Salt Lake City’s Parks Division manages over 730 acres of park land, preserving and maintaining some of our favorite green spaces so that all of our city’s communities can enjoy them for years to come. Taking up roughly 17 of those aforementioned acres, Lindsey Park is perched in the Avenues, extending north east from the corner of 7th Ave and M Street. The setting is elevated, tree-covered, and neighborly, to say the least—Lindsey Park is an ideal location for everything from a game of baseball or catch with the pups to a picnic with pals or a kids’ birthday party.
Lindsey Gardens History
In the mid 1860s, the land known as Lindsey Gardens was homesteaded by an English immigrant couple, Mark and Bithiah Lindsey, and their two young daughters. With roughly 160 acres of land, they built a modest home and gardens before deciding to develop Utah’s first real “pleasure resort”. Bath houses, picnic boweries, a dance hall, two ice houses, croquet grounds, a baseball diamond, and a swimming pool were added for guests to enjoy for just 10 cents. For half that amount, children could take advantage of a whirligig, strider, greasy poles, or giant slides. Flowers and trees were planted throughout, and visitors could purchase refreshments in the form of sarsaparilla, lemonade, candies, figs, ice cream, cakes, cookies, cider, and more. Mule-drawn street cars brought droves of Salt Lakers to within a few minutes’ walk of the Gardens, and folks spent their days and evenings lounging, picnicking, playing and dancing with friends. Sadly, as other similar amusement parks started to pop up, Lindsey Gardens (also referred to as “Pioneer Pleasure Gardens) began to see fewer guests and a loss of income. By the late 1870s, Mr. Lindsey lost all but the parcel of land on which his home was built, and the park was dismantled as residential development expanded. In the 1920s, residents petitioned and the city acquired the land, at which point it officially became a public park.
Today, Lindsey Gardens is a peaceful retreat in the middle of the Avenues. Three ball fields make this green space popular for team sports, but it also provides plenty of open space for dogs, and owners will find an off-leash area in the southeast section of the park. A playground area is popular with the wee ones, and—as is characteristic of the Avenues—steep hills provide plenty of room for sledding in the winter. Well-maintained paths are ideal for those taking a stroll or run, and thanks to the quiet, residential surroundings, Lindsey is the perfect spot for a picnic or small gathering.
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