By Travis Barton | [email protected]

Though Bob Hope died in 2003, he’s coming to West Valley City. 

West Valley City Council unanimously passed a resolution that will see a traveling Bob Hope exhibit, created by the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, come to the Utah Cultural Celebration Center. This will serve not only as the exhibit’s first visit to Utah, but its first foray into the mountain west. 

Andrew Wallentine, division manager of arts and culture, anticipates the exhibit will arrive at the beginning of December and run through April in the UCCC’s gallery. 

The resolution sees a contract entered into with the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum. 

The 2,200-square-foot exhibit typically comes with costs reaching $60,000. Wallentine said Hope’s daughter was excited at the prospect of sending the exhibit to a region it’s never been so the fee was waived. Only $5,000-8,000 will be required from the city, or the division’s own fundraising, to finance the exhibit’s return transportation to Florida, from where it’s based. 

“They have been very generous to help make that feasible for us,” Wallentine said. 

Titled, “Bob Hope: an American Treasure,” the exhibit features 15 themed displays highlighting his cultural contributions in comedy and entertainment as well as his love for golf and the military. 

It includes various items such as his Ellis Island medal, the final set of golf clubs he used in his life and awards from various American presidents and celebrities. 

With every exhibit that comes through the UCCC, Wallentine said they strive for as much educational outreach as possible reaching out to local schools. This will be no different. 

“Most, if not all, younger than me don’t really know who Bob Hope is and was,” Wallentine said. “[It’s an] educational opportunity we have from a cultural standpoint…to tie such a rich past to our future.”