The Ucross Foundation has successfully developed a way to find creative new uses for historic buildings while at the same time honoring the historic use of the location and the agricultural traditions of the area. Ucross still operates as a working cattle ranch, while simultaneously serving as a retreat for artists from across the country, making it a truly successful preservation project.
With the new Laramie High School now completed, questions surround the fate of the one built in 1960. There is a glimmer of hope, however, if we turn to the past. Laramie has an excellent track record of reusing its high schools, with one former high school now being used as apartments and the other serving as the Laramie Plains Civic Center.
One of few schools in Wyoming to incorporate Craftsman elements in its design, Nellie Iles School in Laramie is seamlessly integrated into the surrounding neighborhood.
The Lincoln Highway didn’t only offer spectacular views of the beautiful countryside across America. It also offered some pretty nice accommodations. The Hotel Tomahawk in Green River was as glamorous as any hotel in its time, and it has continued to serve the population of Green River in various ways over its lifetime.
Elmer Lovejoy brought the future to Wyoming when he introduced the state to the horseless carriage in 1898. University of Wyoming professor Phil Roberts tells the story of Wyoming’s first automobile.
Cover Photo credit: Cinema Treasures
When you think of Sinclair, you might think of the bold green dinosaur associated with the oil company. However, there is also a small town named for the company in central Wyoming. In the town are not green dinosaurs, but instead a plethora of Spanish Mission revival architecture. One great example is the Sinclair Theater, which has been empty for some time but is currently in the process of a historic preservation project.
The Kuster Hotel in Laramie is not named for infamous General George Custer who was very active in the west during the mid to late-19th century. The Kuster Hotel was actually named for a German family that was one of the first to settle Laramie in the 1860s. Built in 1869, the hotel was the first stone building built in the town.
Oftentimes in historic preservation, there are conflicts that arise between industrial development and historic places and spaces. In this piece, AHW volunteer Kathrine Kasckow shares her personal account of how the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act helped preserve an important historic landscape on public lands.
Most of us have at least heard of the Ames Monument. But how many of us have actually gone out to see it? AHW volunteer Katherine Kasckow tells the story of her first time visiting the pyramid on the plains.
St. Joseph’s began in 1930 as an orphanage. Since then, it has been converted to a psychiatric residence facility for kids from around the state. St. Joseph’s uses its history in the area to enhance their practices by preserving and reusing historic facilities in their day to day operations.