Entry No. 1 — the Salt Lake City file — filed under: sculpture garden

Gilgal Sculpture Garden

Tucked behind houses and a strip of businesses, this quarter-acre lot is where LDS bishop and stonemason Thomas Battersby Child Jr. spent 18 years (until his death in 1963) carving a sphinx with Joseph Smith's face, a sacrificial altar, and a shrine to his wife Bertha out of raw stone and industrial slag.

The move: Grab the free self-guided tour map at the gate and walk the loop at golden hour — it's a 15-20 minute path, but the sphinx and the Nebuchadnezzar's-dream sculpture (a giant stone head-body-legs figure made of clay, iron, brass and gold) give you plenty to stand in front of and argue about.

• 📍 Central City, Salt Lake City
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: 749 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84102

Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Official site · Wikipedia · deseret.com

last checked: 2026-07-20