American Fork's Parking Meter Plague

This unusual monument stands in front of the Historic City Hall. I have posted it before, but that was when I didn't know anything about it. Lori from the Art's Council explained to me that American Fork's downtown used to have parking meters all up and down the main street. She remembers going downtown with her mother and putting money into the meters. This memorial tombstone was erected when the parking meters were done away with.

Historic City Hall

Yesterday I kicked off my Historic City Hall series with a photo of the plaque placed by the American Fork Historic Commission in 2003. Today's photo showcases the building from top to bottom as seen from Church Street. Notice the bell tower. This building houses the arts council, several arts council classes and projects and city council meetings.

Precious Pet Paradise, American Fork Main Street

This window sticker is seen along Main Street on the Precious Pet Paradise.

Don't forget to stop by the Pasco Daily Photo Blog today to wish Umily a very Happy Birthday!!

Road Trip: Arches National Park (2)

You can't go to Arches National Park and not hike up to the Delicate Arch. Each time I go to Arches I am reminded of the amazing beauty and diversity that our amazing state is blessed with. It almost takes my breath away! I am so lucky that this is only 3 hours from my home.

March 2008 Theme Day: Graffiti or street mural

I've been missing for a few days and now late with my theme day post because we ran off to Moab this weekend for some sun and adventure. The weather was perfect, but we did end up driving through a blizzard in Spanish Fork Canyon on the way home.

Even though it's 3+ hours from here to Moab, I am going to show off some of the pics I took there later this week. To my knowledge, there isn't another City Daily Photo Blogger in Utah and it's a shame to not share the delicate arch with the world!

My theme day photo was taken last fall in downtown American Fork just a block from the library on Main Street.

American Fork doesn't really have what I would consider interesting graffiti, but it does have this beautiful mural downtown next to the bike shop on Main Street. Also, there are giant posters of Tahitian Noni (not pictured) on the side of the old abandoned Walmart store on 5th east, maybe I will have to show those off some time.


Enjoy Theme Day around the world by checking out these participating blogs:
American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Arradon, France by Alice, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Bandung, Indonesia by Guntur Purwanto, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Boston (MA), USA by Fenix, Brighton, UK by Harvey, Budapest, Hungary by Isadora, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Chicago (IL), USA by b.c., Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Guelph, Canada by Pat, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Inverness (IL), USA by Neva, Joplin (MO), USA by Victoria, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Lake Forest Park (WA), USA by Azure, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, Mainz, Germany by JB, Mazatlan, Mexico by Kate, Melbourne, Australia by Mblamo, Memphis (TN), USA by SouthernHeart, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Monterrey, Mexico by raf, Mumbai, India by Kunalbhatia, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, Niamey, Niger by Dinabee, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Elizabeth, South Africa by Sam, Port Vila, Vanuatu by Mblamo, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Riga, Latvia by Prokur, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes, Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate, Salem (OR), USA by jill, San Francisco (CA), USA by PFranson, Seattle (WA), USA by Kim, Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck, Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa, Singapore, Singapore by Keropok, Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia, St Francis, South Africa by Sam, Stayton (OR), USA by Celine, Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo, Stouffville, Canada by Ken, Sydney, Australia by Sally, Terrell (TX), USA by Jim K, The Hague, Netherlands by Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Toulouse, France by Julia, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,

Hugs,

Annie

I LOVE this comb "open" sign

This was seen on Main Street in American Fork. I will have to try and figure out the name of the salon. I am guessing that the other side reads, "closed", but that is just a guess.

What a good deal!!

Road Trip: SLC's Tracy Aviary

Took a day-trip up to Salt Lake City on Saturday and stopped at Liberty Park to take a few pictures. We walked past the Tracy Aviary and saw these beauties out taking a cold bath.

The flamingos are a wonderful shot of color in the grey and white of winter.

Salt Lake has a rather famous flamingo, Pink Floyd. He escaped from the Aviary a while back and now lives at the Great Salt Lake on his own!

Close-ups of the Church turned Organ Shop

The text on the sign by the entrance reads:

2003 National Register of Historic Places

The American Fork 2nd Ward Meeting House

On 13 July 1901, them American Fork 2nd ward of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints was created along with the 1st, 3rd, and 4th wards of teh
new American Fork Stake. On 9 October 1902, Joseph H. Storrs, who served as
bishop from 1901 to 1942, announced that brick had been contracted for a new
meetinghouse. James A. Pulley designed the architecture in the victorian goshic
style. The cornerstone was laid in april 1903, and the first meeting was held in
the unfinished chapel on 31 January 1904. Robert L. Ashby, teacher of
woodworking at the high school, took charge of the interior woodwork, and upon
completion reported that he wanted no fee. President Anthon H. Lund dedicated
the building on 17 February 1907. Total cost was 10,000.

On 15 June 1929 major alterations and additions totally $48,555 were
commenced under the direction of Don Carlos Young, church architect. The
original brick architecture was carefully preserved and matched by the new
construction. On account of a $15,000 donation by John (Jack) Firmage, the new
recreation hall became known as Firmage Hall. Dedication was by Heber J. Grant
on 4 September 1932.

Vacated by the church in October 1979, the building was purchased in May by
M.L. Bigelow and Co., Organ Builders. It has housed the pipe organ shop and
Michael Bigelow's residence since that time. The building was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places on 10 March 1992.

Marker Placed in 2003 by the American Fork Historic Commission.

First South

This old church (it is indeed VERY OLD) is on First South, just a few blocks from the library. I will be sharing more of its history and close up photos with you this week.

The Caves, In Winter

The Heart of Timpanogos

I had heard of the Heart of Timpanogos long before I ever saw it. The legend of Timpanogos is a beautiful and romantic story that is told several ways, and I happen to love them all. The Timpanogos caves are just a few miles into American Fork Canyon and are a National Monument. The hike is 1.5 miles up (and obviously 1.5 miles back!) and extremely scenic. The heart of Timpanogos is a stalactite that hangs inside the caves and is backlit with a red light to look even more like a gigantic heart.

Arlo Shelley briefly tells the legend similarly to the way that I have heard it:

"As the story goes, a young Indian princess, Utahna, was to be sacrificed to the Great God of Timpanogos. After Utahna made her sacrificial leap from the top of Mount Timpanogos, the brokenhearted Indian warrior, Red Eagle, laid her to rest inside the cave. The two hearts melded into one and can now be seen hanging deep inside the cave as the Great Heart of Timpanogos, formed through several stalactites. Other accounts claim the great spirits hung Utahna’s heart within the cave and laid her body on top of the mountain as a warning. Looking closely at the skyline of majestic Mount Timpanogos, the outline of the sleeping princess can be seen." (See Source)

Other versions of the legend are available here and here.

Road Trip: Springville Museum of Art (4)

"The Three Gossips" by Provo artist Max Weaver.

This is the last of this series, but not the end of the amazing works of art that we photographed, it is just time to get back to my beautiful American Fork!

Road Trip: Springville Museum of Art (3)

Road Trip: Springville Museum of Art (2)

One of our idols.

Road Trip: Springville Museum of Art

Yesterday we had a nice little outing down to Springville, UT to see the art museum. LOVED IT! Also, took a drive up Diamond Fork Canyon and ate lunch at the Herb Shop on Msin Street in Springville. Delish! Had a turkey wrap and hubby had a portabella burger.

This statue is at the entrance to the museum.

Answer to Yesterday's Pop Quiz: Kennecott Copper Mine and Road Trip: Draper (3)

Thank you everyone, for playing along. The answer, as DC Confidential pointed out, is the Kennecott Copper Mine. My husband said that those of you who said that the mountains were a product of crafty photoshopping were questioning my integrity as a photographer. I, however, am thrilled to think that you imagine me such a computer wizard!

Ok, some info about Kennecott. From my own experience, I know that it is quite impressive to fly over the mine as you come into the Salt Lake International Airport.

Facts (From the Kennecott website):

Bingham Canyon Mine has produced more copper than any mine in history -- about 16 million tons.

The mine is 2¾ miles across at the top and ¾ of a mile deep. You could stack two Sears Towers on top of each other and still not reach the top of the mine.

The mine is so big, it can be seen by the space shuttle astronauts as they pass over the United States.

By 2015, the mine will be at least 500 feet deeper than it is now.

If you stretched out all the roads in the open pit mine, you'd have 500 miles of roadway -- enough to reach from Salt Lake City to Denver.

*Also, here is a video about how Kennecott is helping our community (also from the Kennecott website). It's about a minute long.

Thanks for playing along.

Ace, Billiards and Snooker

The Thai Village is the absolute best place to get Thai food in American Fork. I think it might be the only place to get Thai food, actually, but it is REALLY GOOD. This sign hangs on the west wall of the restaurant. From this vantage point, the food smells divine! I don't know that they actually have "snooker" downstairs, but it is a cute sign.

Centennial Park, Another View

I have to give my husband credit for this one, he captured this pretty shot. I was looking for more information about this park online, but couldn't really dig anything up. My understanding is that it was made in dedication of American Fork's centennial, back in the 60's?? but I am wondering about the rest of its history... what the structures were for, what they originally looked like, why they aren't maintained/repaired? Any locals (or not-so-locals) out there have some clues to this mystery (or speculation)?

Centennial Park

We drove down to Centennial Park last night. It has neat old structures and an amazing view of the mountains, though the entire park is in need of some serious repairs. Concrete benches are crumbling, stucco is basically dissolving. There is a nice new playground there, which is interesting to see side by side with the older structures.