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Living in Provo

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Welcome to Living in Provo!

Have you ever been to Provo? It is a college town in north-central Utah. Most people have probably never even been to Utah!

So what is Provo like? It is the home of Brigham Young University (BYU). BYU is a state favorite whose mascot is the Cougar. On the mountain adjacent to the campus is a very large Y.

Provo is also know for the History. It is one of the original historic towns of the west. It was a stopping place for many of the travelers coming from the east on their way to California as they came through the Rockies.

Contents at a Glance

Provo Valley
History of the "Y"
Guides to Provo
Pictures of Provo
Lighting the "Y"
Historic Provo- Homes still in use since...

Provo Valley

History of the "Y"

a brief history of BYU's Y mountain in Provo

The Y first appeared on Provo's Mountains in 1906, after the first materials for Brigham Young University's emblem were hauled to the base of the hill. President George H. Brimhall commissioned Ernest D. Partridge and three of his students to survey the letters B, Y and U on the hill and the letters were soon thereafter laid out. To create the emblem, students stood eight feet apart, stretching from the bottom of the hill to the site of the Y, and shuttled lime, sand and rocks between the person before and after them. It took so much time and effort to cover the Y that no attempt was made to do the other two letters.

Constant repairs to the thin, lime-covered letter prompted students to add a layer of rock to the face of the Y in 1907. In 1908, 20,000 pounds of sand and cement were added to make a three-foot rim around the letter, and in 1910 and 1911, the blocks or serifs were added to create the Y as it appears today. The Y is 380 feet high and 130 feet wide, covering 32,847 square feet and is one of the largest school emblems of it's kind in the United States.

(http://yfacts.byu.edu)

Guides to Provo

Pictures of Provo

curated content from Flickr

Lighting the "Y"

"Beginning in 1924, lighting the Y became a tradition in which hundreds of students proceeded up the trail, set fire to oil-soaked mattresses around the perimeter of the letter, and then marched back down the trail carrying torches. The 'Y' was written in fire in the night, and a long line of fire zig-zagged down the mountainside. 1963 graduate Stephen Barrett said the fire only lasted about 20 minutes and those on the mountain never got to see it lit from a distance, but it was still "one of the best parts of homecoming."

In 1988, (some accounts say 1970) BYU began using strings of light bulbs to light the Y instead of the goop balls - wads of shredded mattress stuffing soaked in flammable liquid - and the tradition has continued each Homecoming since. Fourteen strands of lights are placed around the Y's perimeter and are lit five times a year by the Intercollegiate Knights. The Y is lit for Freshman Orientation, Homecoming, Y Days, and graduation in August and April.

(http://yfacts.byu.edu)

Historic Provo- Homes still in use since 1870

Living in Provo

Welcome to Living in Provo!

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

History of the "Y"

a brief history of BYU's Y mountain in Provo

Guides to Provo

Pictures of Provo

Lighting the "Y"

Important Provo Links

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