By: Robert Cato
A proposal by a diverse group of volunteers to create a museum for the Ogden - Weber County area has been announced. The goal is to establish a depository for items, photographs and information about the Ogden - Weber County and surrounding area. The group hopes to convince both the Ogden City Council and the Ogden RDA Board to allow the Ogden - Weber Museum Inc. (OWMI) to accept responsibility for the old Shupe Williams Candy Factory building at 26th St and Wall Avenue.
The Shupe Williams Building, which has been vacant now for a number of years, would meet the goals and mission statement requirements for the OWMI. The location of the building, next to Union Station and in the immediate area of Historic 25th Street, would add another venue to the attractions available for visitors. Museums by themselves are not large money makers but attract patrons for other business such as restaurants, hotels, antique stores and shopping areas in their proximity. With this in mind the OWMI is in the process of being established as a non-profit (501 c 3 tax exempt) organization.
The need for a museum for this area grows on a daily basis. Many of the residents who are currently in their 80's and 90's are passing on. Many of these individuals have items of a historical nature that they received in their younger years as family heirlooms or curiosities from people in their lives that recognized the importance of such things. Many of the items are not wanted by the heirs of these elderly folks. Some of the items are difficult to move and/or store. Consequently they end up in antique stores or sold on E-Bay and disappear into private collections. Having a local museum here where such articles could be preserved and shared with the public would allow us to keep our heritage available for generations to come.
The Shupe Williams Building is in danger of being lost because of many disputed facts about current structural problems. The Ogden City Mayor, Matthew Godfrey, claims that the building is not worth saving and would like to see it torn down so the land could be used for a parking lot. In fact a structural survey done in November of 2005 by Donald Hartley, a Historical Architect with The State Of Utah Department of Community and Culture, Division of State History / Utah State Historical Society, states that the building can be restored and is of significant enough historical importance that it should be saved.
The Shupe Williams Building is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places, although not on the “local historic register”. In fact, the cost of demolishing the building, 200 to 400 thousand dollars, would cover a great deal of the expense of stabilizing the building. The OWMI is not requesting funds from the City of Ogden for this purpose. If they are granted use of the building the OWMI will seek grants and donations for this work.
In the past three decades Ogden has lost most of the historical commercial structures that made Ogden a people friendly environment. The current city administration does not recognize the need for historical structures and is promoting buildings such as the new rec center which leave most individuals with a cold uninviting appearance. The new Ogden City Mall as it was originally proposed was designed using a “retro Art-Deco” look that was both pleasing to the viewer and offered a welcoming attitude.
The proposed use of the Shupe Williams Building for the OWMI would allow the building to also serve the community through other purposes including traveling museum exhibits, meeting rooms and archival libraries.
The OWMI Group will present a brief overview to the Ogden City Council on Tuesday January 17th at 5:00pm in the Council Chambers on the 3rd Floor of the Municipal Building located at 2549 Washington Boulevard. Those interested in saving Ogden’s History are invited to attend.
For more information about the proposed museum and how to participate in its inception contact Robert Chugg at (435) 782-6561 or Jason Rusch at (801) 394-6729
And what of our gentle readers?
Isn't this the kind of project that can bring our now-squabbling community together?
Update 1/16/06 5:44 p.m. MT: The address typo noted earlier in the comments section has now been corrected. The true address is:
Ogden City Council Chambers
Municipal Building
2549 Washington Boulevard
3rd floor
Ogden, UT 84401
Be there or be square.
Comments anyone?
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11 comments:
Oh wow, deja vu.
Members of Centerville's Historic Sites Committee (including myself) are proposing a restoration project for the city's Whitaker Museum to restore it back to its 19th century/early 20th century state and make it a living history musuem, and Don Hartley (who is mentioned in this post) is also in support of this project in Centerville.
The project will require about $75,000 to $100,000 from the city of Centerville, with a matching grant from the National Trust. Some people here in Centerville are apalled by that cost. It's funny how spending 20+ million dollars on a rec center in Bountiful is ok, but it's not ok to spend $100,000 on a museum.
A lot of people are upset because the project would involve removing a 1965 cinderblock/flat roof addition to the building (which has maintenance problems and bad electrical wiring), which would involve a loss of square footage for the building. People think that it will prevent the museum from operating smoothly, but as it turns out, the Sorensen Home Museum in Draper has about half of the square footage that Centerville's museum would have if this project went through, and the museum in Draper functions quite smoothly with large groups of school kids that go through.
Unfortunately I have a feeling that Centerville's city council won't approve of the project with all of the misinformation that's going around.
I hope that Ogden has better luck with this proposed musuem project.
This afternoon, I was driving up 25th Street from Wall Avenue. It was overcast, and all the gaslight looking lamps were on halfway. The look of the street in that light, with the fronts of all those old buildings, was truly beautiful. A cinematographer would have loved it.
I thought once again how lucky we all are to live here. Those buildings are our history, and it is an outstanding one. All the best on your project.
What a shame they tore em down by the grundle to put the old Mall up....
What a splendid endeavor! I mentioned when we toured the building a couple of weeks ago, that maybe they could incorporate an idea from Trolley Square, that when some of these beautiful old homes in Ogden are demolished, to take some of the magnificent architectural pieces (windows, doors, trim, spires, balconies, railings, etc.) and preserve them as part of the interior decor as Trolley Square did. They would add so much value to the museum, besides preserving our heritage, and the exquisite architural styles from a bygone era and unseen today in the modern, sleek design styles of our time. I arranged a tour of Trolley Square for our Cub Scout Pack years ago, and it was fascinating to hear all the history that was in that building. I can see something similar at the old Shupe-Williams building, if they get the support from the City Council, the Mayor's Office and the Community that they need.
I say go for it! I was really impressed with the article that Mr. Glen Holley wrote and was published in the SE in November or first of December. I wish them the best of luck and to let them know that they do have the support of this Councilwoman.
Just one minor correction to the typo in Bob's very good post, and I'm sure everyone knows where the City Council and City Offices are, but just to set the record straight, the address is: 2549 Washington Blvd. I hope we see a crowd at the Council Meeting Tuesday night in support of this glorious effort.
I'm afraid the crowd at this Tuesday's City Council meeting will be there to "skewer" the Council for the Ernest deal, not praise them for consideration of saving the Shupe Williams Building. Hope the Council has it supporters there to stem the tide.
They deserve SKEWERING!
Oh really, Mike Sanders? Why's that? Did you attend the RDA meeting? If so, tell us your version. If not, what is your framework?
We'd be interested to hear more.
So, big Mike, some of us went down to the meeting tonight to watch the blood letting and although we heard some comments both pro and con, we didn't hear from you. Guess you're just a talker who doesn't get involved. Figures.
Mr. Chugg's presentation last nite at the council meeting was thoughtful and well spoken.
I caught his 'vision' of the proposed museum...and could 'see' what an asset this will be to our area.
Preserving a beautiful historic edifice is so much wiser than spending comparable money to erect a modern building without esthetic value.
Good Luck, Mr. Chugg and associates!
Mr. Chugg's presentation last nite at the council meeting was thoughtful and well spoken.
I caught his 'vision' of the proposed museum...and could 'see' what an asset this will be to our area.
Preserving a beautiful historic edifice is so much wiser than spending comparable money to erect a modern building without esthetic value.
Good Luck, Mr. Chugg and associates!
A few things from my notes on this excellent presentation:
The purpose of the museum will be to "collect, preserve, and protect artifacts and documents" of the history of Ogden City.
The museum group is asking for the Shupe-Williams building and some accompanying land.
If the Ogden City gives the group the building, it will immediately start re-roofing it. Cost estimate on this is $180 thousand dollars.
There is the possibility, (no names were mentioned,) of a "world class collection" being housed in this museum, which is estimated to bring 50,000 tourists a year into Ogden.
Ogden Union Station is in favor of this project.
When asked by council member Safsten about whether the group would prefer the Shupe Williams building, or would consider another newly built building in another location, the answer was that the group would of course consider it, but at this point the Shupe Williams building was their first choice, in that the building itself is also a part of Ogden's history.
Councilwoman Jeske spoke in favor of this project, having toured the building and seen the possibilities of making an excellent museum out of it.
The renovations will be extensive because of water damage from the bad roof and needed seismic upgrades, in addition to the usual plumbing, wiring, etc. But it is certainly possible to do. A cost estimate for the entire renovation is around $6.5 million.
Council member Glasmann asked if there were a timeline. The answer was no, but it was hoped the project could be completed within a year.
End of notes.
I myself really hope this project can be accomplished. The location is excellent, and that museum will be a good complement to the ones already in Union Station. It will be close enough to walk to from the hotels, is also transportation accessible, and it will be a great enhancement to the city in that it will give tourists more to see in the city itself that will be favorable to us.
Plus, it is a Local effort by Local people to help Ogden. This fact alone to me means it deserves all the support we can give it.
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