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Historic Jefferson
Avenue
By James Bohne
In the late 19th century this town flourished.
The railroad brought salaries and freight.
Salaries brought business, and freight a means of
commercial trade. Bankers and business
entrepreneurs became wealthy. So wealthy that
they could have established their estates
anywhere they pleased, and enjoyed peaceful
solitude. But the wealthy are pragmatic and
understand their interdependence; they congregate
together to foster relation ships.
Some 100 years later, the homes that once housed
Ogden’s original elite families stand along
Jefferson Avenue between 25th and 27th Streets.
Ogden City recently renovated the street and
public utilities and is looking to attract
investors to do the same for the district’s
historic homes.
The $325,000 project was financed by a federal
Community Development Block Grant. Public
improvements included replacing sidewalks,
installing new crosswalks, exposing historic
trolley tracks that ran down that portion of
Jefferson Avenue, installing historic-styled
street lamps, and performing landscape work.
According to Ward Ogden of Neighborhood
Development, the goal of the district program is
to attract owner-occupants into the neighborhood
and encourage private renovation of 16 existing
historic homes, hopefully restoring those
converted into multiple units back into single
family homes.
Jefferson Avenue is a wide, well landscaped
residential street lined with mature trees. It
was a grand avenue of mansions for the city’s
turn-of-the-20th century aristocracy. It is one
of the first established neighborhoods that
steadily progressed from west to east up the
valley bench area. Most of the houses are
substantial Victorian homes reflecting the
economic backgrounds of their original owners.
Some of the other houses are larger bungalow and
Four Square styles.
The most recognizable landmark is the Bertha
Eccles Community Art  Center on the
corner of Jefferson and 26th Street. David and
Bertha Eccles purchased this massive Victorian
structure in 1896. At that time the neighborhood
was already occupied by several influential
community leaders including Thomas Jordan Spencer
and Hiram Spencer, whose historical homes,
together with that of Isadore Marks, are the
initial focus of the Jefferson Avenue project.
Ogden City currently owns the former home of
Thomas Jordan Stevens, who was executive vice-president
of Utah Loan and Trust Company, City
Commissioner, and one-time Weber County Sheriff.
The city plans to renovate the 3,002 square foot
Victorian house, or find a buyer who will do the
same.
Hiram Spencer was manager of Eccles Lumber
Company, president of Ogden Rapid Transit, and
vice president of Amalgamated Sugar, all business
interests of David Eccles. He served two terms on
the city council, and the year the Eccles moved
to his neighborhood he began a term as Ogden City
mayor.
In 1903, David and Bertha’s son William
bought Hiram Spencer’s two- story Victorian
home at 2555 Jefferson. During a trip to the
Southern United States, Mrs. Eccles became
enamored with Colonial Greek Revival styled
mansions of that region. As a result, their
Victorian styled home was retrofitted with a
squared portico surrounding the front facade with
large Greek Ionic styled columns. The house is
now a 13- unit multi-family apartment complex.
The city currently has an option to purchase the
house and hopes to interest an owner to convert
the building to fewer apartment units--or even
back to single family use--remove the portico and
rebuild the original porch.
Several executives of Commercial National Bank
made Jefferson Avenue their home. The first was
Thomas Whalen, who was a member of the Bank’s
executive committee and a City Council member.
Three vice presidents later joined Mr. Whalen and
built their homes in the Jefferson District:
Patrick Healy; Abbott R. Heywood, who was also an
Ogden City mayor; and Isadore Marks.
The city has an option to purchase the Isadore
Marks home at 2547 Jefferson, which is currently
a boarding house. They would like to make this
house available to an owner wishing to restore
the house to single family or convert to a lower
density multiple unit, remove a front extension
added in 1977 and rebuild the porch and front
entry.
After her husband’s death in 1912, Bertha
Eccles traveled widely, collecting art along the
way for her Jefferson Avenue home. She must have
truly loved her home, as she instructed her
children to keep it intact and used for
educational and cultural purposes.
Bertha Eccles' concern that progress would
overcome her home was well founded. As the city
grew, the commercial district began to encroach
on the Jefferson District. The original residents
and their children moved to residences eastward
up the valley bench. Some of the larger homes in
the Jefferson District were converted into office
complexes or apartments. However, many older
homes remain, or have been returned to single
family use after many years of being subdivided.
According to Ward Ogden, half of the 16
historical houses in the district are currently
single-family homes occupied by the owners.
Special low interest financing is available to
purchase or renovate the grand homes within the
Historic Jefferson Avenue District. Design and
construction management services are also
available. Interested owners, buyers and
investors can get information on the program from
Ogden City Neighborhood Development by calling (801)
629-8942.
James
E. Bohne, Jr., REALTOR®
Mobile: (801) 791-9579
Office: (801) 476-9500
Fax: (801) 476-9581
E-mail: j.e.bohne@att.net |
Crest
Realty Inc.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Equal Opportunity Employer. |
Copyright
© 2003-2005, James E. Bohne, Jr., All Rights
Reserved
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