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This 1915 photo shows Main Street in Pleasant Grove. The first installment of the Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission's Walking Tour Series, happening Monday, May 6, 2024, will focus on Main Street.

Courtesy Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission

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A recent photo of Main Street in Pleasant Grove. The first installment of the Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission's Walking Tour Series, happening Monday, May 6, 2024, will focus on Main Street.

Courtesy Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission

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This 1939 photo shows Main Street in Pleasant Grove. The first installment of the Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission's Walking Tour Series, happening Monday, May 6, 2024, will focus on Main Street.

Courtesy Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission

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Strolling around the quaint streets of Pleasant Grove, enjoying spring and summer weather and learning about the city’s historic homes and buildings: That’s what the Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission’s Walking Tour Series is all about, and this year’s series begins Monday.

“If you attended one of our three tours last summer, you know that this is a great event! We feature one historic street a month with interior and exterior tours of its buildings. The tour also includes a walking tour booklet and refreshments,” reads a post on the commission’s Facebook page.

According to Laurel Cunningham, commission chairperson, the walking tour series first began in 2019, but it was not held again the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series started up again last summer.

“We wanted to bring awareness to Pleasant Grove’s built history and the great stories that go along with the oldest homes in town,” Cunningham said. “We believe the Baba Dioum quote, ‘In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.'” Dioum is a forestry engineer in Senegal.

Last year’s walking tours had a great turnout, according to Cunningham. About 300 people participated across the three tours that were hosted.

The first tour of this series will be held at 6 p.m. Monday. This tour will feature the commercial buildings and homes of historic Main Street. Main Street is part of the city’s historic downtown area. Those wanting to participate should meet at the northwest corner of Downtown Park, 100 S. Main St., to join the guided tour.

On July 15, the series continues with a tour of Center Street, above 100 East. On Aug. 26, the tour will include homes on 200 East, near 200 South.

Those taking the tour will learn about the people who built, worked and lived in the buildings as well as the buildings themselves. The tours are free and do not require tickets. A newly researched, 100-page walking tour book will be available for $10.

Pleasant Grove, like other Utah communities, has many historic buildings that ignite curiosity. The Walking Tour Series aims to satisfy some of the curiosity surrounding the history of the many buildings.

Recently, Cunningham and the commission received an award for rehabilitation and restoration from Preservation Utah in this year’s Community Stewardship Awards. The award was given for the restoration of the National Register-listed Old Town Hall, located at 105 S. 100 East. The historic building was transformed from a deteriorated state to a vibrant community space, according to a Preservation Utah post on Facebook.

For more information about the city’s history or the Walking Tour Series, check out the Pleasant Grove Historic Preservation Commission’s Facebook page.

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