SALT LAKE CITY — After years of traveling the country, a monument honoring a historic moment in Utah history has found a permanent home in Salt Lake City.
The Golden Spike Monument will soon reside full-time at This Is The Place Heritage Park.
Standing 43 feet tall, the monument was inspired by the ceremonial golden spike that marked the completion of the country's first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah in 1869.
Artist Douwe Blumberg and his team needed 28 months to create the monument in his Kentucky studio, with Blumberg saying he intended to “give faces to the faceless" workers who built the railroad.
After its completion in 2023, the 7,000-pound monument went on a weeks-long tour that included stops in Utah, but never found a true home until now.
No golden spikes? Where the iconic piece of Americana ended up:
“This truly is the right place for the Golden Spike Monument,” said Doug Foxley, Golden Spike Foundation Chair. “We have looked for locations with a focus on three core criteria: visibility, accessibility, and public reach and educational impact. After a great deal of thought and deliberation, we believe This Is The Place is the best place for this monument and the stories it was created to tell.”
The Golden Spike Monument's installation date at This Is The Place park is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
