Liberty Park (Salt Lake City)

Liberty Park is a popular public urban park in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the city's second-largest public park, at 80 acre, being surpassed only by Sugar House Park which has 110.5 acre. The park features a pond with two islands, and is also the location of Tracy Aviary. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and it includes the Isaac Chase Mill, which is also NRHP-listed.

The park is prominently featured in all seasons of the Disney Channel original series Andi Mack, however, it is never mentioned by name.

Facilities
Public facilities include playgrounds, restrooms, bowery, concession stand, children's play areas, picnic areas, large grassy areas, horseshoe pits, a swimming pool, basketball courts, volleyball courts, tennis courts, bocce ball courts, a 1.5-mile woodchip jogging path, a 1.42-mile paved jogging path, seasonal amusement rides and a greenhouse. Other seasonal activities and public facilities include paddle boats, recreational games, and festivals. It is a popular jogging, rollerblading and cycling location.

Liberty Park is a popular place to sit and watch Salt Lake City's Pioneer Day fireworks display, which go off in the park across the street, on the 24th of July.

Large crowds gather in the park on Sundays during the spring, summer, and early fall for drum circles that last all day. An assortment of people, pets (primarily dogs), musical instruments and dance styles merge every Sunday at the park.

A sculpture/fountain models the Jordan River and its canyon tributaries. In the summertime children can play in the water fountain.

NRHP listing
The entire 110 acre of the park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 as Liberty Park.

It was established in 1881 upon purchase from the estate of Brigham Young. It is significant as "Utah's best example of the 'central park'", following example of New York City's Central Park in the general reform movement that represented.

Several historic buildings and markers are located throughout the park.

Isaac Chase Mill
The Isaac Chase Mill is located in the northeast corner of Tracy Aviary, off 6th East. Built in 1852, the mill is the oldest commercial building still standing in Utah. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1970. The mill was designed by architect William Weeks.

Chase Home
The Chase Home Museum of Utah Folk Arts is located in the historic two-story adobe house of Isaac Chase. Admission to the museum is free. The Chase home is operated by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums. It is the permanent home of the State Folk Arts Collection since 1987 and over 200,000 visitors have experienced its free programs. It has become the place where traditional artists from Utah's ethnic, native, occupational and rural communities share their crafts, music, and dance with their own communities, their fellow Utahns, and with visitors from around the world. In addition to exhibits and concerts, the Chase Home contains a large archive of recordings and photographs that document Utah's traditional culture.

Tracy Aviary


Tracy Aviary is located on 8 acre of land in Liberty Park. A Salt Lake City banker Russell Lord Tracy founded Tracy Aviary when he donated his private bird collection to Salt Lake City and its children. Open to the public since 1938, Tracy Aviary maintains a collection of approximately 400 birds representing about 135 species. Several of those bird species participate in their Species Survival Plan. The SSP is a breeding program that promotes genetic diversity in the captive animal populations. The Tracy Aviary is also an AZA accredited facility, and it is one of two free standing aviaries in the nation.

Exhibits
Tracy Aviary has several exhibits old and new. Some of their older exhibits include a Dabbling Duck Pond featuring various Waterfowl species, a Trumpeter Swan Pond, a Macaw and King Vulture exhibit, a Sandhill Crane habitat, a Red-Tailed Hawk exhibit also featuring Turkey Vultures and Swainson's Hawks, Eagle Ridge, which features Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles, and even a Savanna Habitat currently dedicated towards Southern Ground Hornbills. Indian Peafowl, Mallards, and California Quail also freely roam the grounds including the public Botanical Gardens. There is even an outdoor bird show theater complete with expansive sunning yards for various ambassador bird species such as White Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, Black Crowned Cranes, and even Red Owls. Additional species featured at the bird show include the American crow, a Milky eagle owl, Hornbills and a geriatric Emu named Sydney.

Destination Argentina
Completed in 2005, Destination Argentina is the first Known phase of the Tracy Aviary Master Plan, focusing on the welfare of Chilean Flamingoes and several compatible species including White-faced Whistling Ducks, Chiloe Wigeons, Red Shovelers, and Coscoroba Swans. However, as of 2024, due to the ongoing Bird Flu Pandemic from 2022, only the Flamingoes and Swan has remained in the Flamingo Pond. Destination Argentina also consists of a walkthrough Backyard Birds exhibit that currently includes several Argentinian birds such as Saffron Finches, Blue-gray Tanagers, Guira Cuckoos and Chaco Chachalacas. There were also habitats for Black-necked Swans and Red-legged Seriemas but they had since closed.

South American Pavilion
In the Summer of 2010, Tracy Aviary recently renovated their South American exhibit to provide space for various Neotropical Birds. The exhibit now consists of an expansive indoor viewing area featuring an array of tropical plants as well as rotating winter homes for the tropical birds. There are also seven different outdoor habitats for the birds to explore. Northern Helmeted Curassows, Toco Toucans, Scarlet Ibises, Ringed Teals, Venezuelan Troupials, and Sunbitterns are just some of the birds you can encounter there.

Owl Forest
In 2011, Tracy Aviary opened a new Owl Exhibit described as "nestled in a forest of 100 native conifers". It features habitats for several species of owl from around the world including Great Horned Owls, Eurasian Eagle Owls, Burrowing Owls, an Eastern Screech Owl, Barred Owls, and even a pair of Barn Owls currently sharing space with a Turkey Vulture. There are also a couple interactive educational displays aimed for families showing that not all owls hoot and how they manage to hunt at night.

Kennecott Wetland Immersion
In 2009, Tracy Aviary opened a new Walkthrough Boardwalk Wetland exhibit featuring species currently found in the Great Salt Lake and surrounding tributaries including American Avocets, American Coots, Black-crowned Night Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Blue-winged Teals, Buffleheads, Caspian Terns, Franklin's Gulls, a Long-billed Curlew, Mourning Doves, Northern Pintails, a breeding colony of White-faced Ibises, and even a Woodhouse's Scrub Jay. In 2022, they also added several more marsh birds from all over the world including Marbled Teals, Baer's Pochards, the Red Shovelers, West Indian Whistling Ducks, and even Black-faced Ibises. The Kennecott Wetland Immersion is located west of the Swan Pond.

Pelican Pond
Opened clear black in the 1970's, the Pelican pond is a very iconic exhibit, located at the front end of Tracy Aviary and allowing visitors the opportunity to feed the pelicans and cormorants for $3. Species featured are American White Pelicans, Dalmatian Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Lesser Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, Canvasbacks, Common Goldeneyes, Ruddy Ducks, and Hooded Mergansers.

King of the Andes
In 1960, an Andean Condor affectionately named Andy N. Condor arrived at Tracy Aviary, shortly before the faculty paused care for the Deer Herd to dedicate the facility solely to birds. Andy had rotated between several exhibits over the years until a new enclosure complete with a playground and an interactive educational Condor display was where Andy permanently resided until his death in August 17, 2023. Officials at Tracy Aviary are still deciding on whether they should replace Andy or not, but they are currently working on a statue memorial dedicated to him.

Treasures of the Rainforest
Treasures of the Rainforest is the newest permanent exhibit over at the northeast end Tracy Aviary, having recently opened in 2015. There, guests get to walk through this exhibit and interact with a variety of rare species from rainforests all over the world, such as Bali Mynas, Crested Oropendolas, Edward's Pheasants, Green-naped Pheasant Pigeons, Guam Kingfishers, Hooded Pittas, Metallic Starlings, Nicobar Pigeons, Pink Pigeons, the Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise, White-throated Ground Doves, and even Violet Turacos. There was also a Spectacled Owl there, but it has since relocated during the Bird Flu Pandemic. The exhibit also teaches guests about importance of rainforests and why we should conserve them.

Temporary Exhibits
From 2010 to 2017, there was a Rare Birds exhibit showcasing rare bird species from all over the world, including the aforementioned Helmeted Curassows, Buffon's Macaws, Greater Roadrunners, Northern Bobwhites, Keas, Kookaburras, and even Helmeted Guineafowl.

The Current Travelling Exhibit is Expedition Kea, providing additional space for the Kea as well as showcasing some other birds such as the Laughing Kookaburra, Crested Coua, Masked Lapwing, Tawny Frogmouth, and even the Cape Thick-knees. Radiated Tortoises were also added in 2021, providing a glimmer of hope that more non-avian animals such as Capybaras, Iguanas, and Lemurs could be exhibited at Tracy Aviary in the future. The Tortoises are still here and currently being rotated between the Kookaburra and Thick-knee exhibits.

History
In 1860 the land became the property of Brigham Young, who planted varieties of mulberry, cottonwood and other trees. In pioneer days it was known as Mill Farm, Forest Park and Locust Patch. In 1881, Salt Lake City purchased the land from the Young estate. Also in 1881 the city held a public competition for the park's landscape design. Joseph Don Carlos Young, Utah's first academically trained architect and a son of Brigham Young, won the competition which included a $100 premium. On June 17, 1882 the 80 acres rectangular parcel was introduced as a recreational area and officially named Liberty Park.

A city zoo once operated within the park, but was relocated and became the Hogle Zoo in 1931. In 1938 the Tracy Aviary opened.

Many of the park's trees were toppled by the 2020 Utah windstorm.

Red Butte Creek oil spill
In June 2010, an estimated 20,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Red Butte Creek from a Chevron Corporation pipeline. The spill prompted the closure of Liberty Park as oil spread to the nearby Jordan River. 150 to 200 birds, many of them Canada geese, came in contact with the oil and were taken to Hogle Zoo to be cleaned. Officials have advised residents that humans and animals should avoid water access points along Liberty Park, the Jordan River and Red Butte Canyon.