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Showing posts with label Union Pacific Railroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Union Pacific Railroad. Show all posts

8/22/19

North Platte Nebraska


railroad town river trails historical museum and buffalo bill ranch park
North Platte is in southwestern Nebraska at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers. It was established in 1868 when the Union Pacific Railroad was extended to that point; it was named from the North Platte River.
The Platte River originates in the state of Nebraska and is about 310 miles - 500 km - long. The Platte is a tributary of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
River Valley Trails played an important role in the westward expansion of the United States, providing the route for several major emigrant trails, including the Oregon, California, Mormon and Bozeman Trails. The French were the first Europeans to reach the Platte. The North Platte River is navigable over most of its length at high water by canoes, kayaks and rafts.
Bailey Yard is the world’s largest. The Golden Spike Tower and Visitor Center is an eight-story building which overlooks the expansive classification yard and engine facilities.
The Lincoln County Historical Museum contains a display detailing the history of the North Platte Canteen, which greeted 6.5 million service personnel from Christmas Day 1941 through April 1, 1946. It also contains a Prairie Village with local landmark homes and a Pony Express station and pioneer church.
Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park is located near here, a Nebraska living history park about Buffalo Bill Cody. The park includes his actual house known as Scout's Rest Ranch.

1/08/18

The Downtown Cheyenne Historic District

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.