Railroad Depots in Ogden: Microcosms of a Community BY RICHARD C. ROBERTS
the Ogden Union Station reflects the city's historical development from an ordinary pioneer town in the West to a major link in the transcontinental railroad and the commercial growth associated with that transformation. T h e impact of railroading on Ogden has been enormous. Union Station is both a m o n u m e n t to that impact and an architectural gem. But the present Italian Renaissance structure had two less impressive predecessors. Each of the three depots said something significant about the surrounding city, and each — especially the latter two — can serve as a peg on which to hang a part of Ogden's history. T h e new transcontinental railroad brought to Ogden the surge of prosperity that the local boosters had predicted. By 1883 an M O R E THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE BUILDING
Dr. Roberts is professor of history at Weber State College.
The present Italian Renaissance station at Ogden, the city's third railroad depot on this site, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. USHS collections.
