Lane. It is a one-and-one-half-story, shingle-sided Period Revival style building with simple architectural detailing.*