Picnic Terraces & Pavilions, 1966-1990s

DAVIS PAVILION

All State Italian Day in the Davis Pavilion some time in the early 1970s. Photo: Peoples of Utah Photograph Collection

The Davis County Fair was held at Lagoon for many years until the park closed during World War II. After being held in Kaysville, Lagoon began hosting the county fair again in 1966. That year, Lagoon built a grandstand, animal sheds and the Davis Pavilion on their property for the fair, which could also be used for other events throughout the season. The county fair moved to their own fairgrounds in the 1980s at which point Lagoon expanded into the areas that had been used by the fair.

Front of the Davis Pavilion in spring 2015. Photo: B. Miskin

In 1993, Lagoon On Ice was presented in the Davis Pavilion with a 36 x 46 ice rink and bleacher seating for 1,200 people. The show featured Olympic ice skaters as well as some native Utah skaters and Lagoon’s costumed characters.

It’s also been the location of a few different haunted walk-throughs since Frightmares began in 1995. More recently, bleachers were set up inside for the show, Cirque Innosta: Bosque, in 2014.

Aerial view of the picnic terraces in 1972. The Davis Pavilion is the large one on the far left with the North & Mountain View Terraces to the right. Photo courtesy of Deseret News

NORTH TERRACE

Built in the late ’60s, this small terrace east of the Davis Pavilion was replaced by the Cottonwood Terrace in the early ’90s.

GASLIGHT TERRACE

Originally known as Gaslight Gardens, this was just a sectioned-off area with picnic tables in the back of Opera House Square. The overhead structure was added a few years later. It was the home to The Labyrinth during Frightmares until it was torn down after the 2007 season to make room for OdySea.

MOUNTAIN VIEW TERRACE

The Mountain View Terrace was built east of the North Terrace and was fairly small. It was built in 1971 or ’72 and taken down in the ’90s, along with the North Terrace, in order to build the larger Cottonwood Terrace.

MEADOW TERRACE

Some time between 1972 and 1983, this large pavilion was built just north of the Davis Pavilion and is about equal in size. For a few years, a hypnotist performed here during Frightmares.

PIONEER PAVILION

A view of the east side of Pioneer Village and the Pioneer Pavilion in 1980. From a film by Joseph L. Hatch

The Pioneer Pavilion is about the same size as the Davis Pavilion and opened along with the rest of Pioneer Village in 1976. For over a decade, the Pioneer Village Railroad used to pass between the pavilion and Farmington Creek. The Stagecoach still passed by on the east a while after that until Rattlesnake Rapids was built.

CREEKSIDE & LOG FLUME TERRACES

These terraces were east of the Old Mill and south of the Log Flume. They were pretty much one terrace split in half. This was mainly an eating area used by patrons of the Old Mill, but it was available for groups to reserve until 1999. In 2016, the latticework overhead structure and hanging plants were replaced by a large steel shelter.

CANYON TERRACE

The Canyon Terrace was added in 1989 and made to similar specifications as the Meadow Pavilion to the west.

COTTONWOOD TERRACE

Cottonwood Terrace in the 1990s. Photo: Lagoon

This large terrace replaced the smaller Mountain View and North Terraces in the early ’90s. A portion of the terrace was walled off and used by Group Food Services. In 2001, the Group Foods space was expanded and walls were added around the south side, leaving the northwest corner open for use as a serving area.

JET STAR TERRACE

The striped canopies in the middle of the photo mark the former Jet Star Terrace. Photo: Brian Nicholson

When Tri-Star closed in 1990, it left a vacant concrete pad between Jet Star 2 and the Davis Pavilion. The space became known as the Jet Star Terrace but there was never any permanent structure built there – only temporary tables and canopies. After 2002, it was no longer available for group reservations and remained empty except for extra event space and the Psycho Dave’s Junkyard walk-through during Frightmares. Air Race was installed here in 2012.

MORE FROM LHP
SOURCES

Lagoon Coloring Contest. Deseret News, 26 May 1971.

Lincoln, Ivan M. Lagoon Summer Shows. Deseret News, 23 Jul 1993.

Arave, Lynn. Lagoon In Winter. Deseret News, 23 Feb 2001.

COPYRIGHTED IMAGE. Contact admin about usage.