Memory Grove Clean Up

History of Memory Grove and Memorial House

The Latter-day Saint pioneers first camped at the mouth of City Creek Canyon, using the creek for irrigation and drinking water. A sawmill and flour mill were located along the creek in the 1860’s and 1870’s. Salt Lake City acquired the land located in lower City Creek Canyon in 1902, planted trees in 1914, and a park was born. The Service Star Legion, a group of women who had lost sons in World War I, petitioned the City to dedicate the area in honor of the soldiers. This land officially became Memory Grove and home to Memorial House in 1924.

The Memorial House building began life as a horse stable and equipment storage shed for the P.J. Moran Asphalt Company. As asphalt demand dropped and production ceased, the building suffered years of neglect. Through the efforts of the same Service Star Legion of women, the house was updated. Memorial House became a center of social life in Salt Lake City from the 1930s through the 1960s. Other monuments and a pond were added to enhance the area, but by the 1970s and 1980s decline had set in once again and crime was an unwelcome visitor.

The canyon and pond were devastated by the flood of 1983 when clogged underground conduits forced City Creek stream down Canyon Road to State Street. In the recovery from that destruction, repairs to the park and Memorial House were made. Additional improvements came again in 1999 after a surprise tornado tore through the park. Located on the urban interface, the decision to emphasize Memory Grove as a transition from an urban park to the open lands of City Creek Canyon has worked. In partnership with Salt Lake City, The Utah Heritage Foundation (now Preservation Utah) currently operates the Memorial House and is working to maintain ongoing stewardship. Memorial House now hosts wedding receptions and various public and private meetings. 

The City developed the City Creek Master Plan in April of 1986 under Mayor Palmer DePaulis and District 3 City Councilwoman Sydney Fonnesbeck, a former Chairperson of the Greater Avenues Community Council and long-time resident near Memory Grove, and GACC board member and advisor.