Caching In Cheyenne Again 6/28/2010

Well it was off into Cheyenne again to do a little caching. Our first cache was at a new youth center in a tree. Second was an old caboose converted into a little restaurant. We had stopped by this cache on Sunday but the people standing outside waiting for a table prevented us from looking for the cache. They weren't standing outside today but the place was packed again. Third, fourth and fifth caches were in parks in Cheyenne. First was where there was a statue of Robert Burns, second was a small triangle park in the middle of 3 roads and third was a sunken park that had tennis courts and some lovely landscaping. Next were caches at a baseball field under an electrical box, a cache along a parkway behind a bench and a cache at the end of a dead end road in a pine tree next to a shopping center.

The only interesting and historical cache we did was a Earthcache located at the Union Pacific Train Depot. The station is built from blocks of red and buff sandstone quarried and transported from Ft. Collins, Colorado. The Depot stands directly down the street from, and facing the, Wyoming State Capitol building, signaling its historic significance in the city and state.
It received major renovations in 1922 to lengthen the building and a redecoration 1929. From 2001 to 2006, another renovation to the depot is being made including a $6.5 million US dollar improvement provided by the City of Cheyenne and plaza built in front of the Depot. This plaza hosts a variety of music and events throughout the year. Built in 1886, the Cheyenne Union Pacific Depot had several renovations. Major renovations of the building occurred in 1922 when the structure was extended to its present 331-foot length, and again in 1929 when the interior was modernized to reflect the then current Art Deco style.

The depot also houses the Cheyenne Depot Museum and Shadow's Brewery a brew pub restaurant. The Cheyenne Depot Museum is housed in the newly renovated Union Pacific Depot in downtown Cheyenne. The museum tells the story about the establishment of Cheyenne during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, the operation of the Union Pacific Railroad and the history of the construction of the Union Pacific Depot. You can view the Union Pacific Main Yard from the new building on the west end of the Depot, and experience the second floor of the Cheyenne Depot Museum which is a “touchable museum experience” that has received rave reviews from children of all ages.
Visitors will also be able to see the restored passenger subway behind the building where train passengers used to pass to get through to the platforms by the tracks. Visitors will also enjoy the museum floor display in the lobby of the Depot showing a beautiful map of the transcontinental railroad from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Promissory Point, Utah in granite and other stones.
The Union Pacific Railroad Depot is located on the south side of 15th Street, at the intersection with Cap­itol Avenue. The Depot is located—naturally enough—alongside the still-active tracks of the Union Pa­cif­ic, America’s first transcontinental railroad, in the heart of Cheyenne’s central busi­ness district. No longer used as a passenger facility, it sits on the northern side of the railroad’s mainline tracks, and forms the visual cornerstone for downtown Cheyenne. Located on the site of the first Cheyenne Depot, a wood frame building constructed in 1867, the Depot is one of the downtown’s two most significant landmarks. The Depot is prominently placement at one end of Capital Avenue, opposite the Wyoming State Capitol; Cheyenne’s other major historical landmark.
The 1929 Art Deco lobby has been beautifully restored. A map of the transcontinental railroad route with historical details made out of poured colored stone has been embedded in the lobby floor and is simply gorgeous as you can see by the pictures. The museum-quality exhibit is a unique attraction for all the visitors who come to the Union Pacific Depot.
Designed in 1885-1886 by the Boston-based architectural firm of Van Brunt & Howe, the Cheyenne Depot was built in 1886-1887. The building features a massive stone exterior bearing walls and foundations. It has clock tower and two single-story wings on the east and west ends. The overall length of the building is 350 feet. The Depot derives its architectural distinction from its high-style Richardsonian Romanesque. Clearly, it was the most distinctive depot built by the Union Pacific in the 19th century. And it was a landmark structure on the Chey­enne landscape.


Historic Union Pacific Depot in Cheyenne Features Giant Clock. As part of the architectural team responsible for renovating the Union Pacific Depot‚ Glenn Garrett is familiar with just about every nook and cranny of the historical building. But there’s one section that he knows extremely well: the building’s clock. Garrett is the “official winder” of the depot’s clock‚ which he describes as its most prominent feature. “The tower anchors the south end of Capitol Avenue‚ and it’s basically a giant clock‚” Garrett says. “That was a deliberate part of the design on Union Pacific’s part; they wanted to remind the people at the other end of the street just who founded the state.” The 1886 depot has long been a focal point for the region‚ with the clock tower looming over the downtown area. During recent renovations‚ the entire structure got a new lease on life‚ including its timepiece. The clock itself works like a grand­father clock‚ with every level in the tower serving as a functioning part of the mechanism. “It runs along the lines of a gravity-powered machine‚ using that energy to power the clock itself‚” he says. “There is a mechanism that you wind up that pulls weights up. As they move down‚ the energy is stored.” It really was great looking around the building and Museum and especially seeing the great map on the floor of the lobby.

Then it was on back to the coach for the rest of the day so until tomorrow we love and miss you all. Mom & Dad Dori & Dick