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Ogden was the first permanent non-native settlement in Utah and the home of Weber State University.
Introduction to Ogden, Utah
While Martin stayed back in Salt Lake City to catch up on some work, Gönül and I headed north for the day. Our first stop was in Ogden for a quick look around.
Ogden was the first permanent settlement by people of European descent in Utah, founded as Fort Buenaventura by trapper Miles Goodyear (1817–1849) in 1846. In November 1847, Captain James Brown purchased the fort as well as all the land now comprising Weber County on behalf of the LDS Church. Mormon settlers were sent to the area and the fort became the nucleus of the community.
Originally called Brownville, the settlement was part of Mexico at the time. It was later renamed after trapper Peter Skene Ogden (1790–1854). Fort Buenaventura was abandoned after flooding in 1850, and settlers replaced it with Brown’s Fort, built a short distance to the southeast.
Ogden turned into a lawless frontier town and a major stop on the Transcontinental Railroad. Almost all passengers and goods traveling between the east and San Francisco passed through town. Weber Stake Academy, now Weber State University, was founded in 1889.
Ogden was the second largest city in Utah until it was surpassed by Provo and suburbs of Salt Lake City in the 1980s. Today, the city attracts visitors because of its proximity to the mountains and outdoor recreation.
Historic 25th Street
Historic 25th Street runs between Wall Avenue on the west and Washington Boulevard on the east. It’s lined with several historic buildings.
25th Street, originally 5th Street until 1889, was the center of life in Ogden during its heyday as a railroad hub. With Union Station on its west end, it was full of hotels, restaurants, shops, and laundries catering to travelers.
During the early 20th century, 25th Street was known for all sorts of illegal activities, including gambling, prostitution, and drug deals. According to legend, even notorious gangster Al Capone (1899–1947) said Ogden was too wild for him.
25th Street was cleaned up in the 1954 as part of a major crackdown on crime. Today, it’s a pleasant street featuring several restaurants, shops, and art galleries. It also hosts outdoor community events such as car shows and farmers’ markets.
Union Station
With the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, the towns of Ogden, Corinne, and Uintah competed with each other to host the Union Pacific and Central Pacific junction. Corinne was the frontrunner, but Mormon leaders didn’t want a town full of bars and brothels to represent their territory.
In 1874, Brigham Young (1801–1877) offered to donate the land on the condition the railroads build their junction in Ogden. They initially used a two-story wooden building constructed by Union Pacific in November 1869 as a common terminal, but it proved unsuitable for passengers.
The two companies formed the Ogden Union Railway & Depot Co. (OUR&D) to oversee construction on a new Union Station, completed in 1889. It was designed in the Romanesque Revival style with a large clock tower in the center. The building featured 33 hotel rooms, a restaurant, barbershop, and other amenities for travelers. Unfortunately, it burned down in 1923.
The current Union Station was built on the old building’s foundations the following year in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It was dedicated on November 22, 1924. At its height, it had 13 passenger platforms and serviced up to 60 passenger trains daily.
Rail traffic began to decline sharply after World War II, due to the increase in airplane travel and access to automobiles. By the late 1960s, only two trains in each direction passed through Ogden daily. Tracks 6–13 were removed, leaving just five tracks and three platforms.
On May 1, 1971, Amtrak took over operations, offering only one daily passenger train in each direction. The last scheduled passenger train left Ogden at 7:38am on May 11, 1997. Today, the building hosts museums.
Museums at Union Station
The first plans to convert the building into a museum were presented in 1969, during the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The idea didn’t come to fruition until 1977, when the building was turned over to the City of Ogden.
Union Station hosts six museums that you can visit on one ticket. They’re open Wednesday through Saturday from 11am to 4pm. Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors age 65+, $4 for kids age 13-17, $3 for kids age 3-12, and free for kids under 3 (as of April 2025):
- The Utah State Railroad Museum opened in 1978 and showcases the history of railroading in Ogden.
- The Spencer S. and Hope F. Eccles Rail Center opened as an addition to the Utah State Railroad Museum in 1989. It displays locomotives, switch engines, boxcars, cabooses, and a steam powered rotary snowplow. During summer, visitors can step into a World War II hospital car and a mail car.
- The Browning Firearms Museum highlights the innovations of gun inventor John Browning (1855–1926) and four generations of the Browning family.
- The Browning-Kimball Car Museum opened in 1981, when Matt and Barbara Browning loaned cars out of their collection to be rotated in the museum. After they passed away in 1996 and 1999, respectively, nine of their cars were donated to the city to be put on permanent display. The museum now features 13 classic cars built between 1901 and 1937.
- The Gallery at the Station, in the enclosed passenger platform, offers rotating art, cultural, and historical exhibitions.
- On the second floor of Union Station, the Myra Powell Gallery features a rotation of local art, cultural, and historical exhibitions.
Peery’s Egyptian Theater
Peery’s Egyptian Theater, on Washington Boulevard, is an 800-seat theatre built to play silent films. After their Arlington Hotel burned down in 1923, the Peery family commissioned Leslie Hodgson and Myrl McClenahan to design an Egyptian-themed theatre. It opened in July 1924, screening Wanderer of the Wasteland at the premier.
The theatre was renovated and modernized over the years until it closed in 1984. Threatened with demolition, it was saved and underwent an extensive renovation, reopening in 1997. It now hosts plays, ballets, and live music concerts. The Sundance Film Festival held screenings there from 2005 to 2007, and again in 2011 and 2013. Fewer than 50 Egyptian-themed theatres were built in the country and the Peery is one of only 12 or so that remain standing.
Where to Eat in Ogden
Before we left Ogden for Brigham City, we popped into a café on 25th Street.
Grounds for Coffee
We had a very good cappuccino at Grounds for Coffee. The friendly service was as good as the coffee, and we sat at a table outside to watch the people walk by.
