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- Ogden's Union Station celebrates its 100th anniversary with events on Friday and Saturday.
- Activities include a time capsule ceremony, concert and drone show.
- Union Station, a local landmark, now houses museums and is the focus of a major redevelopment initiative.
OGDEN — Ogden's iconic Union Station turns 100 on Friday, and two days of activities are planned to mark the centennial anniversary. These activities are the culmination of a year of on-and-off celebrations.
The structure at 2501 Wall Ave. was initially dedicated on Nov. 22, 1924, "to serve as Ogden's major transportation hub, the third such building to have served Ogden," the city said in a statement. "To celebrate the station's role as the center of Ogden, celebrations will commemorate the 100th anniversary with a comprehensive weekend program."
Activities start Friday at 5 p.m. with presentations by speakers about the significance of Union Station to Ogden and offerings from 26 groups for a time capsule to be placed in the vacant cornerstone of the structure. The original time capsule, placed as the structure was being built in 1924, was removed in a ceremony on May 31. The 2024 time capsule — to be opened in another 100 years, 2124 — will be placed in the cornerstone in a 6:30 p.m. ceremony.
A Chamber Orchestra Ogden concert comes next, featuring an orchestral piece written for the occasion by local composer Alfonso Tenreiro, "Union on 25," followed by a drone show. Friday's activities will be livestreamed.
Activities continue on Saturday from noon to about 6:30 p.m. Items from the 1924 time capsule will be on display, and musicians will perform "1920s-style music," among other things.
Union Station once served 51 to nearly 300 trains a day in its heyday as a key stopping point between Chicago and San Francisco, according to locals. Now, it serves as home to railroad, gun and automobile museums. Nevertheless, it remains an Ogden landmark, and city leaders are in the midst of crafting a plan — the focus of intense debate — to dramatically redevelop the facility.
It abuts Historic 25th Street, a commercial and dining hub in the city, and the plans call for the redevelopment of the 30-acre expanse encompassing the train station and the grounds around it. Utah Transit Authority owns some of the property, which includes the Ogden FrontRunner Station, and is involved in the initiative as well.
The activities Friday and Saturday culminate varied activities over the last year to note the structure's significance to Ogden. The current Union Station structure actually replaced an earlier train station that had burned down in 1923.
