Cheyenne was named for the Native American Cheyenne nation.
Today it sits at the northern terminus of the fast-growing Front Range Urban
Corridor to Denver and Pueblo, Colorado. It is located where the Union Pacific
Railroad meets Crow Creek, a South Platte River tributary, in 1867.
The
Downtown Cheyenne Historic District
is comprised of ten architecturally or historically significant buildings and
twelve other buildings constructed during the same period, dating from the late
19th Century through the 1920's, during which the tiny frontier tent
town grew into a territorial, then a State Capitol. These structures reflect
the history of Cheyenne during major growth periods and form the nucleus of the
original Central Business District. Primarily commercial in character, the
district also contains a pedestrian oriented activity area known as the Old
Town Mall.
The Downtown Cheyenne Historic District Encompasses 205
acres and 67 buildings
Cheyenne is part of a unique breed of American towns established in the 1860s
and 1870s during construction of the transcontinental railroad. From the
beginning, the area encompassed by the Historic District was developed as a
commercial area. Stores built of canvas and wood fronts came first but were
soon replaced with more permanent wood buildings. Like the structures they
replaced, these buildings were easy prey for fires. By the 1870s, contractors
began placing an emphasis on fireproofing with the brick and mortar buildings
constructed from this period that remain today.
The
architectural styles range from
commercial Victorian to early 20th Century commercial with Beaux
Arts details. None of the buildings are unique in their architectural style or
design but several have a significant degree of architectural merit thanks to
the size and geographic location of Cheyenne.
The
buildings in the Historic District represent a
broad range of activities that took place during Cheyenne's first 50 or 60
years. Some date from a time when Cheyenne was being transformed from a dusty
little frontier town to the Magic City of the Plains. Other buildings such as
the Plains Hotel and the Capitol Avenue Theater came about through community
effort and pride. Breweries, saloons, boarding houses, and the inexpensive
eating establishments played a major role in Cheyenne’s development.