Paris, London, Copenhagen, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, West Valley City. 

Utah’s second-largest city has joined the ranks of some 400 other places around the world to get its own puzzle designed by renowned folk artist Eric Dowdle. 

The puzzle, which is based on a painting by the Utah-based Dowdle, was unveiled in front of about 200 people at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center in November.  

It features many of the historical and current landmarks, points of interest, and cultures that make up what is today known as West Valley City. “It’s a marriage of the past and present,” Dowdle said. 

The result is a 500- or 1,000-piece puzzle that captures, among other things, the red-and-white water tower along 6400 West near 4500 South, Utah First Credit Union (formerly USANA) Amphitheatre, Redwood Drive-In Theatre, Fairbourne Station, Centennial Park, Valley Fair Mall, and the Veterans Memorial, all against a mountain backdrop. 

The puzzle had its beginnings when the city submitted an application to Dowdle Studios to have a painting done, which Dowdle accepted. From there, the idea and creation of a West Valley City puzzle took about a year and a half of working with city officials, the mayor, city councilmembers, local historians, and others to research what aspects of the city the puzzle should capture, then three months each to do the painting and create the puzzle. “They got a group together…in letting me know what is essential, what had to be done,” Dowdle said. “And then I came and had my own experiences and kind of put some of my own fun into the painting.” 

“We can immortalize a place and tell a story that will last forever,” he said of the process. 

The Boise, Idaho native said it starts with a vision and the people of the community help bring that vision to reality. “It’s fun to talk to the locals and to look into your eyes and see how much you love your town,” Dowdle said. 

Dowdle has painted cityscapes for more than 60 Utah municipalities including Salt Lake City, South Jordan, Lehi, Ogden, Logan, Lindon and Tooele. Even Beaver has its own puzzle. He has also created a number of other puzzles featuring states, national parks, animals and seasonal settings such as Christmas. 

Dowdle gives West Valley City exclusive rights to the puzzle and artwork for one year, allowing the city to make money off sales of the jigsaws and to recoup some of the funds used to commission the project. 

Echoing Dowdle, Councilman Lars Nordfelt said the people of West Valley City make the puzzle possible. “Each of us is a piece of this great puzzle that is our city,” Nordfelt said. “I think of this puzzle as a snapshot of what we’ve accomplished so far.”