Bridges Over Barriers

In January of 2005, NeighborWorks of Salt Lake (working as SLNHS at the time) embarked on a journey to create one of the largest public art projects in the state of Utah. In doing so, however, this art project would become much more than a beautiful aesthetic work for public appreciation. This area project will be a catalyst to bring neighborhoods together, build community, act as a public relations campaign, and restore beauty and grandeur to two of Salt Lake’s west side neighborhoods: Jackson and Guadalupe.

The project is under the Interstate 15 freeway bridge that crosses over 300 North at approximately 700 West. The thoroughfare that passes under the bridge along 300 North connects Guadalupe and Jackson neighborhoods. This thoroughfare is also the primary route for students attending West High school and that young children pass, to arrive at Jackson Elementary from Guadalupe. This concrete structure has long been the dividing line between these two neighborhoods although most people in both neighborhoods must use this route on a daily basis. It was our intention to bridge the divide between these two neighborhoods with a massive public art project that would take the concrete eyesore and re-establish it as a vision of beauty for both neighborhoods. This opportunity is dubbed BOB – Bridge Over Barriers.

The 300 North thoroughfare, under Interstate 15 is comprised of 22,000 feet of concrete. There are 16 large concrete pillars, on top sits four massive concrete trusses that rise out of two 235-foot stretches of concrete abutment and sustain the ten-lane interstate. In order to transform this symbol of urban blight into a work of art we have enlisted the guidance and expertise of internationally renowned community artist and activist Lily Yeh. Lily Yeh offers a global perspective and years of expertise to a substantial project and a vision through art that is consistent with the goals of NeighborWorks Salt Lake to engage the grassroots community; she uses art as a way of building community while improving the quality of neighborhoods and residents. Under her direction, several prominent Utah artists were trained to take her methods and engage the community at large to create a comprehensive and aesthetically pleasing design that reflected the lives and cultures of these neighborhoods. They created a mural design that will be executed in mosaic tile over the entire 22,000 feet of structure. In the design are images and ideas that resulted from workshops the artists conducted with community organizations and hundreds of neighborhood residents.

While at the west side edge of Salt Lake City's business district, Jackson and Guadalupe are still very much residential neighborhoods, their composition is filled with diversity and complexity beyond imagination. For instance, in the Jackson neighborhood there are half dozen churches including the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple, The Church of God of Prophecy, The Free Church of Tonga, The LDS Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and more. Nearly all residents who attend any sort of religious following attend a church in this area. Jackson is also home to First Step House, an in-patient men’s rehabilitation facility. Most of these men pass along the 300 North to arrive at the closest Trax stop. Guadalupe neighborhood houses the Capital West boys and girls Club where children of both neighborhoods find after- school activities.

While the freeway acts as a divide, a constant underlying connection exists between the neighborhoods. By including all organizations in this project, we are sharing space and ideas with people from numerous cultures and ethnicities who practice different faiths and speak many languages. Consequently, both people in the neighborhood and those who come into the neighborhoods to work on the project learn valuable lessons about community and diversity.

For many years, NeighborWorks Salt Lake revitalization efforts have had an enormous impact on Salt Lake’s west side neighborhoods. NeighborWorks Salt Lake has engaged the community on numerous levels with programs that focus on homeownership and lending programs, youth development, community development, leadership, art and art’s education, neighborhood beautification and many more. The most significant impact, however, has been in Guadalupe neighborhood. Guadalupe, a neighborhood that just a little more than ten years ago was slated for demolition, now has one of the lowest crime rates in the entire city.

The Bridge Over Barriers project offers a unique opportunity to bring the tremendous success of Guadalupe into the Jackson neighborhood and leave a lasting impact. The project is so substantial in size and grandeur that we believe it can only increase the value and beauty of both neighborhoods, and is certain to become a permanent landmark for both Salt Lake City and the state of Utah. Bridging the gap and changing the physical appearance of this structure, we consider of primary importance to carry our efforts further into other neighborhoods throughout Utah. Furthermore, the key to community development lies in the very word community. Through many years of experience, we have learned that a community that plays together stays together and as a result, neighborhoods grow and flourish.

The Bridge Over Barriers is an art project designed to carry our communities over blight across cultures and language and into opportunity, hope and so much more.