Hittin’ the Bricks with a Quick Walking Tour of Ogden – Wednesday 12-17-08

The Brick Guys met me at my hotel at 8:30 am. I was ready to roll, fortified by hotel waffles, baked to three minute perfection in those wonderful self-serve hotel waffle makers. I followed them up to Ogden on a beautifully clear, cold Wasatch Front morning. We traveled in separate vehicles because I had stay up there a little longer for some records review.

We spent the morning touring another brick place of which I can’t say much more. Suffice to say, I’ve learned a ton about bricks. After the tour, the Brick Guys and I had lunch at Jeremiah’s, home of the best burger in Utah, and it was. I enjoyed the Brick Guys, refreshingly non-Mormon.

I said goodbye to the brick guys and then did some additional review of the surrounding area before heading into Ogden. I needed to review some city directories because EDR’s product is so weak. I had no clue where the library was located. Without a laptop it’s back to the old fashioned way, looking in phone books or just wandering around, maybe asking directions. Oh how I was missing my laptop. I could find the location of the library in about 10 seconds on my laptop. I parked near the county offices and just started walking around. After a few blocks of wandering I found the Weber County Library and this being Utah, they had a fine collection of city directories.



I left the library and walked around a little. The ground and some sidewalks were still covered by crusty snow. I had never given much thought to Ogden, my perception being just a place on a map, overshadowed by Salt Lake City. Like any new town for me, walking the place yields volumes. I had been here in Ogden in early September and became instantly enamored with this railroad town and its remarkable collection of buildings. On this tour I strolled by the beautiful homes of the Jefferson Avenue Historic District, the Art-Deco style U.S. Forest Service Building constructed by the WPA, and the gothic Saint Joseph Catholic Church. Other buildings that must be seen include the Ogden/Weber Municipal Building, Ogden Union Station, U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, Peery's Egyptian Theatre, and the Eccles Building to name just a few.




Evening was wearing into darkness and I had to get back to Salt Lake. I stopped on the way in Bountiful for Starbucks and Costco gas. At a Barnes & Noble, I picked up another one of those Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America books on Ogden. I love these little books.


Back at the hotel room, I tried to score an earlier flight out of Salt Lake. I spent close to a half hour on hold with Delta to find out that it would be about $250 to change my flight unless I called three hours before the flight I was trying to get on tomorrow, in which case it would be only $50 to change my flight. I prepared for another thirty minute hold in the morning and went to bed.