The Eagle Gate marked the entrance to the homes of Brigham Young. During the early settlement of the valley, Brigham Young was aloted the land lying athwart the mouth of City Creek Canyon. His New England heritage prompted him to desire the privacy given by a high wall around the property as well as for the protection it afforded.
Erected in 1859, the gate has through the years become the symbol of the man who built it. The original eagle and the supporting beehive were caved from five laminated wooden blocks and rested upon carved wooden arches, having their anchor on the cobble-stone wall surrounding the estate. Large wooden gates closed the 20-2 foot opening at night, securing behind them the Beehive House, the Lion House, and the private offices between them, the beautiful flower gardens, the private school, and the barns, sheds, granaries, silk worm cacooneries, orchards, and vegetable garden.
In 1891 the gates were removed and the entrance widened into a street at that time the eagle was sent east, electroplated with copper, and raised on new supports resting on cut stone pillars. In 1960 when the street was again widened the wood under the copper plating had deteriorated, and the eagle could not be remounted.
This bronze gate way, its eagle a scale enlargement of the original, has been erected as a tribute to the pioneers who founded this commonwealth.
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