New Brigham Hotel

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1 SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE -- CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW PREHISTORIC -ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC -COMMUNITY PLANNING -LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE 1400-1499 _ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC -CONSERVATION -LAW -SCIENCE 1500-1599 _AGRICULTURE -ECONOMICS -LITERATURE -SCULPTURE -SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN -RELIGION 1600-1699 -ARCHITECTURE -EDUCATION -MILITARY 1700-1799 _ART -ENGINEERING _MUSIC -THEATER 1800-1899 ^.COMMERCE -EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT _PHILOSOPHY -COMMUNICATIONS -INDUSTRY -POLITICS/GOVERNMENT -^TRANSPORTATION -OTHER (SPECIFY) -INVENTION SPECIFIC DATES 1912-1913 BUILDER/ARCHITECT J. L. Eckert Construction Co, STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE The significance of the New Brigham Hotel can be found in its ability to legitimately represent and document the style of the "commercial" or "travellers" hotels that once spanned the nation to provide food and lodging for the patrons of the railroads. The utility and simplicity of design are an indication of its intended purpose, for a hotel of this kind could not afford to be either lavish or impractical if it were to be a productive investment for local investors. The New Brigham Hotel is one of two remaining Ogden "commercial" hotels, yet at the time of its construction the city had over twelve. The city of Ogden prospered because of the railroad. Following the joining of the rails at nearby Promontory, Ogden rapidly became a hub of the transcontinental railroad and of a major regional rail network. It was a city that flourished by providing labor and services for the railroads and for the countless millions who used the rails over the decades. From about 1880 until the thirties "commercial" hotels principally served the needs of the "drummer" or commercial traveller. These men were an important force in the creation of the kind of consumer society we know today. They not only peddled necessities throughout the urban and rural areas of the nation, but also merchandised aggressively all kinds of new products and thus directly spurred the growth of the United States' huge home market that made possible the creation of the mightiest industrial power in the world. The humble stimulus to all this activity, the salesman, travelled incessantly on the nation's rails, and hotels like the "New Brigham" were their only home. Also their showroom, since these hotels often provided display space for their wares in what were called "sample rooms." Of course, less affluent immigrants and tourists were equally welcome at low cost hotels like the "New Brigham." The more prosperous travellers would put up at fancier hotels several streets away from the noise and bustle of the railyards. The poor traveller or the salesman welcomed the fact that "commercial" hotels were so conveniently located in the immediate vicinity of the railroad station. Within the last three decades the "New Brigham" has suffered the fate of so many similar hotels. With the abrupt decline in the travelling public, and the salesman's adoption of the automobile, commercial hotels generally declined to providing cheap lodging and becoming centers for prostitution and vice. The chain of title of the "New Brigham" mirrors the fortunes of the hotel, and after beginning ownership within a local investment trust passes through several hands before its current purchase for restoration purposes. With the rejuvenation of the area around Ogden's Union Station (a National Register site) the "New Brigham" has an opportunity to contribute to the overall historicity of the Union Station area.