Rose Park's tiny but beloved Steenblik Park is coming back to life. Salt Lake City Public Lands has created a reopening event for the 0.61-acre pocket park at 1050 W 800 N, with a renovated playground and time for the community to gather with neighbors.
A Bond-Funded Makeover for a Neighborhood Fixture
The park's transformation traces back to Salt Lake City voters approving the Parks General Obligation Bond in November 2022, a citywide measure meant to upgrade open spaces and neighborhood parks, according to the Salt Lake City Public Lands Department. The project is part of the city's effort to upgrade open spaces and neighborhood parks.
That funding translated into a lengthy list of upgrades. The renovation retrofits the main playground, adds a brand-new toddler play area, creates a picnic spot on the east side of the park, and refreshes the plaza gathering space with shade structures, additional seating, and new landscaping and trees, per the department's project update. City planners aimed the redesign at making the small park more inclusive and comfortable for families.
Months of Closure, Guided by Resident Input
Getting there meant construction work at the park. District 1 covers Salt Lake City's northwest quadrant, including the Rose Park and Fairpark communities.
The final design wasn't handed down from above. The Public Lands Department ran two separate rounds of public engagement, first gathering community vision feedback between May and September 2023, then evaluating revised concept designs with hundreds of residents in October 2024. Community feedback helped shape the redesign, the department notes.
The Dairy Cats That Gave the Park Its Nickname
Whatever new equipment shows up, the park's real celebrities aren't going anywhere. The Dairy Cats are four bronze cat sculptures designed by Utah artist Day Christiansen and commissioned by the Salt Lake City Arts Council, according to Utah Historical Markers. The four figures are bronze sculptures.
The artwork pays homage to the historic Steenblik Dairy, which operated in Rose Park for decades, and to the farm cats that once roamed its grounds, as detailed by The Salt Project. The original dairy and its felines are long gone, but many Steenblik descendants still live in Rose Park, and the park is known locally as Cat Park.
The park's official name honors Joseph F. Steenblik, according to Utah Historical Markers.
Rooted in Rose Park's Post-War Beginnings
The park itself sits inside a neighborhood built for a very different generation of families. Rose Park was developed starting in 1947, when builder Alan E. Brockbank constructed roughly 150 low-cost brick homes for returning soldiers and young families, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Brockbank laid out the original streets in the shape of a rose, which gave the neighborhood its name.
One practical note for anyone planning a visit: the 0.61-acre pocket park does not include public restroom facilities, so visitors should plan accordingly. It's a common tradeoff for Salt Lake City's compact pocket parks, which tend to rely on nearby neighborhood amenities rather than standalone restroom buildings.
Salt Lake City Public Lands created a reopening event on Facebook, according to a post from Salt Lake City Public Lands. The event offers a chance to gather at one of Rose Park's most distinctive gathering spots.
