Articles

Upon its inception, the West Side was predominantly settled by first-generation European immigrants drawn to Laramie by the prospect of jobs with the UPRR and boundless opportunities afforded in a new town in the American West. Early records of the West Side reflect a culturally diverse community in which Irish, German, Scandinavian, British, and Scottish families lived alongside one another. Each ethnic group expressed their cultural heritage in unique ways, with some groups founding longstanding institutions that aided in the preservation of their culture. Subsequent generations of many West Side immigrant families chose to remain in the neighborhood, creating a long-lasting association with the community’s early European heritage. Beginning in the 1920s, Hispanic employees of the UPRR, many of whom were recent immigrants from Mexico, began to settle on the West Side. Increasing numbers of Hispanic families moved to the neighborhood in subsequent decades, particularly in the WWII era when labor shortages provided opportunities for employment at the UPRR and other local industries. By mid-century, the majority of Laramie’s Hispanic population resided in the West Side neighborhood, forming a tight-knit community. The proposed West Side Historic District primarily consists of the residential properties that were constructed by working class immigrants employed by the UPRR and other local industries during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The district also includes several businesses, religious, and educational institutions that were founded by residents.

 

The West Side Historic District is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places at the local level under Criterion A for Industry, Ethnic Heritage: European, and Ethnic Heritage: Hispanic. The period of significance begins in 1870 with the oldest known extant resource in the district and extends to 1975 to encompass the continued significance of the West Side’s rich ethnic heritage in the postwar era.