UINTA COUNTY MUSEUM

Evanston, Wyoming  •  7,000 sq. ft.

at The Historic Carnegie Library (Built circa 1906)

National Register of Historic Places, No. 83004307

Design Team: Kurt Dubbe, AIA; Bryan Tarantola, Rebecca Smith, Scott Holden

The Uinta County Museum is located in the historic Carnegie library in downtown Evanston. It is one of a total of 1,689 Carnegie Libraries that were built in the United States between 1883 and 1929. Due to the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie, small towns could apply for a grant of $10,000, allowing them to build large libraries that became the most significant amenity for a community. In Wyoming’s small and dispersed population, the State was able to build 16 Carnegie libraries, with 10 remaining.

Typical to other Carnegie libraries, the architecture of the building in Evanston is simple, yet formal with a prominent entry accessed from a grand staircase that symbolized a person’s elevation by learning. Outside, a lamppost symbolized enlightenment. In 1984, the Uinta County Library moved from the Carnegie building to Courthouse Square, and the Uinta County Museum and the Evanston Chamber of Commerce took over the space.

Dubbe Moulder Architects was commissioned to design an ADA-accessible addition to provide for expanded museum space. Our firm created a building that met code and complied with The Secretary of the Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The final structure drew reference from the historic features of the original structure.