where are you... [or did i miss that?] and do you want conifers.. or not.. if so.. try also in the conifer forum ... cypress are conifers ... i like the vines for fast relief.. while your trees/conifers.. take time to grow to height ... a pic of the space will probably get you the best suggestions .... but odds are.. your kids going to be about 10 .. by the time anything grows tall enough to be of use ... and i dont really understand.. if he doesnt care if he walks around butt naked.. why you are planting trees for the neighbors ... lol... just duct tape his diaper on.. and challenge him./her to get out of it ... lol ... stay at home dad here.. i remember these days ... now they are 11 and 15 ... and the neighbors are hiding from them.. lol ... good luck.. and have fun with him/her .. in the garden ... the time is so precious ... i used to have to hose the oldest down.. every afternoon.. after 4 or 5 hours in the yard ... ken

Most similar is probably Juniperus scopulorum 'Skyrocket' or other similar fastigiate juniper cultivars. Resin

Someone near me is either growing these or something with a similar columnar shape. They're doing fine, but they wrap them with burlap in the winter to keep deer from eating them. Do you have deer in your area? If so, you may want to try something else, because these seem to be deer candy (if they're the same thing). Well, I just did a little google search for columnar evergreens, and it may be Leyland Cypress that my neighbors have. They're hardy down to zone five. You might want to look at those, rather than the Italian ones, just to be safe. They're still deer candy, though! Also, you're definitely not in zone five, unless you're way at the top of Traverse Ridge. You're a zone six for sure, and some parts of SL Valley are zone 7. You're probably a six on the verge of seven. I live in Cedar Hills (just east of Highland and American Fork), and I was wondering if we were really a zone 7 for a while, but then we've gone a little below zero a few times in recent years, which is a zone 6 range. Anyway, if you like that columnar shape but decide against the cypress, there are other trees that would fit the bill. If you're OK with deciduous trees (ones that lose their leaves in winter), you can find columnar oaks and maples. I have some Swedish aspens that are tall and columnar, and they have grown quite fast and been very healthy. They do produce some suckers like other aspens, but in my opinion they're not nearly as bad as quaking aspens in that regard. If you click to enlarge this photo, you'll see my Swedish aspens at the back corners of my arbor. There are four of them growing in pairs by the back corners.

If the trees were there for years without being watered and then the one went brown after the system was added then if anything it got too much water. http://www.latimes.com/home/la-lh-italian-cypress-trees-dying-20130104-story.html