Historic 25th Street

25th Street in Ogden

The history of 25th Street began with the opening of Union Station, at the west end of the street, during the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Later, another rail line, the Utah Northern Railroad, was built between Franklin, Idaho and Ogden. The Ogden Union Station Depot became the hub for the Utah Northern Railroad, and served as a major railroad junction. The original structure of the Union Station Depot was destroyed by a fire in 1923.

During the early 20th century, 25th Street was a center of activity in Ogden. Home to retail shops, restaurants, ice cream parlors, hotels, and laundries, the street was also a common site for illicit activities such as gambling, prostitution and narcotic sales. Popularly known as ‘’Two-Bit Street", the area obtained such a seedy reputation that Al Capone is rumored to have said that Ogden was too wild a town for him.[2] An urban legend tells of a system of tunnels that bootleggers created during prohibition to move alcohol from Union Station to the Bigelow-Ben Lomond Hotel located on the east end of the neighborhood.[3]

In 1954, 25th Street was cleaned up as part of a citywide crime-reduction effort led by Mayor Lorin Farr (a descendant of Ogden's first mayor, Lorin Farr).[4]

Today, Historic 25th Street features restaurants, art galleries, retail shops, and hosts outdoor community events such as a farmers' market (July through September) and car shows. The rebuilt Union Station houses the Utah State Railroad Museums, the John M. Browning Arms Museum, and the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum.[5] The street is also the location for the Ogden City Municipal Building and the Federal Courthouse.[6]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Weber County, Utah

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Historic 25th Street.

• Photo gallery of Historic 25th Street
• Historic 25th Street web site