Utah's Hobbitville: A True Story of Allen Park

I only knew Allen Park as Hobbitville. The story of sneaking around to find Hobbits. The truth of Allen Park is actually far more amazing! A story that involves not only The origin of the Hogle zoo but also One of the larges bird magazines distributed internationally at the time.
Allen Park is located at Allen Park Drive and 1300 East. Public transportation is highly recommended.
Links for more information as well as ways you can help with the restoration of Allen Park:
saveallenpark....
www.utahopenla...
preservationut...
www.cityweekly...
www.slc.gov/pa...
Also a special thanks to family and friends of the Allen's as well as the residents. Thank you David Abott, Kirk Huffacker and Maggie Jones.

[@swilsonmc2]

My brother was one of those developers. He said he had plans to put up condos but was going to keep some of the area as public space. I'm glad the city was able to keep it and turn it into a public park.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Very interesting

[@jmdellinger58]

I lived there and it was magical. I loved Amy Allen. She worked so hard to keep Allen Park viable.

[@emilstockton7892]

I; lived in Allen Park mid 1970s. I tried to visit sometime around 1992-3 and was turned away at the gate. I remember Mrs. Allen and her granddaughter. The duplex we lived in was not in good condition by the 1970s, but the magical aura of the place seemed to make up for the hardships of living in a dilapidated house. I have a lot of good and bizarre memories of my short stay in Allen Park. I am so glad it has been saved from development.

[@chiron14pl]

I grew up near by and went to elementary school at Garfield, which is just above the creek. There was a hole in the fence and sometimes we kids would crawl through and explore, always fearing getting yelled at. I remember visiting the bird sanctuary part also in my elementary years. I move out of SLC by the time it got the Hobbitville connection. It was a magical place for me as a child, and I'm glad to see it being preserved as a public park. I also remember the old Utah Prison in Sugarhouse

[@robertmongerthe9025]

Oh, the stories I've heard about Allen Park! My mother used to tell me "Beatniks" lived there-others said it was haunted..or there was a coven of witches living there. Growing up in SLC in the 60s was a half magical time and the Allen Parks of the city abounded. Little hideaways that time forgot were the stuff of legend for a young man with imagination,

[@historyunexplored5312]

This is amazing! Thank you for the comment.

[@chiron14pl]

Maybe a future one on Gilgal sculpture gallery, another odd place in the city

[@historyunexplored5312]

Absolutely! We did that one already! Go check it out if you’d like.

[@annat9147]

I had the nighttime experience where a yelling voice chased me and a friend out at night! I was only 13 years old and of course, we thought we were being chased by hobbits! So cool to learn about this park and its history. Thanks!

[@historyunexplored5312]

Thanks for sharing!

[@therobanddawgshow4894]

Shout out to the people that fought to save this from developers. I grew up in the the area and at one point lived across the street from Allen park. And the last thing that tight area needs is more “development”

[@eranahalls1650]

So cool that you were able to go inside! Very well researched as always!!

[@cg00000]

My friend lived there, in the 'Bone House". We loved the evening there. At that time the creek ran through and you could hear the babbling water in the cabin with the old windows like European windows. It was still well kept and full. The bird cages were also intact. Very trippy in full moon light. I Loved hanging out there and wrote a few poems about it. Good times. We never called it hobbitville. I pray people restore it to its full glory. Late 60s. Great video! Subbed.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Would love to read one of those poems!!

[@m.e.9974]

As a salt lakr 66 year old native,I am well aware of this area.Many syories from many people of expieriences inside its quadrants.

[@mrlucidboy]

What an amazing story! I'm happy to learn so much about Allen park

[@thebellanextdoor]

I was born in 1970 and grew up in Sugar House. I went to junior high at Clayton and highschool at East. As a teenager myself and friends passed by here but I never went in because of signs. It was, is and will always be magical. I enjoyed your video very much. Thank you for the peek inside I always hoped for. I now live in Wisconsin but miss many things about Salt Lake City and this is one. How wonderful they're restoring it and it's open to the public.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Any other places you would like to learn more about? Always open to more ideas!

[@Ensignpeak]

Growing up east of there in the 80's and 90's I can confirm we did the stupid teenager traditions of the time of driving in there in late at night and honking and making noise and we were chased out more than once by men/residents.

[@hanksmithjr5044]

I remember Allen Park when I was attending Westminster College in 1967. It was known as homes for a very secretive group of little people but after watching this video I know it for what it was and is today. Very informative and thanks for posting.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Thanks for sharing!

[@gravydog8295]

I rode my bike back in there a few times when i was a kid. 1982ish. I knew it was a special place. A man there would sometimes ask us to leave (not yell )and would invite us to come back with our parents. That creek and the tube that led from the other side of the road past the back Garfield could be spooky at times.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Very cool! Thank you for sharing!

[@mvqc9833]

Thank you for making this documentary. I had always wondered.

[@benjaminlord777]

Interesting that the algorithms recommended this video to me. Lived there in a small one bed cabin on the creek in the late 90's with my now Wife. Had just moved to SLC and was oblivious. Only found out later of its fame. Amy started out fairly pleasant until she found out that we had taken in some pet ferrets. Had to find somewhere else to live pretty quickly after that. An interesting side note is that she had her 2 shih tzu dogs voiceboxes removed. That's pretty sad that her daughter died fairly young. Remember once or twice where people drove in there in the middle of the night honking their horns and yelling. Enjoyed the video

[@historyunexplored5312]

Thank you so much for sharing! Helps preserve the history

[@rjay7019]

I don't remember a road going through there. I walked down a path at night with friends. It was around Halloween and very spooky around 1979.

[@Dan007UT]

Recent magical places: rafting gates of lodore. Olympic N.P Washington. Glacier N.P Montana

[@historyunexplored5312]

Definitely all magical!

[@andrealythgoe4962]

Were you able to go inside the Boam house? My husband is a descendant and would love to see the home, or at least photos of the inside.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Yes I was! Email me at [e-mail]

[@jBurn801]

Thanks dude

[@ryanh3176]

You do some really good work! I appreciate explaining something I’ve always wondered, the saltaire videos are great too! I’d like to see one of your videos on toquerville, it’s got some interesting historical stuff. I lived there for a while. I love that little town. Anyway, good job!

[@historyunexplored5312]

Great suggestion!

[@TodaysOutdoorAdventure]

Great storytelling! I subscribed

[@historyunexplored5312]

Cheers

[@lesjones5684]

Camden New Jersey 😂😂😂

[@davidharris241]

Enjoyed this very much. I appreciate all your research and so cool you successfully gained access to inside the structures. Your narration was perfect and you have a great voice for storytelling. I've watched Lake Bonneville too, and plan on going through your library. Kindest regards.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Thank you for watching!

[@nataliekay286]

You are a gifted story teller 🙏

[@historyunexplored5312]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@Jess-df3gr]

Magical Michael ✨

[@thaddy8018]

I've always wondered about this place. You have a great voice lol

[@sweettart130]

Just a note, the background music was a tad loud and kept distracting me from the topic at hand. Great work otherwise.

[@historyunexplored5312]

Thanks for the note. I’ll keep that in mind for future vids

[@wmadamzzz]

This is a very interesting piece. When I was a teenager (many many years ago) my mother worked in downtown Sugarhouse as a seamstress for a well known men's store. I went to Sugarhouse many times with her. I heard her talking once to the store owner about "Hobbitville" but wasn't particularly interested and was even less sure what Hobbits were, being one of the 25 people in the country who has never read the Tolkien books, either then or afterwards. I hope you can continue your visits and give the place the attention it deserves. The only other thing I'd say is that like too many KZbin pieces, you don't need background music, unless it's specifically from the subject. As I mentioned, I'm old and the less music I have to listen to in the background makes things much more interesting.

[@wg9785]

Michael, you are inspiring!

[@Ezoangelofdeath]

hey man great content, you gotta kill that background track, or crank it down to 1.db, anyways killer vid

[@historyunexplored5312]

Noted! Thank you so much

[@NatronFatumallafalla]

Grew up in draper utah...my friend was kidnapped when he went to hobbitville by a orange curly hair one

[@InYorFace]

Quit yapping and get to the point...

[@historyunexplored5312]

Nice haha