(OGDEN, UT)  —  The public is invited to Ogden’s 25th Street Museum for a re-opening on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Board member Joe Kerry says Saturday’s event is basically a second opening after COVID-19 and will feature memorabilia on loan for the day courtesy of the Brent and Charlene Ashworth Collection. One of the items for viewing is an original letter written by Al Capone while he was dying from syphilis.

“There’s the story that Al Capone actually visited 25th Street following the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago,” recalls Kerry.

One of the most dangerous streets in America

Kerry says people may not know this, but 25th Street was one of the most dangerous streets in America. He says visitors that come to see 25th Street are always surprised when they hear that in 1949, 25th Street was ranked as the second most dangerous street in all of America.

Other items on display at Saturday’s open house include Amelia Earhart’s flight jacket, Butch Cassidy’s revolver, Muhammed Ali’s autographed boxing glove and the last known letter signed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Queen of 25th Street

Kerry says 25th Street was pivotal in the fight for justice for many black railroad workers who had no place to go for a hot meal or a place to sleep when they rolled through town.  Anna Belle Weakley, known as the “Queen of 25th Street” ran the Porters and Waiters Club in Ogden in the early 20th century.

“If you were black the only job you could have on the railroad was a porter or a waiter, so when these trains would come into Ogden, the black workers didn’t have a place to eat, they didn’t have a place to sleep. Anna Belle Weakley opened up the Porters and Waiters Club,” says Kerry, so they could have a place to eat and sleep.

Other memorabilia on display includes an Enola Gay fragment signed by its navigator, and ice pick used by Sir Edmund Hillary, George Washington’s wallet, a fragment from the original “Old Glory” flown in Ogden, a handwritten letter from Helen Keller and dozens of incredible artifacts.

Open house happens Saturday, May 21, 2022 at the 25th Street Museum at 238 25th St. in Ogden.