Stop 1 - Lobby and Information Desk For nearly half of the 100 years of this building’s operation, the Union Station facilitated railroad passenger travel. Thousands of visitors and Ogdenites alike have entered through the Union Station’s decorated doors, purchased a ticket, and walked across the red and grey checkered floors. As they sat on the wood benches waiting for their train many would forget their train departure time and would spy the information desk in the southeast corner of the lobby (today it is the gift shop and ticket counter). Red haired Fanny McCarty worked at that counter for decades. “When a \[service]man has stood up for long distances, his buddies usually tell him to look up Fanny when he gets to Ogden and she’ll help him get a seat if getting one is possible.” (Standard-Examiner, 1945) Among answering questions and watching luggage she became well remembered by some of the visitors through Union Station.

Stop 2 - Restaurant and Barkalow Bros. Newsstand Union Station was a major stopping point and trains were often refueled here before continuing on. Passengers waiting at Union Station had access to a restaurant and newspapers to fill their time. Located off the south side of the lobby (where the restaurant is today), passengers could go enjoy both a large coffee shop and restaurant with a dining room. During their peak, the restaurant had 75 employees. Barkalow Bros. Co. ran both the restaurant and the newspaper stand located in the southwest corner of the lobby for a time. But in 1949, they closed the restaurant and combined the two. “Rogers \[an employee] said, that with the use of diesels, there are no longer any long coal and water stops during which the passengers could exercise their legs and get a bite to eat. ‘Now they barely have time to grab a snack at our convenience bars.’” (Standard-Examiner, 1949) Passengers enjoyed the Barkalow Bros. Newsstand and snack bar until it closed in 1971.

Stop 3 - Passenger Platform and Red Cross Canteen As passengers exited the station through the west doors, numerous platforms covered in arched butterfly canopies would fill their view. Just outside the grand lobby the passengers would enter the tunnels beneath the railroad tracks. They connected the platforms allowing direct access to each train. Union Station was one of the busiest stops for traveling soldiers during World War II. As the “Crossroads of the West” many soldiers came through the station on their way to the warfront. These soldiers were offered homely comfort and food by the American Red Cross’s Canteen on the Union Station south platform. This Canteen’s “little brown hut” served over 1.6 million soldiers, making it one of the busiest canteens in America. Nellie James was a teenager who volunteered for the Canteen serving coffee and cookies to soldiers. She recalled being very frightened of the soldiers, hearing them rush up the stairs from the tracks towards the Canteen. The thunder of footsteps of hundreds of soldiers would be enough to startle anyone, especially a young teen girl.

Stop 4 - Baggage Station and Mail Terminal Union Station boasted a large baggage scale since the 1880s. Station workers would wheel four-wheeled carts stacked high with passenger bags or mail bags onto the weighing platform built into the floor before loading it onto the train. When the building burnt down in 1923, the scale survived and was installed in the new building in its current location (by the freight exhibit). Station workers would bring the carts of mail either to or from the railroad mail terminal in a building just north of Union Station (currently the Browning Theatre). Mail from across the railroad would be sorted in Ogden. In 1944 two trains leaving the Union Station crashed dramatically killing 50 people in an unfortunate accident. Both the baggage room and the mail terminal were converted into emergency hospital spaces for injured persons as soon as workers heard there was a crash. Station workers, railroad workers, and train passengers mourned the crash victims.

Stop 5 - Telegraph Offices and Myra Powell Gallery Station workers were an intrinsic part of the station, especially on the upper floor and south wing of the building. The upper floor of Union Station, now the John M. Browning Firearms Museum and Myra Powell Gallery, consisted of telegraph offices and a worker’s file corridor. Before the Museums at Union Station could open in 1978, a lot of renovating had to be done. A diverse staff of Navy Seabees, CETA workers, and boy scouts worked tirelessly to repair and refurbish these spaces. The file corridor that is now the Myra Powell Gallery was said to be a “pigeon palace,” making it one of the most difficult areas to remodel. Broken windows had allowed pigeons to nest indoors. A leaking roof ruined the floors and rusted the metal doors. Brave individuals, like these unknown employees, had their work cut out for them. By the time they had chased out the pigeons and fixed the damages, they had to have been proud of all they had accomplished to create this beautiful one-of-a-kind gallery. Conclusion Visitors who come to the Union Station today can notice the many similarities that have remained over the years. With a little imagination, the memories of the station come to life. Train travelers fill the bustling lobby, volunteers serve coffee to WWII soldiers on the platform, train crash victims are somberly cared for, and station workers and volunteers happily keep the station chugging along. Celebrate 100 years of memories made! Make your own memories at Union Station with the "Recreate These Photos" story on Urban Archive! Hunt for 10 locations around the Union Station campus and snap a photo!