HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
1930 Union Pacific stockyard offices later home to a Weber County Mental Health methadone facility and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, now abandoned and listed as one of Utah's most endangered historic structures
600 W Exchange Rd, Ogden, UT 84401
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Not open to the public; the fenced building is visible from Exchange Road
Access
Accessibility not stated
Urban sidewalk; building interior is not publicly accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1930 · National Register of Historic Places · Ogden Union Stockyards History · Weber County Mental Health History · Preservation Utah Most Endangered 2025
The Exchange Building went up in 1930 as part of the Ogden Union Stockyards complex, one of the West's major livestock trading hubs during the railroad era. The building housed the administrative offices of the stockyard exchange, where buyers, sellers, and brokers conducted the cattle and sheep transactions that moved through Ogden's rail junction. The stockyards themselves made Ogden a regional economic center throughout the early twentieth century.
Later uses included a skills center, then a Weber County Mental Health methadone facility, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center and a daycare. In 1986 all of those uses left for newer facilities and the building became vacant. Several later owners had ideas ranging from an office building to a haunted house, and one opened the Lazarus Maze haunted house. During that time legends and myths about the building arose, including stories of deaths at the building, a mental institution and a deranged doctor. The National Register nomination states that all of these myths and legends are completely inaccurate and untrue.
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural and historical significance to Ogden's commercial past. After 1986 it stood vacant and was left to deteriorate. Ogden City acquired the property in 2013 and spent years seeking developers willing to take on the restoration. A 2022 agreement with a developer collapsed before work began. In April 2026, the City Council approved a new land transfer agreement aimed at preserving and restoring the structure. Preservation Utah placed it on its 2025 Most Endangered list, noting the bones of the structure remain salvageable despite years of neglect.
Sources
The Exchange Building began attracting paranormal investigators in the mid-2000s, when the legends that grew up around the vacant building, which the National Register nomination calls completely inaccurate and untrue, made it a target for local investigation teams. The Paranormal Illumination Society documented a 2011 investigation in which team members captured photographic anomalies in the hallways and EVP recordings they described as voices interacting with each other — not simply responding to investigators' questions but apparently conducting their own conversation.
The Stranger Dimensions site in 2019 highlighted an older EVP from the building in which a voice appears to describe a drowning. Visit Ogden's official haunted-places page lists the building alongside the Ben Lomond Hotel and Union Station as one of Ogden's three most-cited paranormal locations.
As of 2026 the building remains vacant and inaccessible, and no commercial ghost hunt events are offered there. Independent investigators have historically accessed the building through the property owner; public trespass is not sanctioned.
The Exchange Building stands vacant at 600 W Exchange Rd in the former Union Stock Yards in West Ogden, currently awaiting restoration after Ogden City approved a preservation agreement in April 2026. The exterior — a sturdy 1930 commercial block — is visible from Exchange Road. The building is fenced and not open to the public.
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