Six new murals now color the walls of Salt Lake City's North Temple corridor, turning storefronts and apartment buildings into canvases for stories about immigration, nature and neighborhood change. The works, created by local artists in partnership with business owners along the strip, mark the completion of a public art effort that has reshaped blank walls from Rancho Market to Red Iguana 2.
The project is a partnership between the Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency and the Salt Lake City Arts Council, which says the six artists were selected from the city's 2026–2028 Pre-Qualified Artist Pool and finished their work by summer 2026. The Arts Council describes the murals as “vibrant, site-specific works” now open to public view, funded through the CRA's North Temple Project Area. A public celebration for the murals was held on a Thursday, October 22, according to the Arts Council. As KSL News reported, the project pairs local artists with business owners and community organizations along a corridor the outlet describes as a gateway to Salt Lake City shaped by immigrant-owned businesses, new development and a growing west-side community.
A Quetzal Takes Flight Over Red Iguana 2
Artist Trevor Dahl painted Quetzal Magic along the roofline of Red Iguana 2 at 866 W. South Temple, per KSL News. Dahl said he wanted the piece to combine his whimsical style with the restaurant's mission of bringing Mexican flavors and culture to the area, and he described a sun with an eye worked into the design as a representation of God. He told the outlet the quetzal is meant to bring “the magic of nature into the city,” and that the mural considers how society's relationship with nature intersects with pollution and issues facing the Great Salt Lake.
Dahl said the world is alive and watching people, and that he hopes the mural prompts passersby to think, smile or simply have their day interrupted in a positive way, according to the same KSL News report. He added that the neighborhood is changing quickly and that its history and diversity deserve to be researched and preserved, saying he hopes his mural helps the existing culture and energy endure rather than get lost beneath the new architecture rising around it, a sentiment he shared with the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Cormorants, Volcanoes and a Bond at La Diana Market
At La Diana Market, 56 S. 900 West, artist Caro Nilsson created Wings to Fly, Wings to Swim, Wings to Return to the Sky, Again, blending Utah and Michoacán landscapes alongside the market's owners, who have family roots in Mexico. The mural includes Storm Mountain and a Michoacán volcano, the outlet reports, and Nilsson said she chose cormorants as a symbol of adaptation and movement between places and cultures, noting that the birds migrate between Utah and Michoacán. She said she has seen cormorants along the Jordan River Trail during her own walks and that she formed a personal bond with La Diana's owners while developing the concept.
Homes, History and a Quilt of Memory
Not far away, a mural called The Dream Quilt covers the side of the KWB Apartments at 4 N. 1000 West, a site that was an empty lot the previous year. KWB Apartments provides homes and support services for people who have experienced chronic homelessness and serious mental health conditions, according to KSL News. Salt Lake City Council member Alejandro Puy called the mural beautiful and said it represents something meaningful to the neighborhood, per the same report.
Trains, Transit and a Wider View
Rounding out the project, artist Cole Eisenhour created A Wider View at Rancho Market, 140 N. 900 West, while Matt Monsoon painted Last Train to Saltair at Promontory Place Apartments, 1025 W. North Temple. Trent Call contributed Be Kind, Rewind at 120 N. 900 West. Across all six locations, KSL News reports that artists worked directly with business owners to develop concepts reflecting their histories and values, with the shared hope that the murals preserve stories, cultures and history along North Temple.
A Corridor With a Long History of Public Investment
North Temple has seen public and private investment converge for more than a decade. Construction was underway on the North Temple Airport TRAX line back in August 2010, according to KSL.com, around the same time some business owners on the corridor were pushing for a beautification rezoning plan that property owners would help fund. A Red Iguana co-owner argued at the time that without such changes, “all we'll have is a train running through a suburb,” the outlet reported.
Salt Lake City has since completed other public-art efforts nearby, including an installation at the North Temple I-15 Underpass intended to connect the east and west sides of North Temple Boulevard, as reported by ABC4 Utah. That project included steel sculptures, “NOTE District” signage and landscaping, according to the station. The Community Reinvestment Agency has also backed a similar CRA and Arts Council partnership that installed ten murals throughout the Ballpark neighborhood, with local artists working alongside neighborhood businesses and property owners, per the Salt Lake City Community Reinvestment Agency.
