Chelsea Marshall- Personal Blog

Leaves crinkle beneath my feet as I walk to 7:30 psychology. The sky is a murky gray and I want to be lying on the beach. Even though the wind howls and I suffer from lack of sleep, I am overcome with memories of the past. Times becomes a wishbone and I am taken back an October day during my childhood. My sister and I knew the second my dad opened the garage door that adventures awaited us. We spent hours gathering the leaves into massive piles. At the end’s day, we admired our day’s work by doing somersaults into the mountains of leaves. Dinner always came too soon. Like the leaves beneath my feet, I have also changed.

Group 7: West Moreland

Driving up to West Moreland I was a little bummed by my surroundings, figuring that the streets before, would be similar to the area we were destined to go. On the contrary, we found a place that was very cozy and showed tremendous character. Entering into the neighborhood there is a small one sided gate to welcome you. The difference is abrupt but a very comforting change leading you to a woodsy adventure.

The most prominent feature walking around the area are the large Maple and Sycamore trees lining the streets. Driving and walking through the streets the trees form a tunnel giving a much smaller feel to the neighborhood. The small quaint houses and the trees give the neighborhood a warm, cozy feel. Many of the houses are small one or two story bungalows. One house we noticed was a tudor revival and others were mainly Victorian. Aside from the bungalow and Victorian houses, were three distinct houses.

On the northwest corner of the neighborhood, set back from the street was a storybook style house. The house fit well within the neighborhood but had a front princess tower/turret used for the entrance.

The most different of the houses was a steep steel covered angled house. The house had a slight half timber feel and resembled a small street side cabin in Park City. Being prominently a Bungalow style neighbor hood, the sharp lines through off the balance and made it seem out of place.

Finally, the faux thatched roof house, showed its face. The home was white and had a small stained glass window to top off it off. Personally it was cute, sure, but in relation to the neighborhood, it made no sense. A very bizarre home.

As for the rest of the homes, they usually had small front and side gardens and little front yards. The homes were scarcely spaced but well kept. School had still been in session at the time but you could get a sense that families lived in the area. (a large clue being the school a block away) It was a lot less privatized due to the space and gave it much more community feel.

Overall it was our favorite of the walk-abouts. It was a very welcoming environment. People were out walking dogs and the fall colors made the area beautiful. It seemed very safe and a desirable place to grow up. The homes were funky and fun and gave it a lot of character. It was clean and well kept and a great subdivision to a very interesting and cultural city.

Federal Heights -- Group Five

Federal Heights, the Salt Lake City neighborhood famous for the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, is the area east of Virginia Street and to the north of South Temple. From the moment you pass through the gates separating the university from the residential area, it is obvious that you are in a neighborhood unlike the suburbs most of us in group five are accustomed to.

It is no secret that the homes that line the streets belong to the affluent. While large, they do not sacrifice quantity over quality. Each home has a moderate to large front yard, and with one exception where the home was abandoned, the landscaping appears professionally done. Most yards include trimmed hedges, formal flowers, and ivy climbing the fences and walls of the home. Many homes which are far from the curb have wavy staircases that lead from the sidewalk all the way to the door.

Although the weather was not pleasant during our trip, many women in designer track suits passed us by on their morning jogs. Cars that were visible in the driveways and driving down the streets tended to be from 2005 forward, and were often SUVs with one passenger, Subarus, often with bike racks, or sports cars.

From an architectural standpoint, Federal Heights is extremely varied. Unlike neighborhoods developed en masse with variations on one floorplan, each home here was uniquely identifiable. Styles of homes ranged from asymmetrical Victorian homes with black gates lining the balconies, to neo-colonial with white picket fences. A few homes had large white columns protecting the long porches. Modern ranch style homes had large windows overseeing their yards. There were few bungalow styles homes like those found in Sugarhouse, and no split-entry homes at all.

The ambiance of the neighborhood was welcoming. The well kept yards, clean, modern cars, and homes in great repair made us feel safe wherever we were. There were no signs of crime, apathy towards appearance, or “undesirables” anywhere.

--Jane, Britany, Brittney, Lauren, Chelsea

University Heights- Group 6

For our walkabout this week, our group visited University Heights. These neighborhoods are located west of the University of Utah campus, and are quite varied in size and style. Most of them are expensive and belong to higher income families, but there are also a few lower income apartments and condominiums, all clustered within the space of a few short blocks. The majority of the houses in these neighborhoods were either bungalow style or revival buildings, with many different variations on specific details of the designs.

When examining the four major components of style in the architecture of the buildings, there are some major similarities as well as many differences. The mass of most of the houses in the University Heights neighborhood are about the same. They appear to be quite weighty in volume, and have a more powerful presence, making one feel secluded and protected living in them. The plan of the houses could not be seen very easily from the street, but it was clear that the majority of houses were designed to have the more public areas in the front, and the private spaces in the back. What could be seen through the front windows were mostly living rooms or family rooms, with bedrooms or bathrooms almost never visible.

When it comes to detail, there were a myriad of different variations among each house. The roof pitches varied greatly and each house often had multiple parts of the roof which were a different pitch. The windows were mostly large and unadorned, and houses typically had only one chimney. Small details of the house such as the designs surrounding the windows or the coloring of the houses varied greatly, making each house distinct from the others around it. There were many artistic details decorating the doors and the gables, as well as a number of different kinds of columns designed as part of the porches.

The overall ambiance of the neighborhood itself is very friendly. The houses provide a sense of seclusion and security when walking by them. In the style of older upper class houses, the buildings are also placed quite a distance away from the street, with a few feet of grass lawn between the edge of the street and the sidewalk. This increases the sense of seclusion and distance from the fast moving cars and the city only a few blocks away. The decorations and colors of the houses are also, on the whole very welcoming, with brighter and happier colors and designs that give a sense of warmth to the neighborhood as a whole.

While many different styles of house design are clearly present within the neighborhood, the larger majority of the houses are a variation on the bungalow style. They are longer and rectangular in design, with a large front porch and varied roof pitches as well as the common presence of columns. Unlike traditional bungalow houses however, the long end of the house almost always faces the street rather than the shorter end. It was also common for the coloring of the bungalows to differ from the traditional natural colors, incorporating instead brighter blues and yellows, and sometimes even more intense colors like pink.

Group 4-Street Patterns

Paths, and to a lesser extent street patterns, are essentially the backbone of the city. They’re the vital networks between important nodes, landmarks, and regions that feed the economic, social, and cultural needs of the city.

Salt Lake City’s street patterns are uniquely designed and provide the city with a special fingerprint. Salt Lake follows a carefully ordered grid pattern (planned around Temple Square) where streets run parallel and perpendicular to each other in easily navigated east-to-west and north-to-south directions (where streets are named after numbers, which makes getting completely lost more difficult). Older cities are often characterized by confusing, meandering roads and colloquial streets names with no directional meaning.

For our group walkabout, we headed downtown via TRAX to the Wells Fargo building right off of Gallivan Plaza. After ascending twenty-four floors (and feeling a slight head rush), we walked around the building until we came into an empty room with a good view of the city. What we noticed was that the streets in the commercial/banking district were wide and spread out, whereas the street systems in the residential areas higher up in the foothills were closer together. We assumed this was because there was more traffic travelling in the business/financial district than residential areas. We also noticed the difference in architecture between the older and newer buildings. The newer buildings in the business district featured straight, clean lines with lots of windows, while the older buildings such as the courthouse and capitol building were more ornate.

After we finished with the Wells Fargo building, we headed back to TRAX and ended up walking into a local bookstore to wait for the train. All sorts of decorations were laid out for Halloween, and we flipped through different books like The Three Incestuous Sisters and comic book versions of Dante’s Divine Comedy until the train came and we were on our way back to campus.

Group #1 Block: 13th and 12th east and 1st and 2nd south

The houses around our block very much embody the American Dream. They exhibit separation from the street with front yards, especially the houses on the north edge of the block. Many of the houses had been heavily landscaped (or underly so), so as to isolate the house from the street with the foliage. In many of the houses' windows there were lacy curtains, further isolating them from the outside world. An aspect in which the block did not exhibit the American Dream is that the houses were often for rent as opposed to owned by the occupants. There were also a number of apartment complexes that were bigger, bulkier, and seemingly out of place.

The trees in the neighborhood provide both protection from the elements and a sense of security and calm in a city setting. It creates a boundary that sets the neighborhood apart from the “college campus” feeling that comes from being so closely situated to the University of Utah. That said, the neighborhood was clearly influenced by being so close to campus. It contained a few places for rent, making it accessible to college students seeking to escape dorm life but wanting to stay close to campus.

Our neighborhood, besides the random gas station and modern styled apartment building, had such rich architecture that reflected the Bungalow style. The houses were small yet tall, and they often had columns or intricate details near the porch.

This patterned neighborhood stood out as much as possible with their adorable doll like houses that did not just stick with neutral tones. The feeling of family and community also shown through with government election signs and jack-o-lanterns on the front porch. The only setback is the little space.

Harvard and Yale

The houses in Harvard and Yale were primarly characterized in Colonial, Victorian, and Period Revival architectual styles. While you can pick out houses that feature a single theme or style, many of the houses held multiple individual characteristics that can be held under different architectual styles. For example, many of the houses had Colonial columns, geometric patterns, wider mass, and brickwork, while having Victorian multi-faceted roofing and turrets.

Most of the houses used natural color schemes and landscaping to augment the beauty and functionality of their design. Most were set back from the road. Stones were used in both the landscaping and in the house designs.

Some of the more unique designs came in the form of period revival houses. These stood out particularly in contrast with the more common red-brick and stone houses. This one in particular uses steeply pitched rooftops, a turret, arches, and European plaster give this house a fairytale appeal.

This neighborhood worked well as a whole. The natural landscapes of the front yards complemented the designs of the houses. The Wasatch mountains provide a good backdrop for the rustic, yet refined community.

Group 8 - Westminster Neighborhood

Michael May, Sami Crouch, Adam Jones, Jackson Myrick, Josh Southwick, Hector Zumaeta

Our group visited the neighborhood near Westminster College to look at bungalows. The first thing we saw was Westminster itself. Since it was founded in 1875, a good 45 years before the bungalows as we know them came into being, its style is significantly different compared to the other buildings we visited. It seemed much more distinguished and old, which is what a college built in 1875 is expected to look like.

The neighborhood itself was interesting in that nearly every building was either red or tan, and hardly any had any really exciting colors.

The color in the neighborhood largely came from the plants and vegetation. It seemed like the

neighborhood its

elf was trying to blend in with it's surroundings. This was especially true of one of the houses we visited that was entirely covered by plants.

A bungalow is a house that's longer than it is wide, with a spacious patio and public front that hides a private back. This seems to fit well with the time period of the 1920's, because those were the roaring twenties; with people's new found fortunes they certainly would feel the desire to show off their succ

ess, but every person needs their privacy.

Also worth noting is how close each house is to one another, and how close each house is to the street. This suggests a kind of community that's very social, but that's not what we found there. We only saw a few people around, although part of that is probably because we were there around 6-7 o'clock at night. It seemed like it was a welcoming neighborhood, but not an extremely social one, which was interesting because it varied from what the houses described the neighborhood to be like a bit.

Apart from the bungalows, a few houses stood out in particular. One was the house covered in vines. Another was a house that, for some reason, had both Dish network and Sattelite. Nobody in our group could come up with a good reason why a house would need both. Another noteworthy house was one that seemed to be in the Victorian style. Among the bungalows, it stood out quite a bit as being almost fancier than the other houses. It seemed that the owner of that house wanted to seem like he was in some way better than everyone else, an observation that was validated when we saw that he owned a boat.

In conclusion, the neighborhood both satisfied some of our expectations, while breaking others. It just goes to show you that you can't judge a book by it's cover, and you certainly can't judge a place until you've been to it firsthand.

City Library

Last Thursday I met up with a friend and we went up to the City Library's roof. I love going up on the roof of the library. It's so beautiful up there and you can see the whole city around you. I never realized how many trees there were in Salt Lake until I went up there. It is such a nice view in the Fall especially because you can see all the changing leaves.

I also really enjoy people watching. Going up to the roof is a great opportunity for that. It is right by the Library trax stop where many interesting characters are mulling around. It's especially cool that no one can see you watching them.

The best part of going up there was watching the sunset. The west view has the City Council building which is a very cool one. It almost looks like a castle. I can't wait to go up there again! They close it for winter so anyone who wants to witness the amazing view should go soon!

Michael Brown - Personal Blog #1

The Vanity of Sub-Urban Architecture


In the past week my group went on an excursion to a sub-urban neighborhood. I grew up in one of these so-called “rich” sub-urban areas and so I had never looked as closely as I did on this occasion at the appearance of homes and their appearance of this “richness” that people sometimes apply to said houses.

Take the house on the right; I’ll use this one as I have no other examples. The house is impressive is it not? The large amount of windows suggest wealth as do the three car garage doors the 4 stories, etc. etc. This house is a personal favorite of mine because I like the moderninity of it, the use of right angles and square shapes make it appealing to me, but now let’s try something. Take the trees out, take out the color, make it just grey, and take out some of the overlapping ridges that occur where the color changes. If you took out these details this house would look bland and repetitive. The use of simple color change, trees, and little ridges improve the look of this building tremendously. It makes them look rich.

If we take the house as it is without these details it looks like a gross imprint of the modern era. Cement looking walls. Square shapes. It’s something we wouldn’t want to look at for too long at on a dusty industrial street. But take the setting into account and this house is immediately new and exciting. Next to all the old fashioned bungalows, roman pillars, and other old-styled house, this house is an outcast. It’s new. It’s exciting. Now this is a nice house. If you take a plainer, less-lavished house and start looking for things that really don’t have any effect on the live-ability of the place you will start to notice how architects add tiny details to make boring buildings look more interesting and exciting.

Well that was my experience on this walkabout. Ask yourself: Is a house rich, does it look rich, or is it both? It is fun to look for these things and I suggest trying to pay more attention yourself next time you’re in the “neighborhood” or so to speak.

Getting Jazzed for the Jazz

Brad Thomson

Personal Blog Entry 1

This past Friday the Utah Jazz competed in the final game of their pre-season. Thanks to my fabulous Asian friend Chris Hom, I was able to go (It’s not racist. We’re friends, so be quiet.). The Jazz were pushing for their eighth pre-season win. If they obtained it, they would be going into the regular season undefeated.

This may not really amount to much seeing as pre-season play doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, but it didn’t stop the more loyal Salt Lake fans from showing up anyway. There aren’t many things that people get attached to like they get attached to sports teams. The energy and pride people display at sporting events is quite unique, and the people surrounding me at this game were definitely proud. They were proud of their team, proud of their team’s performance, and proud to be from Salt Lake.

As we rode TRAX to the game and looked out the window it was interesting to see the concentration of Jazz paraphernalia increase as we neared the Energy Solutions Arena. Upon exiting the train we were bombarded by people selling last minute tickets and advertisements heralding various events that would take place in the arena later in the year. We made our way through security and found our seats.

Like at any highly publicized event, advertisements were everywhere. The inside of a sports arena is an icon of our capitalistic lifestyle, and a constant reminder that teams are not only there for the entertainment of the masses, but to make money. Businesses with a strong presence in the valley sponsored competitions and prize giveaways, banner ads wrapped around the seats, and the scoreboard flashed constant admonitions to drink sprite and buy houses from such-and-such a builder. Despite the prominent placement and psychedelic nature of the advertisements, once the game started they were the last thing on anyone’s mind.

A man behind me was particularly adamant about telling the players exactly what they should be doing. He explained to them what they did wrong, and when they made a good play he congratulated them heartily. It seemed a pity that the players on the court couldn’t actually hear anything that he was saying. Instead his words were lost on those of us who were surrounding him. This man and his pointless instruction were by no means out of place however. A boy who couldn’t have been more than thirteen adamantly explained to those around him who was who on the court and why this or that person was currently benched.

It was interesting to view Salt Lake thought the eyes of a sports fan. I’ve had the experience in other cities (mostly Seattle) but it was nice to see how citizens of Utah take pride in their teams and claim them as a part of their own identity.

Group 2- Terrance Hills

The American Dream is a concept that has existed for years. After the World War II, many families began moving out of cities, into areas now known as suburbs. Salt Lake City is no different. The closest suburbs to the campus are up in the Avenues. Our walk-about took us on an adventure into Terrance Hills, which resides above Eleventh Avenue.

The first things I noticed on our adventure were the roads. Salt Lake is well known for their grid pattern; however, once you cross Eleventh Avenue, the roads become curved with names such as Chandler Drive and Percy’s Hollow Road (no longer the 200 South that is found in the city). Also I noticed the size of the houses increased greatly, the mailboxes resided on the road as opposed to the house, and the amount of trees increased greatly. The first observation, I attributed to money. The second and third observations, I attributed to the wanting of more privacy. Having the mailbox on the street leads less people to come up to your house. Also, more trees let less people see your house or even inside of it, almost as if one were hiding.

The point of the assignment was to notice the architecture. The mass of all these houses was heavy. They were all extremely large and voluminous. Plans from the outside were somewhat difficult to tell. It appeared, from our outsider’s view that each house had a different plan that varied based upon the owners who resided there. The ambiance was different. All of the houses shared a common feeling of classy and pleasant; however, from there the houses differed. The pink house brought about a cute, quaint feel; while the tall house of windows brought upon feelings of sophistication and success. (These are the images posted above). In the streets we walked down, there appeared some types of houses we discussed: Colonial, Victorian, Period Revival, and some houses which I had a hard time grouping (mainly the modern looking homes). It appeared as if the houses were built to match the personality of those who owned them, and this was a major part to the American Dream.

Footsteps

This week, my parents and I have taken a few trips to Brighton Canyon. These trips are just a few of many I have made throughout my lifetime. I've been going hiking for as long as I can remember and that is probably why I find hiking so peaceful and relaxing. My dad and I always go for a hike no matter what time of the year it is. Twin Lakes and Mary Lake are the best hikes, though sometimes we just hike to the girls camp that is up there. After a hike, we usually go down a little ways to Silver Lake and we take a walk around that with my mom. Silver Lake has a flat path and doesn't require any hiking to get to, so it is easier on my mom. There is almost always something new to see. This last time we were up there, we saw a mother moose and her baby. It was really cool because I had never seen a baby moose in the wild before. Unfortunately, it was 11:00 at night, so I couldn't get a picture. Nighttime up there is so amazing though because you can see all of the stars up there perfectly. It is absolutely gorgeous. Another cool hike up in that area is the hike to Donut Falls.

Paths are necessary to get to all of these places, but sometimes a trail is missing. The first time my dad and I hiked to Twin Lakes we didn't know there was a path, so we kind of went trailblazing. It was fun, though totally unnecessary. Now we always take the path which is much better because it is not only easier, but ruins less foliage.

The only major landmark up there is a dirt Mickey Mouse head that somebody put on one of the mountains. Over the years he has become kind of deformed, but he used to be perfectly symmetrical.

These kind of recreational places are an important part of the city because they give the everyday joe an opportunity to get away from reality for awhile. It also helps break up the city and adds something else to a valley. Though these kinds of places aren't a part of the actual city, they are very close. I am a firm believer in enjoying nature and I am glad that I live in an area
that has many recreational areas such as Brighton. If I lived in a city like New York, I think I would lose my mind. I enjoy seeing mountains and trees in a perfectly natural environment. This isn't just a park, but an actual part of nature. Nature is a place I could easily lose myself in and would willingly do it if reality didn't come calling.

Red Butte Serenity

Exactly one week ago, I took a solitary hike in Red Butte. I have always found being in nature a great comfort and I decided I needed to go for a hike. It was the perfect time to go as it was cool and the colors were just beginning to change. It's been awhile since I have seen colors this
vibrant, so it was like a walk down memory lane. Some of my fondest memories are in the Autumn and it is also my favorite season. Most people hate the cloudy days and the cold, but I am more fond of that than the horrible 100 degree sunny days. I don't hate the sun, I just prefer the clouds. Fall is also the only time of the year when there are colors absolutely everywhere. The leaves on the trees are changing into the most beautiful colors and the sunsets seem to get more vibrant. It is the time of year when you can curl up in a light jacket, but still not be freezing cold. Autumn is just the perfect season.


The hike all the way to the top at Red Butte does not take very long and is well worth the time it takes to get there. The view from up there is absolutely gorgeous. The whole valley can be seen
from up there and there are a few benches up there that one can sit on. If you sit on one of them and just look out, you almost feel like God. When I reached the very top, it started to rain, so the clouds covered most of the valley. Only a few of my pictures came out clear and those were the ones I took from a lower vantage point. The span of the city is incredible and the fact that the Great Salt Lake can be seen from there is amazing. Much of the city is a blur of buildings and streets, but the landmarks and other large buildings are easily distinguished. The basic grid of the streets is also easily recognized.





Unless construction is going on, it is not only beautiful up there, but serene. It is usually pretty quiet and peaceful. It's not nearly as serene as Cuberant, but it is as close as I will get here. Following paths is the only way one will reach the top unless one enjoys being scratched, bruised, and likely killed. The paths are all dirt unless one is actually in the gardens. Up in the hiking area
the trails are all dirt and are extremely easy to follow to one's destination. There are a few places to go at the top. One can either go to the top in a variety of pathways, or go off the mountain, or go to a little place called Stone House.










This little pioneer house is a little ragged, but is an interesting spectacle. This is all just a part of what Red Butte can offer, however, so I suggest that everybody go out and explore Red Butte for themselves. See what you can find!

People Watching

Personal Blog #1

Morgan Stinson

I love people watching. The past two walkabouts my group has taken, I have most enjoyed observing the variety of people out and about the area we are observing. Whenever I see and individual, I always wonder what their story is. Questions flash through my mind, where are they going? What are they doing there? Where are they from? I find it so amazing that everyone has their own path and mindset, yet we're all living in the same area interacting on some level everyday. In a city like Salt Lake, I have had the privilege to observe many different kinds of people. These experiences have taken me out of my comfort zone on occasion, and have also been very enlightening and interesting. So, I think one of the best ways to get to know a city is to look at the people first, because people are the framework of cities.