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Uniquely Utah: A pair of 2,500-pound grotesques arrive in Salt Lake City

Posted at 10:02 PM, Aug 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-21 00:02:46-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake City and County Building is an architectural gem, but some features of the facility's facade have not fared well over the years.

Two new carefully carved stone creatures were added to the building recently, and these grotesques are the work of a Utah-born stone carver who learned his craft on castles and cathedrals in France.

Grotesques are kind of like gargoyles, and stone carver Jeff Eakle describes the difference.

"A gargoyle will actually have, kind of like a downspout," he said. "They will have to remove the water from the building and spit it out. The grotesque is just a design to kind of scare, same spirit."

Each of the two new grotesques weighs 2,500 pounds and is carved in the same style as the original work that graced the building. Todd Tanner takes a look at the carvings and interviews their maker in the video above, and you can also watch the installation of the new carvings from above.