Cheyenne

Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the US state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population was 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the northern terminus of the extensive and fast-growing Front Range Urban Corridor that stretches from Cheyenne to Pueblo, Colorado, and has a population of 4,333,742 according to the 2010 United States Census. Cheyenne is situated on Crow Creek and Dry Creek. The Cheyenne, Wyoming Metropolitan Area had a 2010 population of 91,738, making it the 354th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.

History

On July 5, 1867, General Grenville M. Dodge and his survey crew platted the site now known as Cheyenne in Dakota Territory (later Wyoming Territory). This site was chosen as the point at which the Union Pacific Railroad crossed Crow Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. The city was not named by Dodge, as his memoirs state, but rather by friends who accompanied him to the area Dodge called "Crow Creek Crossing". It was named for the American Indian Cheyenne nation, one of the most famous and prominent Great Plains tribes closely allied with the Arapaho.

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad brought hopes of prosperity to the region when it reached Cheyenne on November 13, 1867. The population at the time numbered over 4,000, and grew rapidly. This rapid growth earned the city the nickname "Magic City of the Plains".

In 1867, Fort D. A. Russell was established, three miles west of the city. The fort was later renamed Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.

The Wyoming State Capitol was constructed between 1886 and 1890, with further improvements being completed in 1917.

The Wyoming Stock Growers Association met at The Cheyenne Club, which allegedly acted as an interim government for the territory. Many of the WSGA's rules and regulations became state laws.

The Cheyenne Regional Airport was opened in 1920, initially serving as a stop for airmail. It soon developed into a civil-military airport, serving DC-3s and various military craft. During World War II, hundreds of B-17s, B-24s, and PBYs were outfitted and upgraded at the airfield. Today, it serves a number of military functions, as well as a high-altitude testbed for civilian craft.

Geography and climate

Geography

Lying near the southeast corner of the state, Cheyenne is one of the least centrally located state capitals in the nation (together with cities such as Carson City, Nevada; Juneau, Alaska; and Topeka, Kansas).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.63 square miles (63.79 km2), of which, 24.52 square miles (63.51 km2) is land and 0.11 square miles (0.28 km2) is water.

Parks and recreation

The Cheyenne Parks and Recreation Department operates an Ice and Events center, swimming pool, spray park, skateboard park, two golf courses, Cheyenne Botanic Gardens (including the Paul Smith Children's Village at the Gardens), paddle boat rentals in Lions Park (summers only), cemeteries, forestry operations, community house, Youth Activity Center and a miniature golf park. The Cheyenne Parks and Recreation Department also operates a 37-mile Greater Cheyenne Greenway system. The greenway connects parks and neighborhoods of greater Cheyenne. It includes many bridges and underpasses where travelers can avoid high traffic roads and travel above waterways and drainages. In 1996, as a result of the greenway, Cheyenne was named a "Trail Town USA" by the National Park service and the American Hiking Society.

Professional sports

The Cheyenne Warriors were founded as an American Professional Football League team in 2012. After playing a season in the APFL, they announced a move to the Indoor Football League. Shortly after the owner of the team died in December 2012, the Warriors announced that they were forming the new Developmental Football League. After playing several games in this new league, the team folded in May 2013.

Landmarks

• Wyoming State Capitol
• F.E. Warren Air Force Base, one of the nation's oldest, continuously active installations (originally U.S. Army).
• Nagle Warren Mansion

List of tallest buildings in Cheyenne

Data retrieved from http://www.emporis.com

Tallest buildings in Metro Area Rank Name Height (convert=ft) Status Type 1 Transmisson Tower A 465 existing wired mast; tower 2 Transmission Tower B 251 existing wired mast; tower 3-5 High rise buildings 115+ (habitable) 3 Gateway Plaza Tower 171 unbuilt high-rise tower; art deco 4 Wyoming State Capitol 146 existing capitol; monumental hall 5 Wyoming Financial Center 134 existing brick modernism; financial building 6-34 Low Rise Buildings 115> Habitable
(except 11 & 22) 6 Burke Senior Center 110 existing brick modernism; senior apartment 7 Joseph C. Mahoney Federal Building 99 existing modernism; federal building 8 CRMC Patient Tower 85 existing modernism; hospital 9 CRMC Main Tower 85 existing modernism; hospital 10 Bank of the West 85 existing modernism; bank office 11 Transmisson Tower C 80 existing framework mast 12 City Center Building 73 existing brick modernism; city commercial building 13 Boyd Building 73 existing steel/brick structure; commercial building 14 Hathaway Building 61 existing brick modernism; government office 15 Frontier Apartments 61 existing oldie form; apartments 16 Central Plaza Hotel 61 existing oldie form; historic hotel 17 CRMC main office 61 existing modernism; doctor clinic; office 18 ANB Bank Building 61 Existing modernism; office 19 Plains Hotel 61 existing art deco; historic hotel 20 Majestic Building 61 existing art deco; historic; office building 21 Hynds Building 61 existing art deco; historic; office building 22 Transmisson Tower D 50 existing wired mast; tower; antenna 23 City-County Building 49 existing brick modernism; government office 24 Lincolnway Parking Garage (source does not say) existing oldie form; open air parking garage. note: my source did not give height but gave it 4 levels 25 Cheyenne Municipal Building 49 existing brick modernism; government office; city hall note: not to be mistaken for the municipal pool 26 Hansen Building 49 existing commercial office; modern parking garage 27 One Pioneer Center 49 existing brick modernism; government building 28 CRMC Parking Garage source doesn't say existing modernism; open-air structure note: my source doesn't give height, but it gives it 4 levels 29 The Financial Center 49 existing art deco; fedral/financial building 30 Arundel Building 37 existing modernism; commercial office 31 Deming Building 37 existing oldie-form; commercial office 32 LC Library 37 existing modernism; library 33 Union Pacific Depot source doesn't say existing romanesque style; historic depot; with clock towers note: source doesn't give height, but gives the depot 3 floors 34 Dinneen 24 existing historic commercial office

Table References

National Register of Historical Places

Over fifty different locations in Cheyenne are listed on the National Register of Historical Places, including:

• The Historic Plains Hotel (added 1978)
• the Atlas Theatre (added 1973)
• Union Pacific Depot (1973)
• the Governor's Mansion (1969)
• Nagle-Warren Mansion (1976)
• First Presbyterian Church (1869)
• First United Methodist Church (1975)
• St. Mark's Episcopal Church (1970)
• St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral (1974)
• Cheyenne High School (2005)
• High Plains Horticulture Research Station a.k.a. High Plains Arboretum (1930 - 1974)
• Storey Gymnasium (2005)
• Park Addition School (1970)
• Big Boy Steam Engine (1956)
• Botanic Gardens Rotary Century Plaza & Steam Locomotive (1921)

Several districts in the city are also listed, including:

• the Downtown District (1978, with boundary increase in 1980, 1988, 1996. Encompasses 205 acres (0.83 km2) and 67 buildings)
• Lakeview District (1996, 350 acres 109 buildings)
• Rainsford District (1984, 1980 acres 288 buildings)
• Capitol North District (1980, 204 acres 112 buildings)
• Fort David A. Russell (1969, 6300 acres 19 buildings)
• Union Pacific Roundhouse, Turntable and Machine Shop (1992, 113 acres 2 buildings)
• South Side District (2006)

Transportation

Local bus service

Cheyenne provides local hourly bus service from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. There is no Sunday service.

Airports

Cheyenne Regional Airport features daily service from Great Lakes Airlines to Denver.

Railroads

The Union Pacific and BNSF railroads intersect in Cheyenne. The city is home to a BNSF railyard, as well as the Union Pacific's steam program. UP's 844, 3985 and 4014 reside in the steam shop.

Cheyenne Frontier Days

Cheyenne Frontier Days, which occurs during 10 days centered around the last full week in July, is the largest outdoor rodeo in the US. The events include professional bull riding, calf roping, barrel racing, steer wrestling, team roping, bronc riding, steer roping, bareback riding and many others. During this week there are many parades and other events. Additionally there is a carnival with numerous rides, games and shops.

In popular culture

• Cheyenne, Wyoming figures prominently throughout the AMC-TV series Hell on Wheels. Initially known in the show as "Durant, Nebraska" (a nod to the real-life Durant, Polk County, Nebraska), the community is renamed in season 3, after its namesake Thomas C. "Doc" Durant is ruined. Season 2, episode 2 is titled "Durant, Nebraska", and multiple plot lines in seasons 3 and 4 prominently feature the community, then renamed Cheyenne. Additionally, in season 4, episode 2 ("Escape from the Garden"), Brigadier General John Allen Campbell tells newspaper woman Louise Ellison: "Cheyenne has been touted as "The Magic City of the Plains". It's my job to govern it into a new era, as I did in the South following the war."
• Cheyenne is briefly depicted in Purge Feed footage in the 2013 film The Purge.