Art barn salt lake art center

A "nickname" for the Salt Lake City Art Center, which housed the Salt Lake City Arts Council, the Salt Lake Art Center School, and two exhibition galleries, it is near the campus of the University of Utah. The "Art Barn" was built in 1931 during the Great Depression with monies from fundraising headed by Mrs. John Jenson and 15 of her women friends. They secured monies from the City of Salt Lake, WPA, Church of Latter-Day Saints, and private donors. The goal, as stated in the newspaper, was a "Greenwich Village for Salt Lake." Originally the site was intended to be a barn at South Temple and K Street "where art lovers and artists could mingle in an informal camaraderie, but proving unfeasible, the location was changed to Reservoir Park. From its inception, with programs including a life-long learning center, it has been significant in promoting the arts. Source: www.slcgov.com/Arts/pages/artbarn2.htm; Vern Swanson, "Utah Art", p. 128; Courtesy, Anthony Christensen, Anthony's Fine Art, Salt Lake City