In the Media

Century-old Building Moved Through Ogden Streets

OGDEN, Utah (ABC 4 News) – Dozens lined the streets of Ogden Tuesday to watch as a century old building was rolled through the city streets.

The Weber County Pioneer Museum was built in 1902 as one of the first Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake Relief Society buildings. It was deeded to the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1926 and up until today it had sat near the Ogden temple’s parking lot. The museum is being moved to make room for the expansion of the LDS temple.

The church offered to move the museum and pay for some of its restoration in exchange for the land it was sitting on. The DUP agreed and the painstaking process of moving the century old building began.

The building weighs 600 tons. It was moved with the use of a remote-controlled dolly which was made up of 136 tires. Museum officials watched as their building inched its way to its new home on the corner of 21st and Lincoln.

Publicist for the Weber County Daughters of Utah Pioneers, Marti Clayton said, “It reminds me of the floats in the rose parade. They’ve backed it out and turned it and made the corner. It’s kind of a crucial corner.”

Once the museum is lowered on its new foundation the restoration process can begin. Rod Mortensen is the architect on the project. He tells ABC4 the old brick building is in good condition despite some water and plaster damage. “What we want to do is keep the building looking as old as it is, but make it look nice,” said Mortensen. “We don’t want it to look like it did in 1903 because it’s an old lady and we want to keep it looking the way it should.”

Clayton said, “We want to get it to be just right so it could easily take a year to a year and a half before we’re back into the building.”