The Cheyenne Historic Preservation Board is hosting their Sixth Annual Tour the Legend, Historic Building Tour on Saturday, September 22, 2018 from 10 am to 4 pm. This year’s theme is fraternal organizations and lesser known parts of downtown Cheyenne. This tour serves as a fundraiser for the Board; the funds have been used to match state and federal grants to help restore the Warren Rest House in Holiday Park, the Historic Airport Fountain, update and expand the Capitol North Historic District, and updating the Downtown Historic District.
For only $20, tour goers can visit and see inside six historic commercial properties to learn about the unique history and heritage of Cheyenne’s past. Tickets are being sold right now at several locations throughout town and are available online for the first time this year at cheyenneevents.org. If you want to purchase a ticket in advance, please visit the Corner Stop gas station at 901 W Pershing Boulevard, Historic Governors’ Mansion at 300 E 21st Street, Olympus Games and Comics at 1710 Central Avenue, or the Civic Center Box office. Tickets will also be sold the day of the event at any of the tour locations. A trolley will be available the day of the event to take tour goers to each of the locations for free.
The buildings featured on this year’s tour are:
- Masonic Temple (1820 Capitol Avenue)
- Elks Lodge (100 E. 17th Street)
- Knights of Pythias (314 W. 17th Street)
- Fraternal Order of the Eagles (1600 Thomes Avenue)
- St. Mary’s Catholic Church (100 W. 21st Street)
- The Plain’s Hotel Basement (1600 Central Avenue)
Feel free to begin your tour at any of the locations mentioned above. The trolley will start at the parking lot for St. Mary’s Cathedral, located just south of the old Police Station at Capitol and 19thStreet.
Each of these architecturally unique buildings and their associated organizations shared in creating Cheyenne’s identity as we know it today. And most have been in the same location since their inception; for example, the Knights of Pythias built their building on 17th Street in 1884 and have owned it ever since. The Plains Hotel basement features history dating to the cowhand days when showers were available to the cowboys coming in from the plains to wash up before entering the upstairs area. Both the Masonic Temple and the Eagles Lodge have survived fires. St. Mary’s Cathedral was debt free when completed. And while the Elks Lodge has updated the exterior appearance of their building, the interior has mostly remained unchanged since 1903.
For more information about the tour, contact Stephanie Lowe, City of Cheyenne Planning Department at 307-637-6305 or slowe@cheyennecity.org.
For more information about the Cheyenne Historic Preservation Board, please visit the City’s website at www.cheyennecity.org/index.aspx?nid=216 or on Facebook.
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