On Friday, the station held its “Get Your Ticket” event to celebrate 100 years since the very first ticket was sold at the new station on Nov. 15, 1924.

Hope Eggett, museum administrator for the Museums at Union Station, told the Standard-Examiner that events like Friday’s have been intended to build up to the station’s centennial.

“This whole centennial year, we’ve been trying to build the anticipation that people 100 years ago felt,” she said. “We started back in the springtime talking about the first bricks getting laid at Union Station, the dedication of the cornerstone. Now that we’re here in November, Nov. 15, 1924, was the day the station was soft-opened to the public, for lack of a better word. The public was seeing the building for the first time. There were lots of people admiring the artwork, the architecture of the building and really just having a good time seeing the inside of the building for the first time.”

The first ticket was sold to then-Weber County Treasurer David Evans, who bought a ticket from Ogden to Roy on a Union Pacific train. Evans reportedly said he intended to keep the ticket as a souvenir.

Festivities on Friday included chances for kids to study timetables and get their own tickets for a ride on a miniature train. There also were opportunities to write “Letters to the Future,” a selection of which will be included in the new time capsule museum staff will be filling as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations next weekend.

“We’ve had a ton of really excited kids going on train rides and just enjoying the day,” Eggett said.

She said a flurry of preparations are underway for the 100th anniversary celebrations, set for next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 22-23).

“We’ve been working very hard on getting all of our logistics in order for the big event,” she said. “We are collecting items for our time capsule so that we can have everything ready to roll. We have 26 community organizations that are participating in our time capsule this year. We’ve been arranging logistics with Chamber Orchestra Ogden to get the rehearsal space ready and ready for their big concert where they’re premiering their composer’s new piece commissioned in honor of Union Station.”

Eggett said they anticipate around 75-80 distinct items in the time capsule.

As for the last time capsule, she said a display of those items from the combined 1924/1888 capsule will debut next weekend.

“We’re going to have those on display on the 22nd and 23rd,” she said. “All year, people have been asking us to see them, and we’re so excited to be able to share these with the community again. When we opened it up in May, we had a list of about 30 official items that we knew for a fact were in there. After we finished our cataloging and inventorying everything that was in there, we had 103 items come out of that box.”

Beyond the 100th-anniversary celebration, Eggett said these items will be part of the museum’s permanent collection.

Union Station 100th anniversary schedule of events

Friday, Nov. 22: 5-9 p.m., free and open to all. Events will be livestreamed on YouTube and on TV channel 17.

• 5 p.m., Union Station Grand Lobby — Time Capsule Ceremony: Community organizations will present and add their items to a new time capsule for the next 100 years.
• 6:30 p.m., Union Station Plaza — Cornerstone Rededication Ceremony: Following the presentation of items, the time capsule will be sealed, placed and dedicated for the next 100 years by the Utah Masons Grand Lodge.
• 7:30 p.m., Union Station Browning Theater — Centennial Concert: Chamber Orchestra Ogden will perform the world premiere of “Union on 25th,” a new orchestral piece by Ogden resident Alfonso Tenreiro, and other thematic orchestral pieces.
• 8:30 p.m., visible from the Union Station Plaza and 25th Street — Drone Show: A Union Station-themed drone show will end the night in the skies above Union Station.

Saturday, Nov. 23: Noon to 6 p.m., free and open to all.

Featuring a variety of celebrations for all ages, including:

• Live 1920-style music from local performers.
• Hands-on craft activities including building your own Union Station.
• A pose-and-print photo booth with 1920s props and backdrop.
• A self-guided tour book for guests to visit Union Station’s architectural highlights and the chance to win a prize.
• At 6:15 p.m., a drone show will be shown.

Source: Hope Eggett, Museums at Union Station