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Cheyenne

 

Brian Beadles
Historic Preservation Specialist
(307) 777-8594

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  • Storey Gymnasium

     

     
     

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    Storey Gymnasium is eligible under National Register Criterion A for its direct association with the growth of education in Cheyenne. It was constructed in 1950 and is a unique example of educational school architecture adapted to a specific purpose, that is, a separate physical education facility detached from Central High School, with which it was associated. It represents the efforts of twentieth century educational reformers to incorporate a program of physical education and athletics as an important part of the school curriculum. In addition to its use as a gymnasium, it housed a ROTC facility with classrooms, drill hall, rife range, and armory, as well as wood shops and music instructional facilities. The gymnasium was shared by East High School after it was constructed in 1959 and by the new Central High School after 1978. The adjacent Cheyenne High School was then closed and used for administrative offices. Storey Gymnasium continues to serve the larger Cheyenne community for sporting events, graduations, annual city-wide youth concerts, and other educational and public events.

    It is also eligible under National Register Criterion C in the area of architecture as the work of a master architect, Frederick Hutchinson Porter, prominent Cheyenne architect who designed many of the city’s most important public and commercial buildings. Storey Gymnasium is a substantial brick masonry structure built with community pride and permanency in mind.

    storey-gym

     

    Date Added to Register:
    August 22, 2005
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number:
    LA2801

     

  • Texas Oil Company

     
     

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    Certified Welding Corporation is located at 1122 West 23rd Street in an industrial area on the west side of the original commercial district of the City of Cheyenne, Wyoming. This property consists of two related buildings that were served by a railroad siding. Both buildings are well-preserved and rather unusual examples of early twentieth century brick masonry commercial/industrial architecture with their gable roofs and tall narrow design. The two buildings are significant because they represent the early twentieth century commercial activity in Cheyenne. Cheyenne had its origins as a railroad town created in 1867 by the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, making it an important transportation center from its inception. Therefore, its commercial history was inextricably tied to the railroad. These buildings were constructed in ca. 1915 and served as a wholesale bulk oil storage facility operated by the Texas Oil Company. Gas and oil were brought in by railroad cars, then unloaded and stored for local distribution. By 1960, the name of the corporation had changed to Texaco, Incorporated, and it is assumed that some of the products were distributed to local Texaco service station outlets. The Texas Oil Company continued to occupy this site as a wholesale distributor through 1979.

    Texas-Oil
     

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Monday, October 13, 2003
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA1294  

     

  • Union Pacific Depot National Historic Landmark

     
     

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    The Union Pacific Depot at Cheyenne is located at Fifteenth Street and Capitol Avenue and takes up more than a city block in area. As the headquarters for the Denver-Cheyenne-Ogden Division of the Union Pacific Railroad, it is the oldest of the Union Pacific properties in Cheyenne and probably the most impressive railroad building in all of Wyoming. Looking north from the depot on a line-of-sight axis is the spire of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and ten blocks from the depot along the same line is the Wyoming State Capitol Building. All three of the historic buildings were constructed at the same time, beginning in 1886. The Depot stands as a historic symbol of the growth of both the city of Cheyenne and the state of Wyoming. Not only is it representative of an earlier historic era, but it is in itself an example of a particular style of architecture developed by the outstanding American architect, H. H. Richardson.

     
    Union-Pacific-Railroad-Depot

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Monday, January 29, 1973
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA69  

     

  • Van Tassell Carriage Barn

     
     

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    The Van Tassell mansion, greenhouse and carriage barn, originally known as the Thomas residence, were designed by architect George D. Rainsford around 1886 and incorporated the best features of the Queen Anne style in the Late Victorian period. However, the only structure of the Thomas residence that remains is the carriage barn which, following demolition of the Thomas mansion, was moved to Holliday Park in Cheyenne about 1960 where it served as the home of the Cheyenne Artists' Guild. Between thirty and forty Wyoming structures were designed by George D. Rainsford, architect to cattle barons. The carriage barn is one of the last great carriage barns in Cheyenne. The particular love Rainsford had for horses is demonstrated by the workmanship displayed. The J. B. Thomas residence was acquired by Wyoming stockman and influential community leader, Robert S. Van Tassell in 1892.

    Van-Tassell
     

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Wednesday, September 13, 1978
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA92  

     

  • Whipple-Lacey House

     
     

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    The Whipple-Lacey House, constructed in 1883, is located three blocks east of the center of downtown Cheyenne. The house was built by I. C. Whipple, early Cheyenne banker, business entrepreneur, and stockman. Later it was the home of Judge John W. Lacey. The house was built of red brick and trimmed with cut stone in a style that has been called Modernized French Villa, however, Victorian and other styles are apparent. The significance of the house rests in its association with two of the most important pioneer figures in the history of southeastern Wyoming, Ithamar C. Whipple and John W. Lacey.

    Whipple
     

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Thursday, May 15, 1980
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA126  

     

  • William Sturgis House

     
     

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    The Sturgis home, constructed in 1884, is significant because of its association both with its owner-builder, William Sturgis, and its architect, George D. Rainsford. Sturgis, one of Wyoming's early cattle barons, was deeply involved in the commercial development of Cheyenne. With his brother, Thomas, Sturgis was a founding member of the Wyoming Stock Growers' Association, an organization of great importance in the state's early history. George D. Rainsford, a rancher and architect, helped to introduce a variety of architectural styles to Wyoming. The Sturgis house is an extremely well-preserved example of Wyoming's adaptation of the shingle style, a symbol of the era of the cattle baron on the high plains.

     
    Sturgis

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Monday, November 08, 1982
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA130  

     

  • Wyoming Fuel Company

     
     

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    The brick warehouse that currently houses the State of Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Air Quality Maintenance, is located at 720 West 18th Street and is bordered on the west by a railroad line and spur. The property is on the west side of the original commercial district of the City of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is significant because it represent the early twentieth century commercial activity in Cheyenne. It is also significant because it was designed by prominent Wyoming architect William Dubois and is the only known example of a Dubois-designed warehouse remaining in Cheyenne. Cheyenne had its origins as a railroad town created in 1867 by the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, making it an important transportation center from its inception. Therefore, its commercial history was inextricably tied to the railroad. The warehouse building was constructed in 1929. In 1937, the warehouse was extended on the north to its current dimensions, and William Dubois also designed the addition. It housed a variety of businesses, including the Wyoming Fuel and Feed Company, the Cheyenne Transfer and Storage Company, the Wyoming State Liquor Commission, and the Wyott Manufacturing Company, a wholesale restaurant supply firm.

    Wyoming-Fuel
     

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Monday, October 13, 2003
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA705  

     

  • Wyoming Governor's Mansion and Grounds

     
     

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    The Wyoming Governor's Mansion, constructed in 1904, is a red brick building of Georgian Colonial architecture. The Mansion is of state-wide political significance as a structure closely related to the functions of the executive branch of government. The Wyoming State Legislature authorized the construction of the Executive Mansion in 1901 and appropriated $3,000 for the purchase of land and $37,000 for construction. The building was officially dedicated in January of 1905. Wyoming's Executive Mansion is the first in the United States to have been occupied by a woman Governor, Nellie Tayloe Ross, who served during the 1920s. The Governor's Mansion opened to the public as a historic house museum in 1977.

    Governors-mansion
     

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Tuesday, September 30, 1969
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA72  

     

  • Wyoming State Capitol Building and Grounds National Historic Landmark

     
     

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    The cornerstone of the Wyoming State Capitol was laid in Cheyenne on May 18, 1887. It was a proud day for the citizens of Wyoming Territory and the Cheyenne Democratic Leader commented upon what was ''the occasion of the greatest military and civic demonstration ever witnessed in the history of the city.'' The building is a three and one-half story structure, about 300 feet long by 83 to 112 feet wide exclusive of approaches. The height of both the center and wings from ground to roof is about 60 feet, although the distance from the grade of the building to the top of the spire on the dome is 146 feet. The basic material used in construction of the first two courses or platform of the building is sandstone quarried at Fort Collins, Colorado, and the superstructure is of gray sandstone from quarries at Rawlins, Wyoming. The Wyoming Capitol has been, and still is, a dominant structure on the Cheyenne skyline, in addition to being historically one of the most important buildings in the State.

    Wyoming-State-Capitol
     

     

    Date Added to Register:
    Monday, January 29, 1973
     
    Location:
    Cheyenne
     
    County:
    Laramie County
     
    Smithsonian Number: 
    48LA70  

     

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