Ogden grain elevator headhouses demolished – Deseret News

The two main buildings that serve the Farmers Grain Cooperative’s old grain elevator in western Ogden have been reduced to rubble, closing the chapter on the facility’s history serving northern Utah’s agricultural community.

It took two explosives Saturday morning to bring down the 55-meter-high buildings. The debris will eventually be removed so that the 50-acre site that served as home to the grain elevator, built in 1941, can be redeveloped.

“The shock was amazing. I’m still shaking from it,” said Maya Rushton, who traveled from her home in Syracuse to witness the blast. “It was great.”

Marta Galindo and her family were sleeping in their nearby home when the first blast went off around 8 a.m., waking them. The house shook and they wondered what was going on, eventually making their way to the grain elevator location to watch the second explosion, which happened around 9:10 am.

“We thought we were already being bombed by the Russians,” her son, Nathan Galindo, joked.

The 50-acre parcel is owned by Jacksonville, Florida-based Patriot Rail and operated as Utah Central Railway Co. The company hired Grant Mackay Demolition to demolish the main buildings, while Ogden police and firefighters helped with security. “The city’s role in this was public safety,” said Mike McBride, spokesman for the city of Ogden, emphasizing that the city had no other hand in the land plans.

The grain elevator, which was adjacent to a railroad track near the I-15 and 24th Street interchange, had served the many farms of Weber County and beyond when agriculture was more of a mainstay of the local economy. However, agricultural land has given way to development and the structure’s operations have ceased, paving the way for plans to redevelop the site, perhaps as a transshipment or storage site. The area where it is located is now largely industrial.

The transition of agriculture in Weber County, exemplified by the demolition of the grain elevators, has sparked nostalgia among some. “It’s kind of sad to see them go,” said Rushton, who said the grain elevator served as a visual “landmark” from I-15 when he came to Ogden.

Ernie Hill remembers the grain elevator from his youth. “I grew up in Sunset. I’ve seen that there all my life,” he said.

On the other hand, Rushton said, things are evolving. “Things need to grow. Things need to change,” she said.

According to Ogden Standard-Examiner articles from 1941, when the facility was completed, the two main houses rose up to 180 feet tall, towering over the grain bins. Demolition work started last February and from last February the barges of heavy equipment were taken down, ultimately leaving only the main buildings.

The two main buildings would have been brought down by the same explosion on Saturday instead of two, McBride said, but the blast “didn’t go as planned.” The structures tilted after the respective explosions, tilting and falling to the ground, creating large clouds of dust. Crews doused the dust with water.