SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's natural wonders and symbols are on prominent display in a unique stained glass art piece. To see it? When you walk into the building being constructed on Utah's Capitol Hill, look up.
The stained-glass ceiling features the Valley of the Gods and Rainbow Bridge, Mount Olympus and the Uintah National Forest, Pando and Goblin Valley. There is Indian Paintbrush in full bloom, sagebrush and Sego Lilies and Prickly Pear Cactus, seagulls and elk and the simple honeybee.
In the center? A crystal sun that casts rainbow prisms on the ground.
There are hidden symbols in the work, too.
"Just in the lead-line shape, we have this illustration of significant symbols of Utah," said Dallin Orr of Utah-based Holdman Studios, which designed the piece.
Orr motioned to a Utahraptor skull hidden in some of the redrock. He also pointed out a kokopelli hidden in another rock and a dragonfly in a mountain.
The $1.6 million art piece will feature prominently in the Utah State Capitol's North Building, which will house a new state history museum when it opens in 2026. Dana Jones, Executive Director of the Capitol Preservation Board (which oversees the Capitol grounds) said she wanted visitors to have a "wow moment."
Orr, who designed the piece, said he wanted to create a balance around the crystal sun.
"We have the high tundra mountain area all the way down to the dry desert and everything in-between," Orr said. "I tried to establish a cohesive harmonious balance surrounding that sun... that way we could place all of the state icons kind of evenly spread throughout the environment."
