Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »
Countries
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan
Cities
  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Angus MacAskill grave
Giant MacAskill’s Grave
Petroglyph site at Kejimkujik Lake
Kejimkujik Petroglyphs
Tà Má Stream
Gods House Tower
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Food window and entrance of center.
Indian Arts Center
Steaming Tender Restaurant
Tiptree Jam Museum entrance.
Tiptree Jam Museum
The Reading Room blends the intimacy of an inviting bar with the inviting solace of a good bookstore.
The Reading Room
Building
The Mountain House
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
To Andrew Phung, Calgary is simultaneously a big city and a small town—in all the right ways.
Andrew Phung’s Favorite Calgary Spots
One of the gargoyles that adorns Oxford’s Magdalen College.
8 Gargoyles and Grotesques Hiding in Plain Sight
Only-in-Anchorage Winter Traditions
Moose are frequently spotted around Flattop Mountain and the Glen Alps Trailhead.
Anchorage: A City Within the Wild

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Utah Salt Lake City Gilgal Sculpture Garden

Gilgal Sculpture Garden

A hidden garden of stones engraved with scriptures, a Joseph Smith Sphinx, all carved by one man.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Statue of the sculptor himself, Thomas Battersby Child, Jr.   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  WhiskeyBristles / Atlas Obscura User
Sculpture based on the “swords into plowshares” verse, Isaiah 2:4   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
Sculpture based on Ecclesiastes 12   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
Sculpture based on Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2   AAlcazar / Atlas Obscura User
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream, from the Book of Daniel  
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  chasepopt / Atlas Obscura User
  LisaUSA / Atlas Obscura User
  breaingram / Atlas Obscura User
  RDLG13 / Atlas Obscura User
  Taterchips / Atlas Obscura User
  joshuasgalbraith / Atlas Obscura User
Angel Moroni on top   joshuasgalbraith / Atlas Obscura User
  Taterchips / Atlas Obscura User
Gilgal sculpture park, Salt Lake City, UT, 7/5/2023   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
  jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
  jyackabonis / Atlas Obscura User
  WhiskeyBristles / Atlas Obscura User
Gilgal sculpture park, Salt Lake City, UT, 7/5/2023   Keri Kilgo / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Gilgal Garden is a wondrous little patch of land created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. in the mid-twentieth century. Hidden away at the center of a block behind houses and businesses, it contains 12 original sculptures and over 70 stones engraved with Mormon scriptures, poems, and literary texts.

Child, a Mormon, spent nearly 20 years working on the garden, located on about a half-acre behind his home. The most arresting of his creations is a sphinx with the head of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Faith. However, the garden is filled with all kinds of strange carved images, such as grasshoppers and disembodied heads.

There is even a life-sized statue of Child himself. A visitor must walk a stone path to view these works of art. Each stone is engraved with biblical and literary quotes.

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Know Before You Go

Hours are  April to September: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; October to March: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Entry is free.

Community Contributors

J jenlukehart profile photo AAlcazar profile photo M mdriggs80 profile photo candice6193 profile photo

Edited By

jenlukehart, AAlcazar, mdriggs80, candice6193...

  • J jenlukehart profile photo jenlukehart
  • AAlcazar profile photo AAlcazar
  • M mdriggs80 profile photo mdriggs80
  • candice6193 profile photo candice6193
  • breaingram profile photo breaingram
  • Keri Kilgo profile photo Keri Kilgo
  • T Taterchips profile photo Taterchips
  • chasepopt profile photo chasepopt
  • J joshuasgalbraith profile photo joshuasgalbraith
  • RDLG13 profile photo RDLG13
  • LisaUSA profile photo LisaUSA

Published

December 31, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.gilgalgarden.org/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilgal_Sculpture_Garden
  • http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11817

Related Tags

Architectural Oddities Sacred Spaces Statues Monuments Architecture
Gilgal Sculpture Garden
749 East 500 South
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84102
United States
40.75934, -111.86953
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Salt Lake City Public Library

Salt Lake City, Utah

miles away

'Out of the Blue'

Salt Lake City, Utah

miles away

Eagle Gate Monument

Salt Lake City, Utah

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Utah

Places 18
Stories 6

Nearby Places

Salt Lake City Public Library

Salt Lake City, Utah

miles away

'Out of the Blue'

Salt Lake City, Utah

miles away

Eagle Gate Monument

Salt Lake City, Utah

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City

Utah

Places 18
Stories 6

Related Stories and Lists

15 Places in Utah that Prove the State is Weirder Than You Think

hidden

By Atlas Obscura

Related Places

  • Entrance

    Singapore

    Haw Par Villa

    A Buddhist theme park brings you a Buddhist version of Hell.

  • The Peace Fountain

    New York, New York

    The Peace Fountain at Cathedral of St. John the Divine

    A curious fountain that has no water and includes Satan, a crab, and 9 giraffes.

  • Santuario del Cristo Roto

    San José de Gracia, Mexico

    Santuario del Cristo Roto (Sanctuary of the Broken Christ)

    On a picturesque lake island, a massive, “broken” crucifixion has become a popular pilgrimage destination.

  • The Chester Imp.

    Chester, England

    Chester Imp

    A mysterious demonic figure peers down from its perch within the gorgeous Chester Cathedral.

  • Air Crash.

    Madrid, Spain

    Air Crash

    A whimsical brother of the nearby Fallen Angel statue takes the falling part quite literally.

  • The Indecent Little Man of St James Church

    Brno, Czechia

    The Indecent Little Man on the Church of St. James

    A cheeky architectural easter egg.

  • Some call this the rose. It shelters the Lipchitz sculpture.

    New Harmony, Indiana

    The Roofless Church

    This open air cathedral invites all faiths to worship under the only roof big enough to fit them all: the sky.

  • The Democracy Monument

    Bangkok, Thailand

    Democracy Monument

    Bangkok celebrated its shifting monarchy with a militaristic homage to democracy.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2026 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.