Ogden/Weber Municipal Building
A joint city-county building funded by the federal Public Works Administration, completed in 1940 by Hodgson and McClenahan in warm brick and glazed terra cotta.
At a glance
The Ogden/Weber Municipal Building stands at 2541 Washington Boulevard as a compact statement of PWA Moderne — the Depression-era variant of Art Deco that favored civic authority over decorative excess. Built between 1938 and 1940 with federal Public Works Administration funding, the building shelters the joint offices of Ogden City and Weber County under a single roof. Architects Hodgson and McClenahan composed the exterior in warm brick with glazed terra cotta trim at entry surrounds and horizontal banding, a palette that reads as both permanent and welcoming. The National Register of Historic Places recognized it on June 7, 1983, as part of the Ogden Art Deco Building thematic resource.
Key facts
- Built: 1938–1940
- Style: Art Deco (PWA Moderne)
- Architects: Hodgson and McClenahan
- Builder: George A. Whitmeyer & Sons
- Address: 2541 Washington Blvd., Ogden, Weber County, Utah
- NRHP: June 7, 1983 — ref. 83003202
- Thematic resource: Ogden Art Deco Building TR
History
Construction began in 1938 under the Public Works Administration, Franklin Roosevelt’s program to channel federal dollars into lasting civic infrastructure. The PWA’s requirements — generous floor plans, durable materials, and architectural dignity — pushed local governments toward Art Deco and its streamlined cousin, PWA Moderne, as the default idiom for public building in the late 1930s. Ogden’s choice of Hodgson and McClenahan as architects placed the project in the hands of a regional firm with demonstrated experience in institutional work.
The building opened in 1940 to serve both Ogden City and Weber County administrations simultaneously, an arrangement that reflected the close functional overlap between municipal and county government in Utah’s second city. For the federal government, the investment was straightforward: a permanent structure housing essential services, built by local labor during the Depression. The National Register of Historic Places listed the building on June 7, 1983, grouping it within the Ogden Art Deco Building thematic resource — a recognition that Ogden’s Depression-era public building program left a coherent architectural legacy.
What you see
The facade rises in warm brick, its surface punctuated at regular intervals by glazed terra cotta panels that mark the entry zone and horizontal string courses. The massing follows the PWA formula: a symmetrical front elevation with a pronounced central bay carrying the main entrance, vertical piers giving upward emphasis without the exaggerated setbacks of Manhattan skyscraper Deco. The terra cotta trim — geometric rather than figurative — adds color and relief while staying within the restrained budget that PWA projects demanded.
The building belongs to the broader Ogden Art Deco Building thematic resource, a cluster of Depression-era structures along Washington Boulevard and nearby streets that makes Ogden one of the more coherent concentrations of 1930s civic architecture in the Mountain West. Seen in that context, the Municipal Building reads as a quietly confident participant in a planned streetscape, not an isolated monument.
Practical information
- Access: Public building; exterior freely viewable from the street at all hours
- Interior: Government offices — entry during business hours, Monday–Friday
- Best light: Morning, when the warm brick reads against the Wasatch backdrop
- Time needed: 10–20 minutes for exterior and streetscape context
Getting there
The building sits at 2541 Washington Blvd. in central Ogden. FrontRunner commuter rail stops at Ogden Station (9th Street and Wall Avenue), a 10-minute walk east. By car, US-89 (Washington Blvd.) runs directly past. Salt Lake City International Airport is approximately 40 miles south via I-15. GPS: 41.21972°N, −111.97028°W.
Nearby
- Ogden Union Station (1924) — Beaux-Arts railway terminal one mile south, now housing transport museums
- Ben Lomond Hotel (1927) — Renaissance Revival high-rise on Washington Blvd., anchor of Ogden’s historic commercial core
- Eccles Community Art Center — Victorian mansion hosting visual arts exhibitions, 10 minutes by foot
Sources
- Wikipedia: Ogden/Weber Municipal Building — National Register of Historic Places listing data and building description
- National Register of Historic Places nomination, ref. 83003202 (June 7, 1983)
- National Park Service: Ogden Art Deco Building Thematic Resource nomination documentation
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