Glendale, Salt Lake City, Utah

Glendale is a neighborhood on the West side of Salt Lake City, Utah. Glendale is situated South of the Rose Park and Fair Park neighborhoods. The neighborhood was originally developed as Glendale Gardens which is where Glendale Middle School derives its name. Mountain View Elementary (which is situated next to Glendale Middle School) was originally named Glendale Elementary. Glendale, and neighboring Poplar Grove, Fair Park & Rose Park enjoy a vibrant multi ethnic environment.

Boundaries

Glendale and Poplar Grove sit on the city's Southwest side. The Glendale area is roughly considered to be the area from Interstate 15 (about 300 West) to Redwood Road (1700 West). Glendale borders the City of South Salt Lake at Highway 201 (2100 South) and extends to Indiana Avenue (900 South). Just to the North of Glendale is Poplar Grove. However, many residents of Poplar Grove refer to the community as Glendale, and many Glendale residents consider Poplar Grove synonymous with Glendale as well. Indeed, on some old maps Poplar Grove is referred to as North Glendale Gardens.

In 1996 the Salt Lake area rap group Ghetto Mentality released a song titled "Glendale 2 Midvale" and cited the Glendale boundaries as follows: "From the I-15 to the Redwood Road, South Temple to 21st South we roll". This description of the neighborhood would indeed encompass Poplar Grove as well.

Glendale Boundaries as described by the Glendale Community Council

East-Interstate 15

West-City Limits

South-2100 South

North-Approx. 950 South

Poplar Grove Boundaries as described by the Poplar Grove Community Council

East-I-15

West-City Limits

South-Approx. 950 South

North-North Temple

Crime

Going back as far as the 1970s, Glendale has had a reputation as one of the most crime-ridden areas in Salt Lake City and has long been considered the hub of gang activity in the Salt Lake metropolitan area.

Prior to the 1990s, many who did not live on Salt Lake City's West Side referred to the entire area as the West Side. In fact, many residents simply called themselves "West Siders". Although there has long been a rivalry between Glendale and Rose Park and at times there were gang-related conflicts, the rivalry was mostly friendly and centered around the high schools South High (which served Glendale and was closed in 1988) and West High (which serves Rose Park and the surrounding areas to this day).

In the late 1980s some Crip gangs and Surenos gangs (both of which wear blue as a trademark) moved into the Glendale area. As a result many local gangs took up Crip or Surenos affiliations. Not long after a number of gangs also began wearing red and took on Blood and eventually Nortenos identities. As the situation evolved, the Glendale/Poplar Grove area on the South side came to be thought of as a predominantly blue area, while Rose Park/Fair Park on the North side have come to be known as predominantly red neighborhoods, though there are exceptions in both circumstances. This polarization of color affiliation has transformed a formerly friendly rivalry into a deadly one which has contributed greatly to the violent crime rate of the affected areas.

Points Of Interest

The International Peace Gardens are located in Jordan Park at about 1000 South and 900 West in Glendale.

The Glendale Recreation Center (formerly the Police Athletic League) located at California Avenue (1320 South) & 900 West.