Wyoming Territorial Seal, Big Hollow Food Coop, Laramie Wyoming.

This is a nice rendition of the Territorial Seal of Wyoming on the Big Hollow Food Coop building in Laramie.  We've featured this building before, but we missed the seal in our prior photographs.  Indeed, one of our remote roving contributors to this blog just picked this one up.

Wyoming has a complicated history in regard to seals, and this one was actually the state's third.  This is additionally slightly complicated by the fact that some versions have the year 1868 at the top, rather than 1869.  1869 is, I believe, correct.

The seal depicts a mountain scene with a railroad running in the foreground in the top field.  In the bottom left it depicts a plow, shovel and shepherd's crook, symbolic of the state's industries.  The bottom right field depicts a raised arm with a drawn sabre.  The Latin inscription reads Cedant Arma Togae, which means "let arms yield to civil authority", which was the territorial motto.

This seal was an attractive one and in some ways it was a better looking seal than the one the state ultimately adopted.  The state actually went through an absurd process early in its history in attempting to adopt an official state seal that lead, at one time, the Federal mint simply assigning one for the purpose of large currency printing, which featured state seals at the time.  Part of the absurdity involved the design, which was describe in the original state statute rather than depicted, which lead to the sitting Governor hiring his own artist as he didn't like the one art of the one that had been in front of the legislature.  That caused a scandal as the one that he picked featured a topless woman, which had not been a feature of the legislative design, and ultimately it was corrected to the current design.

All in all, looking at the original one, I think they could have stuck with it.

Vita Sana Olive Oil Company, Casper Wyoming

These are paintings on the side of the Vita Sana Olive Oil Company in Casper, Wyoming.  The speciality food store sells more than olive oil, but its focus originated with that, as one of these paintings depicts.

 

Former Grocery Store, Rocks Springs, Wyoming.

Rock Springs Wyoming has a fairly extensive old downtown dating from the early 20th Century.  Not all of the buildings are in good shape by any means, but they do provide an example of what an early 20th Century downtown was like.  Very few newer buildings have been built in Rock Spring's old business district and therefore, in that sense, its well preserved.

One of the buildings located there is this former grocery store which features a fairly typical, and well preserved, painted wall advertising its wares.

Grant Street Grocery, Casper Wyoming

Grant Street Grocery in Casper Wyoming is the only surviving small neighborhood grocery store in the town and even advertises the same.

Opened in 1921, the store was converted into a specialty grocery store and deli some years ago, and features meats and cheeses, as well as many other items, that are unlikely to appear on the counters of regular grocery stores.  It's featured here for its simple sign, as well as being a remnant of something that was once very common, a neighborhood store.

Spratlen-Anderson Wholesale Grocery Company (Edbrooke Lofts), Denver Colorado

This is the Spratlen-Anderson Wholesale Grocery Company Building, and neighboring buildings, in downtown Denver Colorado. Today this it the Edbrooke Lofts.  The building was constructed in 1905 with a floor added in 1911.  The grocery company was dissolved in 1923 after which the Davis Brothers Drug Company occupied the company until 1957.  It was converted to lofts in 1990.

Chicago Meat Mark Building, Rock Springs Wyoming.

This 1909 structure originally housed the Chicago Meat Market in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The Odd Fellows fraternal organization has occupied the second floor of the structure since 1912.  Their symbol remains visible on the building.

Pepsi Cola sign, Country Cash & Save, Burlington Wyoming

Classic Pepsi sign on the side of a small store in Burlington Wyoming. This sign is quite a bit newer than many of those featured here, which doesn't make it new.

The Asher-Wyoming Company building, Cheyenne Wyoming

A building just off the Union Pacific in Cheyenne that at one time was used by a wholesale grocery establishment.

Coopersmiths, Ft. Collins Colorado.

A variety of ghost signs are seen here, on the side of what is now Coopersmith's, the popular brew pub in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  The Colorado Bakery & Grocery sign is prominent, but also included are a Denver Post sign and an Owl Cigar sign.