Eagle Gate Arch – Things to do in Salt Lake City

The Eagle Gate marked the entrance Brigham Young’s estate. Brigham Young had the land lying athwart the mouth of City Creek Canyon. His New England heritage prompted him to desire the privacy given by a high wall around the property as well as for the protection it afforded. Erected in 1859, the gate has through the years become the symbol of the man who built it. The original eagle and the supporting beehive were carved from five laminated wooden blocks and rested upon curved wooden arches, having their anchor on the cobblestone wall surrounding the estate. Large wooden gates closed the twenty-two foot opening at night, securing behind them the Beehive House, the Lion House, and the private offices between them, the beautiful flower gardens, the private school, and the barns, sheds, granaries, silkworm cocooneries, orchards, and vegetable gardens. In 1891 the gates were removed and the entrance widened into a street. At that time the eagle was sent east, electroplated with copper and raised on new supports resting on cut stone pillars. In 1960, when the street was again widened, the wood under the copper plating had deteriorated, and the eagle could not be remounted. This bronze gateway, its eagle a scale enlargement of the original, has been erected as a tribute to the pioneers who founded this commonwealth.

Join us on the Salt Lake City Tour or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Tour.