North facade of the Cheyenne Union Pacific Depot

View of the addition to the east elevationIn order to make the Cheyenne depot stand out, the Union Pacific turned to prominent architect Henry Van Brunt who was nationally-known for his institutional buildings designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style that was popular during the late 19th Century. Romanesque architecture was influenced by Roman architecture and heavily emphasizes the semicircular arch. Henry Hobson Richardson, who lived and worked in the mid-to-late 1800s, created his own version of Romanesque architecture that was informed by medieval architecture, which gave Richardson’s Romanesque style a unique flavor that included strong ashlar stone walls and prominent square towers (Wentworthstudio). The style became popular with churches and other institutions such as colleges and universities. Henry Van Brunt created an archetypal Richardsonian Romanesque building in Cheyenne’s Union Pacific Depot building. The large windows on the main level are capped with semicircular arches and the roof is hipped with two prominent projecting gables. The walls are constructed of rock-faced ashlar laid in broken courses with minimal detailing which is also characteristic of Richardsonian design. Lastly, the defining element of the depot is its tall square clock tower, with four semicircular arches just below the tower roof.