Block U

That big blocky "U" on the mountainside started as student mischief. Around the turn of the last century, U of U students would hike Mount Van Cott and paint their class year on the slope; in 1907 the school made it permanent in limestone, and it's now counted among the oldest hillside letters in the country. Lights went up in the 1960s, and here's the part locals love: after a Utah win, the U flashes red and white. Lose, and it just burns steady. A scoreboard you can read from the whole valley.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Red Butte Garden — 1.1 mi
  A 100-acre botanical garden with panoramic valley views
• Natural History Museum of Utah — 1.4 mi
  A world-class museum built into the foothills above Salt Lake City
• This Is The Place Heritage Park — 2.3 mi
  A living history village at the mouth of Emigration Canyon
• Ensign Peak — 2.5 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley

More markers nearby

• Salt Lake City Cemetery Gold Star Mothers Memorial — 0.9 mi
• U.S.S. Utah Bell and Plaque — 1.0 mi
• Stilwell Field Monument — 1.0 mi
• Rock Wall — 1.0 mi