Salt Lake City unveils new Pioneer Park
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The new Pioneer Park. Photo: Kim Bojórquez/Axios
Salt Lake City's Pioneer Park has a new look after more than $18 million worth of upgrades.
Why it matters: City leaders hope the overhaul will help shake the park's reputation for crime and make it a more inviting green space downtown.
State of play: The 10-acre park now includes a new pavilion, playground, restrooms, ranger office and a mist fountain plaza.
- The fenced dog park includes separate areas for energetic and calmer dogs.
- Six pickleball courts and a basketball court will be lit up at night.
- New trees and a food truck promenade were also installed in the park.
Context: The park is home to the Downtown Farmers Market that draws in 10,000 to 15,000 people per week each summer.
Flashback: The historic park was once the site of the city's first pioneer settlement called the Old Pioneer Fort.
- By 1898, it was officially called Pioneer Park.
What they're saying: "People lived and traveled throughout this valley long before the Old Fort was built here and our city has continued to keep gathering in this space ever since," Mayor Erin Mendenhall said at Friday's ribbon cutting.
- Mendenhall said the project was constructed in less than nine months and on budget.
Council Member Jennifer Napier-Pearce, who represents downtown, said the park has seen its "fair share of ups and downs."
- "On more than one occasion the city leaders contemplated selling it off," she said. "Today ... Pioneer Park is more welcoming, more accessible, more inviting and more fun than ever."