SHERIDAN INN OF WYOMING
Sheridan County, Wyoming
Design Team: Kurt Dubbe, AIA; John Fabian
Dubbe-Moulder Architects in conjunction with the Sheridan Heritage Center and a capital management firm proposed to stabilize and rehabilitate the Historic Sheridan Inn and return it back it its former glory.
Funds were raised through equity contributions from limited partners through the investment in historic preservation tax credits, public grants and loans, and private individuals.
The existing historic spaces on the first floor including the Lobby and Parlor were restored and updated, the Kitchen and Service areas were enhanced, and Special Events/Conference functions were introduced to host a multitude of activities. The existing restaurant was maintained while improving its service and general character. The reconfiguration of the second and third floor now allows for twenty-four guest suites with their own private bathrooms.
The Historic Sheridan Inn has been named an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures, a public-private partnership between the White House Millennium council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, dedicated to the preservation of our nations irreplaceable historic and cultural treasures for future generations. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure within the Sheridan Railroad Historic District as the result of a Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office partnership with the University of Wyoming American studies Program.
Noteworthy:
The inn originally opened its doors in May of 1893 at what is now 5th Street and Broadway. The hotel was designed by the architect Thomas R. Kimball of Omaha, Nebraska, in 1893. It was constructed by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad as part of its development program in Wyoming. Equipped with the first bathtubs and electric lights in northeastern Wyoming, the inn was managed for two years in its opening decade by William F. Cody, who would become the famous western showman "Buffalo Bill."
The easement imposed in 2008 made it the first historic preservation easement in Wyoming. It helps ensure the architectural integrity of the building by prohibiting certain additions and renovations. The easement currently protects the inn’s Buffalo Bill Bar, check-in desk and mailboxes, stone fireplaces and exposed wooden beams as well as all 69 of the inn’s iconic dormers — the windows that project from the building’s sloping roof.
Images from Library of Congress