Rose Park, Salt Lake City, Utah
Encyclopedia
Rose Park is a neighborhood located in the northwest area of Salt Lake City, Utah
and is among the most ethnically diverse areas in Utah. Its name comes from the area's original developer, who arranged part of the area's streets in the shape of several roses, with one of its main streets, American Beauty Drive, acting as a long rose stem. This area's original roof shingles were red or green and its street names all feature rose varieties. Rose Park residents enjoy a very short commute (less than 5 minutes) to downtown and many recreational amenities.
, north of 600 North, and east of Redwood Road. Rose Park extends north to the city limits and the shared county line of Salt Lake and Davis Counties. Four stone signs welcome travelers through Rose Park on major streets, like this one found at the intersection of the Jordan River trail and 1000 N. The original boundaries of the historic Rose Park development are easy to identify by these four signs which generally mark the four corners of the original neighborhood. It's also easy to identify by paying close attention to style of 1950s-era home construction in that neighborhood.
Rose Park lies north of the Fair Park Community and Glendale neighborhoods and west of the northwest slope of Capitol Hill. The media often portrays the entire urban area west of I-15 as Rose Park but its actual boundaries are relatively small.
The entire neighborhood falls within the boundary of West High School, one of Utah's largest and oldest high schools.
, population and growth in the area increased as vacant plots were bought up and homes built. Like the early residents of Murray
, many were non-Mormon
blue-collar workers, although Rose Park's laborers worked for railroads instead of smelters. More recently, one can find accountants, electricians, business managers, engineers, real estate agents and brokers, architect
s, and police officers among Rose Park residents.
Many homes are now being renovated by young families who have moved into the area. It is one of the only neighborhoods near downtown Salt Lake City that is still affordable to first-time home buyers (estimated $120,000-$220,000). The homes are small by today's standards (averaging 1,600 to 1,800 square feet) and are generally constructed of brick though some early stick framed homes are present in the area. Trees (including many varieties of fruit trees) were planted in the neighborhood by young WWII era families. Rose Park now boasts some of the city's largest and most densely spaced trees.
Super Fund Site
In the early 1980s a hazardous site existed near Rose Park near Rosewood Park and east of the Rose Park Golf Course. The state of Utah petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency
to add it to their list of Superfund cleanup sites. The agency agreed and in 1982 it was added to the Superfund list as "Rose Park Sludge Pit."
Local refineries dumped waste products in the sludge pit from the 1930s until 1957. The acid
ic sludge contained carcinogen
ic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur dioxide
posing a threat to groundwater and surrounding organisms. This was particularly unnerving because much of the municipal water in Rose Park comes from scattered well
s Though no contaminants were ever detected, the threat of contamination was enough cause for action.
Amoco
oil company was potentially liable for the site and agreed to clean it up in 1985. The solution entailed the construction of a slurry wall around and under the sludge pit to avoid groundwater
contamination. A clay cap was also placed on top of the sludge pit and topped with grass.
Since these improvements, the contamination site has passed all of its five-year reviews with the solution deemed "protective of human health and the environment." No additional threats have been identified.
From the rich stories of elderly German couples who escaped Nazi Germany, to the festive Latin celebrations, the neighborhood is steeped in culture. The most recent data shows residents in the neighborhood are 53% Caucasian/European 37% Hispanic 4% African American and 2% Polynesian and 4% other/unspecified. This information supports a trend seen in the real estate industry of young professionals of primarily European descent purchasing homes in the area. The same trend was observed in nearby Sugarhouse in the late 1990s as individuals not willing to commute for long hours sought out affordable housing near the Salt Lake's city center.
Websites:
www.RoseParkFestival.org (maintained by the Rose Park Community Council)
www.RoseParkNews.com (not maintained by the Council)
Rose Park is a moderately walkable neighborhood with shortcuts allowing easy access to the parks, churches and other amenities in the area. Within the Rose Park boundaries are found:
Rose Park holds an annual community festival each spring. Information about this festival can be found at www.roseparkfestival.org. Rose Park also made City Weekly's best of 2010 in a favorable review detailing the walkable neighborhood, nearby golf course, locally owned ethnic food, and quality of life enjoyed by residents.
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
and is among the most ethnically diverse areas in Utah. Its name comes from the area's original developer, who arranged part of the area's streets in the shape of several roses, with one of its main streets, American Beauty Drive, acting as a long rose stem. This area's original roof shingles were red or green and its street names all feature rose varieties. Rose Park residents enjoy a very short commute (less than 5 minutes) to downtown and many recreational amenities.
Boundaries
The Rose Park community is very small. It is defined as west of I-15Interstate 15 in Utah
In the U.S. state of Utah, Interstate 15 runs north–south through the southwestern and central portions of the state, passing through many of the population centers of that state, including St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, the latter three being part of the urban area known as...
, north of 600 North, and east of Redwood Road. Rose Park extends north to the city limits and the shared county line of Salt Lake and Davis Counties. Four stone signs welcome travelers through Rose Park on major streets, like this one found at the intersection of the Jordan River trail and 1000 N. The original boundaries of the historic Rose Park development are easy to identify by these four signs which generally mark the four corners of the original neighborhood. It's also easy to identify by paying close attention to style of 1950s-era home construction in that neighborhood.
Rose Park lies north of the Fair Park Community and Glendale neighborhoods and west of the northwest slope of Capitol Hill. The media often portrays the entire urban area west of I-15 as Rose Park but its actual boundaries are relatively small.
The entire neighborhood falls within the boundary of West High School, one of Utah's largest and oldest high schools.
History
In the 1940s and 50s, Rose Park was marketed as a reasonably priced division with larger plots than older Salt Lake City neighborhoods like the Avenues. After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, population and growth in the area increased as vacant plots were bought up and homes built. Like the early residents of Murray
Murray, Utah
Murray is a city situated on the Wasatch Front in the core of Salt Lake Valley in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for territorial governor Eli Murray, it is the state's fourteenth largest city. According to the 2010 census, Murray has approximately 46,746 residents.Murray is close to Salt Lake City,...
, many were non-Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
blue-collar workers, although Rose Park's laborers worked for railroads instead of smelters. More recently, one can find accountants, electricians, business managers, engineers, real estate agents and brokers, architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s, and police officers among Rose Park residents.
Many homes are now being renovated by young families who have moved into the area. It is one of the only neighborhoods near downtown Salt Lake City that is still affordable to first-time home buyers (estimated $120,000-$220,000). The homes are small by today's standards (averaging 1,600 to 1,800 square feet) and are generally constructed of brick though some early stick framed homes are present in the area. Trees (including many varieties of fruit trees) were planted in the neighborhood by young WWII era families. Rose Park now boasts some of the city's largest and most densely spaced trees.
Super Fund Site
In the early 1980s a hazardous site existed near Rose Park near Rosewood Park and east of the Rose Park Golf Course. The state of Utah petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
to add it to their list of Superfund cleanup sites. The agency agreed and in 1982 it was added to the Superfund list as "Rose Park Sludge Pit."
Local refineries dumped waste products in the sludge pit from the 1930s until 1957. The acid
Acid
An acid is a substance which reacts with a base. Commonly, acids can be identified as tasting sour, reacting with metals such as calcium, and bases like sodium carbonate. Aqueous acids have a pH of less than 7, where an acid of lower pH is typically stronger, and turn blue litmus paper red...
ic sludge contained carcinogen
Carcinogen
A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer. This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes...
ic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
posing a threat to groundwater and surrounding organisms. This was particularly unnerving because much of the municipal water in Rose Park comes from scattered well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s Though no contaminants were ever detected, the threat of contamination was enough cause for action.
Amoco
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
oil company was potentially liable for the site and agreed to clean it up in 1985. The solution entailed the construction of a slurry wall around and under the sludge pit to avoid groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
contamination. A clay cap was also placed on top of the sludge pit and topped with grass.
Since these improvements, the contamination site has passed all of its five-year reviews with the solution deemed "protective of human health and the environment." No additional threats have been identified.
Crime
For the last several decades, Rose Park has suffered from a negative reputation. This perception may be rooted in the media's frequent portrayal and misunderstanding of Rose Park's location. Rose Park is often confused with Glendale, Fairpark and other west-side communities of Salt Lake City. Crime reports are published monthly by the Salt Lake City Police Department (http://slcpd.com/Community/Crime_Statistics/District_1/). These reports show that Rose Park has a below-average crime rate for Salt Lake City. Similar to any other community of Salt Lake City, crime is being aggressively targeted by the Salt Lake City Police Department.Culture
The neighborhood is one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse areas of UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
From the rich stories of elderly German couples who escaped Nazi Germany, to the festive Latin celebrations, the neighborhood is steeped in culture. The most recent data shows residents in the neighborhood are 53% Caucasian/European 37% Hispanic 4% African American and 2% Polynesian and 4% other/unspecified. This information supports a trend seen in the real estate industry of young professionals of primarily European descent purchasing homes in the area. The same trend was observed in nearby Sugarhouse in the late 1990s as individuals not willing to commute for long hours sought out affordable housing near the Salt Lake's city center.
Community
Rose Park benefits from an active community council. The Rose Park Community Council is made up of an elected body of volunteers who serve the interests of Rose Park and the community. The purpose of this council is to provide community input and information to various city departments. Community councils are encouraged to make recommendations to the city on all matters affecting the city or each organization's particular community or neighborhood. The council holds a monthly meeting, to which the public is encouraged to attend, the first Wednesday of each month, at 6:30pm, in the Day Riverside Library (located at 1105 W. 1000 North).Websites:
www.RoseParkFestival.org (maintained by the Rose Park Community Council)
www.RoseParkNews.com (not maintained by the Council)
Rose Park is a moderately walkable neighborhood with shortcuts allowing easy access to the parks, churches and other amenities in the area. Within the Rose Park boundaries are found:
- Two public golf courses
- Two parks including part of the Jordan River Parkway, tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, pavilions, and several playgrounds
- A public library and eco-garden
- A large community garden
- Smith's Grocery and Gas
- Small Mexican restaurants and tiendas.
- Easy access to I-15, I-215, and the Legacy Highway.
Rose Park holds an annual community festival each spring. Information about this festival can be found at www.roseparkfestival.org. Rose Park also made City Weekly's best of 2010 in a favorable review detailing the walkable neighborhood, nearby golf course, locally owned ethnic food, and quality of life enjoyed by residents.