Ogden

Ogden /ˈɒɡdɛn/ is a city and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately 10 miles (16 km) east of the Great Salt Lake and 40 miles (64 km) north of Salt Lake City. The population was 84,316 in 2014, according to the US Census Bureau. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a convenient location for manufacturing and commerce. Ogden is also known for its many historic buildings, proximity to the Wasatch Mountains, and as the location of Weber State University.

Ogden is a principal city of the Ogden–Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Weber, Morgan, Davis, and Box Elder counties. The 2010 Census placed the Metro population at 597,159. In 2010, Forbes rated the Ogden-Clearfield MSA as the 6th best place to raise a family. Ogden has had a Sister City relationship to Hof (Germany) since 1954.

History

Originally named Fort Buenaventura, the city of Ogden was the first permanent settlement by people of European descent in the region that is now Utah. It was established by the trapper Miles Goodyear in 1846 about a mile west of where downtown Ogden is currently located. In November 1847, Fort Buenaventura was purchased by the Mormon settlers for $1,950. The settlement was then called Brownsville, after Captain James Brown, but was later named Ogden for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden, who had trapped in the Weber Valley a generation earlier. The site of the original Fort Buenaventura is now a Weber County park.

Ogden is the closest sizable city to the Golden Spike location at Promontory Summit, Utah, where the First Transcontinental Railroad was joined in 1869. Ogden was known as a major passenger railroad junction owing to its location along major east-west and north-south routes, prompting the local chamber of commerce to adopt the motto, "You can't get anywhere without coming to Ogden." Railroad passengers traveling west to San Francisco from the eastern United States typically passed through Ogden (and not through the larger Salt Lake City to the south). Ogden, however, is no longer served by Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, and passengers desiring to travel from Ogden by rail must travel via FrontRunner commuter rail to Salt Lake City and Provo.

In 1972, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed construction of and dedicated the Ogden Utah Temple in Ogden. The temple was built to serve the large LDS population in the area. In 2010, the LDS Church announced a major renovation of the Ogden Temple and the adjacent Tabernacle. The work, which began in 2011, includes completely changing the dated 1970's exterior, removing the steeple from the Tabernacle so as to make the Temple's steeple a main focus, as well as a new underground parking garage and gardens. The Temple was rededicated in 2014.

Because Ogden has historically been the second largest city in Utah, it is home to a large number of historic buildings. However, by the 1980s, several Salt Lake City suburbs and Provo had surpassed Ogden in population.

The Defense Depot Ogden Utah operated in Ogden from 1941 to 1997. Some of its 1,128 acres (456 ha) has since been converted into a commercial and industrial park called the Business Depot Ogden.

Geography

Ogden is located at 41°13′11″N 111°58′16″W / 41.2196°N 111.9712°W / 41.2196; -111.9712 (41.2196, −111.9712), at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.6 square miles (69.0 km2), all land. Elevations in the city range from about 4,300 to 5,200 feet (1,300 to 1,600 m) above sea level.

The Ogden and Weber Rivers, which originate in the mountains to the east, flow through the city and meet at a confluence just west of the city limits. Pineview Dam is located in the Ogden River Canyon 7 miles (11 km) east of Ogden. The reservoir behind the dam provides over 110,000 acre feet (140,000,000 m3) of water storage and water recreation for the area.

Prominent mountain peaks near Ogden include Mount Ogden to the east and Ben Lomond to the north.

Transportation

Interstates 15 and 84 serve the city. I-84 runs east-west through the southern suburbs, merging with I-15 near Riverdale. I-15 runs north-south near the city's western edge and provides connections to the rest of the Wasatch Front and beyond. Ogden is served directly by exits 341, 342, 343, and 344. US-89 enters the city from the south, running through the city as Washington Boulevard, which serves as the main street of Ogden. It then continues north to Brigham City. State Route 39 runs east-west through the city as 12th Street, and continues eastward through Ogden Canyon providing access to Pineview Reservoir and the mountain and ski resort town of Huntsville.

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) operates four bus routes directly between Salt Lake City and Ogden, as well as numerous others that serve Weber and northern Davis counties that connect into either the Ogden Intermodal Hub on the west edge of town or to Weber State University. Ogden is also the source of the two routes that serve Brigham City, the northernmost extension of UTA's bus system. It also has a Greyhound bus stop along a line that runs north-south along I-15. The FrontRunner commuter rail is now open and runs between Salt Lake City and Pleasant View, just north of Ogden, and includes a stop at the Ogden Intermodal Hub. This line opened for service on April 26, 2008.

Amtrak service is provided with a bus connection running to/from Salt Lake City. Amtrak trains do not serve Ogden directly.

Ogden-Hinckley Airport, Utah's busiest municipal airport, is located in the southwest portion of the city. Allegiant Air offers commercial service from Ogden to Phoenix and Mesa, AZ. Utah Airways offers charter service to many of the West’s national parks.

Sites of interest

• Bigelow-Ben Lomond Hotel
• DaVinci Academy of Science and the Arts
• Dee Events Center
• Eccles Avenue Historic District
• Historic 25th Street
• The Ice Sheet Curling venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Jefferson Avenue Historic District
• The Junction Retail and residential complex
• Ogden City Municipal Building
• Ogden Eccles Conference Center
• Ogden High School
• Ogden Nature Center
• Ogden Utah Temple
• Ott Planetarium
• Peery's Egyptian Theatre
• Snowbasin Ski Area Alpine Skiing venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Saint Joseph Catholic Schools
• Union Station
• Ogden Forest Service Building
• Weber State University
• Treehouse Children's Museum

Renown

Two ships in the United States Navy have been named after the City of Ogden; the first, USS Ogden (PF-39), in 1943, and the second, USS Ogden (LPD-5), in 1964.

Ogden was the site of the infamous Hi-Fi murders in 1974.

Flying J, the largest retailer of diesel fuel in North America, has its corporate headquarters in Ogden.

In 2009, Ogden ranked No. 5 on Newsmax magazine's list of the "Top 25 Most Uniquely American Cities and Towns," a piece written by current CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg. According to the magazine, Greenberg based the rankings on a variety of features, such as quality of schools and proximity to medical care, as well as culture, hospitality, and scenic beauty.

Movies and television shows filmed in

Jackie & Ryan (2014)

• Some episodes of Touched by an Angel
• Everwood (mostly filmed in downtown Ogden)
• Blind Dating
• Firestarter 2: Rekindled
• Drive Me Crazy
• Con Air
• The Sandlot
• Three O'Clock High (mostly filmed at Ogden High School)
• Fletch
• Documentary short King of O-Town: Joe McQueen
• The Stand
• Air Bud
• Tiffany's music video for "I Think We're Alone Now"
• This Boy's Life
• Harmful Intent
• Scorned and Swindled
• Don't Look Under the Bed
• National Lampoon's Bag Boy
• Disney Channel's Return to Halloweentown
• Frozen (2010 American film) (Filmed at Snowbasin Ski Resort)
• Proper Manors (Filmed at the John Moses Browning Manson, No Frills Diner, Big Z Restaurant, and other locations around the Ogden Valley)