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Ogden's Historic 25th Street
Ogden's Historic 25th Street is like any other street in the world. It has a sunny side and a shady side. "Two-Bit Street's" bright side has included booming restaurants, rooming houses, clothing stores, saloons and barber shops that have serviced the trainloads of people who stepped off rail cars at Union Station beginning in 1869. It's shady side provided other "services" to visitors including opium dens, gambling parlors and houses of prostitution.
On the other hand, Ogden's Historic 25th Street is unlike any other street in the world. You'll hear the tales of its system of underground tunnels that bootleggers created to make the dash from Union Station toe the Ben Lomond Hotel during the height of prohibition. Historic 25th Street is now home to the most colorful display of characters, shops, restaurants and experiences to be had anywhere in the Beehive State. |
"Area History"
In the early 20th century, 25th Street featured retail shops, ice cream parlors, hotels, Chinese
laundry and more. But one could also witness gambling,
prostitution, narcotics sales, robbery, rape, and even
murder. Ogden grew and became a rough city. Crime boss
Al Capone commented in the 1920s that Ogden was too
wild a town for him.
In 1954, the city effected a clean up of both the
streets and the local government. Lorin Farr was mayor
of Ogden at the time. He advised his police force in
the following way: "Use kindness, be ready for
emergencies, and see that guns and pistols are always
loaded and powder dry."
Such tough love cleaned up the streets of Ogden.
Today Ogden is a beautiful, friendly city. It is a
wonderful place to visit.
Historic 25th Street now features many restaurants,
galleries, shops and outdoor events.
Ogden, Utah is located 35 miles north of Salt Lake
City on the banks of the Weber River.
Ogden is somewhat different than other towns in
Utah. Mormon pioneers originally settled most Utah
communities. Ogden began as Fort Buenaventura.
In 1844, a fur trapper named Miles Goodyear
established Fort Buenaventura along the banks of the
Weber River. Fort Buenaventura was the first permanent
Anglo settlement in this region of Utah.
White explorers had been frequenting the area for
years. The Weber River runs through a valley known as
Ogden Valley. The valley had been given its name much
earlier in honor of a famous Canadian explorer named
Peter Skeen Ogden.
The Mormon pioneers did not enter the area until
1847. Mormon settlers purchased Fort uenaventura. In
1850, they founded a city that they named Ogden after
the valley in which it is found. Fort Buenaventura
still stands in the city of Ogden and is a state park.
Historic 25th Street was the center of activity in
Ogden. An important part of this section was the Union Station Depot at the junction of 25th Street and Wall
Avenue.
In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed
near Promontory, Utah. The Union Station in Ogden
would be the junction for railroad travel in the
Intermountain West.
Shortly thereafter, a new line of rails was built
from Franklin, Idaho to Ogden. This new train line was
called the Utah Northern Railroad.
The Ogden Union Station Depot became the hub for
the Utah Northern Railroad and the transcontinental
railway that had just been completed near Promontory.
Although Ogden began in 1850 as a religious Mormon community, with the completion of the Union Station
the world came into Ogden.
Now Ogden is a great location for tourists of Utah
to visit. The city has several fine attractions. Union
Station on 25th Street is a wonderful stop for Ogden
visitors.
The original structure of the Union Station Depot
burned in 1923. Today, however, the rebuilt Union
Station houses several fine museums.
While there, visitors should remember the history of
the area and enjoy what Ogden has become. Another
attraction is the Peery's Egyptian Theater on 2415
Washington Blvd. This structure was built in the 1920s
and has become an excellent location for theater
lovers to visit.
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