A few weeks ago I traded emails with a WCF regular, who suggested that I write a piece on the condition of the Ogden Mall-site, before the mall was built. The project has died a slow death, due to our mutual realization that it would probably take a knowledgeable local historian with a long memory to accomplish such a task with even minimal competence.
Last week though, Centerville Citizen, another respected board WCF semi-regular, made a thoughtful comment about his disembarcation from the north-bound bus from Centerville on Saturday, when he decided to check out the situation in Ogden for himself.
As he stepped off the bus he was confounded; and his instincts told him he was in a dangerous place.
His comment jogged my memory; and I'm thus publishing this 1979 photo of the Mall-site before it became a mall.
Comments, anyone? Is there anybody who posts here who can identify any of the businesses which thrived on the west side of Washington Boulevard north of 24th street, before the last band of "young turk" public planners knocked it all down to build a downtown mall?
Does anyone have comments about this?
Image via Union Station Museum Exhibit
8 comments:
J.C. Penny, of course, Sav-On, and the Bon Marche quickly come to mind. I believe Woolworths 5 & Dime was there as well. Thanks for "Memory lane," Rudizink.
I too read Centerville Cit's post about wondering if he should be ambling our fair city's streets alone. Instincts do play a huge roll in our survival. Maybe that's why there are so many challengers (and more to come) taking on the council people, their instinct of town survival.
It's a shame what is going on, or better said "not going on" downtown. This once proud city is in a state of depression, and it's been brought about by horrible leadership, politicians with blinders on, and taking, no, RIPPING the people out of government. I remember when multiple issues were voted down and then ram-rodded through by soem of the more recent administrations, and look where we've arrived. I think the people do know something, regardless of the color of those fire stations.
Some I remember are Castleton's, Auerbach's, Nye's. Can't remember their exact locations, unfortunately.
We must not forget the most notorious of all - the Hi Fi Shop! Five white and wholesome Ogden citizens brutalized and some murdered by a maurading trio of black out of state psycopaths. It set good race relations in our town back 20 years in an instant. We have come along way back but we still suffer the effects of that terrible night.
Nyes was across from the Egyptian; Auerbachs was just South of the Egyptian (or North, but South I think) and Castleton's was between Nye's and First Security Bank.
Alot of biz on the old blog tonight, regardless of how hungry the dogs are.
Just checked out that Bernieblog thing, and Ozboy's right....it's sucky fiction. All one way, the mayor's way. Tried to post but couldn't and I'll be damned if I'm going to give 'em something to keep track of the old IP with before I chat. But, it doesn't matter. Not much readership over there. Never see a post. More crap from them over here with their 2-bit advertisements.
Rudi, old pal, ya run a tight ship.
And don't forget B&B, and Commercial Security Bank, South of the Egyptian. Wasn't Boyle's north of JC Penny?
I actually have to confess, Rudi. I didn't spend much time observing downtown Ogden. I was actually on a long overdue pilgrimage to the city cemetery and didn't have the time to wander 25th Street, etc. But hopefully sometime soon I'll be able to spend a lot more time up there.
Yo Centerville citizen!
Damn, here we are again my man. I bet you find the Ogden Cemetery more interesting than you do 25th street. It certainly is more lively in the evenings. I will be looking forward to your report. You might even want to try it at prime evening out to a restraunt hour - like 8PM on a Friday or Saturday night when you will find it hauntingly dead just like I did Saturday evening.
tis sad proof that central planning and government direct involvement in free enterprise is a sure recipe for failure.
I missed this article in the Standard Examiner last week. If we've discussed it here and I missed that too---sorry. But the article discusses an attempt of a citizens group to reform RDA's, and perhaps eliminate them. Here are parts of the article:
"SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah League of Cities and Towns has unveiled a three-pronged plan that one lawmaker believes may eliminate Redevelopment Agencies and increase collaboration among all levels of government to address economic and community development issues. ..
...A major change in the league's proposal from existing RDA law is the definition of what constitutes blight, which is a prerequisite for redevelopment, Shurtz said...
...Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, co-chairman of a legislative task force that is studying RDA reform and who helped develop the league's recommendations, said if the proposal becomes law, it could effectively end RDAs. The proposal could also make municipalities more accountable for economic development projects and community improvements, he said.
RDAs offer incentives in the form of tax increment, which is any property tax collected beyond the assessed property value at the time of the creation of the development project.
The league's proposal allows municipalities to establish an Economic Development Area that would focus on job creation, a Redevelopment Area to address physical blight, and includes a community development provision for infrastructure and quality-of-life improvements.
Super-majority approval by all impacted taxing entities, such as school districts and counties, would be required before a municipality could use property tax increment for economic-development and redevelopment-area projects. Funding for community-development projects would be limited to municipal sales and property tax unless other taxing entities decide to participate.
Use of eminent domain for economic development purposes, which was a major component of an RDA reform bill sponsored by Bramble during the 2005 legislative session that became law, would still be prohibited under the proposal...
...Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey said he could not comment on whether he supports the league's proposal because he has not reviewed the document."
It looks like what it does is split up the redevelopment concept into three separate entities with separate responsibilities. Anybody know more about this? Think it will happen??
(This comment has been re-posted at the author's request, to correct a link problem. Original post August 17, 2005 4:53 PM - Rudi)
Thanks for fixing my mistake, Rudi!
I had an enjoyable hour or so on the telephone with a friend trying reconstruct from memory the stores on Washington Boulevard in the picture at the top of this blog entry. If you take the picture and zoom in on it, details become clear that might jog the memory. As memory is not infallible, some of this might be incorrect, and if so, maybe somebody else can straighten it out.
There were two shoe stores on that block---one named Briton's(?) and the other Thom McAnn. I think you can see the sign of the latter in the zoomed in photo.
Then Taylor and Wright's. which was a retail clothing establishment, and there was also a dress shop named Mode O' Day.
There is a building with vertical stripes on the front. Anybody remember that? Perhaps the old Hi-Fi shop?
Somewhere in the middle of that block was a fabric shop with a large parking lot behind it where many people would park. The stores had back entrances, and you would go through them and then through the stores to get to Washington Boulevard.
The building with the white wall facing the camera is Boyle's furniture company. The zoom shows the old black water tower on top of it that looks like a kettle on a tripod.
Woolworth's was on that block, as well as another drug store called Newberry's. My friend remembered also a Driver's drug store.
On the corner of 23rd and Washington, my friend remembered a doughnut shop with a machine in the window that made doughnuts, and they would go in there and get them hot and freshly made.
Crossing 23rd, the large department store with the vertical sign extending above roof is the Bon Marche, which gave way for the mall. Also on that block was Clifton's, which is still in business, having moved across the street.
That's all we could come up with, and they're not in order, but someone else might be able to build on this info and give more details.
Post a Comment