Hotel Virginia (Natrona County Annex), Casper Wyoming

This century old building in Casper Wyoming was most recently used as Natrona County's County Annex, a government administrative building, but it had its origins as a hotel.  It's currently under renovations which will convert it into apartments, which is somewhat similar to its original use as a hotel.

I don't  know what the original name of the hotel was, and how many names it may have operated under, but sandblasting on the building has revealed a "ghost sign" for a hotel.  Unfortunately, I can't read anything other than "hotel" on the sign.  The current owner intends to market the apartments under the name Hotel Virginia, but I do not know if that's what this sign said, or if parts of more than one sign are visible.

Platte County Steam Laundry, Wheatland Wyoming

This small building is still in use, and has updated windows today.  A newer sign above the door says "Coin Operated Laundry", so perhaps its still in its original use, although presumably not as a "steam laundry".  Its location is just off of the rail line, which was likely a good location for a laundry.

Landmark Bar, Wheatland Wyoming

Located directly across the street from the Platte County Courthouse, the Landmark Bar features a painting of a map view of the State of Wyoming on its side.

Today In Wyoming's History: Natrona County School District No. 1 Bond Issue Fa...

Today In Wyoming's History: Natrona County School District No. 1 Bond Issue Fa...: The bond issue floated by NCSD No. 1, which would have sought a $33M bond for use in upgrading the safety features of existing schools, pro...

Lex Anteinternet: The NCSD Bond Issue

Lex Anteinternet: The NCSD Bond Issue: The bond issue goes to the voters tomorrow, May 6.  Please vote yes, if you are a Natrona County, Wyoming voter. Prior threads on the topi...

Main Gate, Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center, Aurora Colorado.

Taken from a moving car, with an Iphone, these photos are of the former main gate for Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora Colorado.  Note the red crosses on the guard houses.

This facility is now the University of Colorado's Children's Hospital, and has been greatly added to.  It's a first rate facility.

Now out in print

Lex Anteinternet: Casper Star Tribune Editorial board: OK the school...

Lex Anteinternet: Casper Star Tribune Editorial board: OK the school...: The Casper Star Tribune has changed its position (reluctantly, given the pools) and is now supporting the bond. While I wish the Tribune wo...

Lex Anteinternet: The Bond Issue: The actual cost

Lex Anteinternet: The Bond Issue: The actual cost: This graphic, generated by the Natrona County School District, nicely shows the actual cost to Natrona County property owners for improv...

Lex Anteinternet: Natrona County School District Bond Vote

Lex Anteinternet: Natrona County School District Bond Vote: Tonight, February 24, 2014, the Natrona County School District will hold the second of its public meetings to take comments on the proposed ...

Lex Anteinternet: The Bond Issue. Safety

Lex Anteinternet: The Bond Issue. Safety: As folks who read this blog (and there's darned few I know) are aware, I've written on several occasions about the upcoming Natrona ...

Lex Anteinternet: The Bond Issue. Modern technical and vocational t...

Lex Anteinternet: The Bond Issue. Modern technical and vocational t...: I've posted on the upcoming bond issue here several times before, but I want to switch gears a bit with this post, as I think that perha...

Lex Anteinternet: Swimming Pools — NCSD Transform

Lex Anteinternet: Swimming Pools — NCSD Transform: Swimming Pools — NCSD Transform Nice site on the proposed pools and the bond issue. Here's the reason for the bond issue:  "Whi...

Lex Anteinternet: Book Announcement: On This Day In Wyoming History...

Lex Anteinternet: Book Announcement: On This Day In Wyoming History...: We'd like to announce that our book, On This Day In Wyoming History , will go to press in March and can be pre-ordered from the publishe...

Second Story Radio • Nebraska State Capitol - Lincoln, NE

Second Story Radio • Nebraska State Capitol - Lincoln, NE

Lex Anteinternet: Keeping a Swimming Pool at NCHS

Lex Anteinternet: Keeping a Swimming Pool at NCHS: I was on the Natrona County High School swim team in 1978-1979 and 1979-1980.  I might have been in 1980-1981 as well, my senior year, but ...

The Strand Theatre, Rawlins Wyoming

This is the Strand Theatre Building in Rawlins, Wyoming.  The theater was built in 1919, at a time when movies were becoming increasingly popular.  I don't know what the current use of the building is, and whether or not it is still used as a theater.

Some may wonder why the Strand had its name painted on the back of its building.  The theater is located only one block from the Union Pacific railroad, and at that height, rail passengers would have been likely to notice the sign.  Rawlins was a major stop on the Union Pacific at that time, and its likely that quite a few travelers saw the sign and were tempted to take in a movie if they were staying overnight in Rawlins, which had at least one fairly good sized hotel in the downtown district.

Public School wall, Rawlins Wyoming.

This is a former wall for the public school in Rawlins, Wyoming. The school is no longer there, and hasn't been for as long as I can recall, but the decorative wall remains.  As noted on the wall, the school must have been built in 1886, prior to statehood.

Lex Anteinternet: This is the former stable for the Wyoming Nation...

Lex Anteinternet:

This is the former stable for the Wyoming Nation...: This is the former stable for the Wyoming National Guard in Newcastle, Wyoming.  The Armory was downtown, and no longer stands.   ...

Lex Anteinternet: The Big Picture: The University of Wyoming in 190...

Lex Anteinternet: The Big Picture: The University of Wyoming in 190...: The geology building, pre additions, far left.  Old Main far right.

The Royal Hawaiian

This is the Royal Hawaiian on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.  It's one of the original luxury hotels on Oahu, and is famous for its distinctive pink color.

The hotel has an interesting history, as it started prior to air service made travel to Hawaii easy, and therefore, for the most part, travel to the islands was a luxury in and of itself.  It was taken over by the U.S. Navy during World War Two, and operated as a rest facility for submariners.  It resumed operation as a hotel post war, and remains a well known hotel today.

Missionary Houses, Lehaina Maui Hawaii

These are obviously beyond the scope of this forum, but still, this provides some interesting examples of houses for Europeans in the Hawai'ian island in the 19th Century.  The one constructed from volcanic rock is particularly notable.

Old Yellowstone District Signs, Casper Wyoming

Casper Wyoming has been working for some time on developing its Old Yellowstone District, so called because the Old Yellowstone Highway runs through it. This road is no longer the highway, and has not been for quite some time, although it was as recently as the early 1970s, and I can remember traveling on it in my parents cars.

The city has commissioned these signs, which have a 1930s feel to them, seeking to promote business. leisure and residence in the district.

Lex Anteinternet: Railhead: Arminto Wyoming

Lex Anteinternet: Railhead: Arminto Wyoming:

This thread includes, through the generosity of Ray Galutia, the only photographs on the web of Arminto Wyoming during the height of its existence, in the 1940s.

Basin Wyoming Post Office

This is a bit outside of our unusual topic here (which admittedly has been expanding) but this is an unusually nice and classic small town U. S. Post Office.  This is the very classically styled Post Office in Basin, Wyoming, which is right next to the classically styled Big Horn County Courthouse.

That such an impressive, albeit small, structure was built shows how viable and important these small towns were.

Sidewalk Clock, Casper Wyoming

The March 10 entry on Today In Wyoming's History, which featured a sidewalk clock from outside of Wyoming, reminded me of this one, in Casper.

This is something that isn't as common as it once was, a sidewalk clock.  Once a fairly common, and pretty neat, feature of the downtown landscape, I don't know that anyone puts them up any more.  If they do, it's not frequently.

This particular one has been in place for decades.  So much so, in fact, that I hardly take notice of it, even though its a prominent feature on the sidewalk. This is the Ayres Jewelry Store sidewalk clock which, as can be seen, is in the shape of a large diamond ring.

Black Cat Books, Greybull Wyoming

This doesnt' really fit our normal topic category here, but interesting advertisement theme nonetheless.

Firehouse Brewing Company, Rapid City, South Dakota

Firehouse Brew Pub in Rapid City, South Dakota, converted from a downtown fire station.

Downtown Rapid City

This Iphone photo was originally intended to show the odd seen of a dance class at work in the second story of the building across the street, but that taxed the ability of the Iphone camera.  Therefore, what it shows instead is part of the well preserved downtown of Rapid City.

WPA Kemmerer Mural

281532_208344659212857_817731_n.jpg (JPEG Image, 720 × 568 pixels)

Lex Anteinternet: What people read

Lex Anteinternet: What people read: We've had this blog up for a couple of years now, with the first posts being in 2009 . There were none in 2010, but we really took off in p...

Main Street, Lewistown Montana

These photographs weren't actually taken with publication here in mind, but after looking at it I noticed the the painted sign on the left side of the frames.

Lewistown is a beautiful small city, the county seat of its county, in northern Montana.  Surrounded by mountains, it is extraordinarily well preserved for a northern Plains/Rocky Mountain town.  A large number of early 20th Century buildings are intact, well preserved, and in use.

Feed store, Lewistown Montana

There's actually more than one painted brick building in this photograph of trackside Lewistown Montana, but the photo was taken very early in the morning, and none of the signs are really legible.

Holscher's Hub: Calendar Query

Holscher's Hub: Calendar Query: Are any of the denizens here finding any neat agriculture, nature, equine or history related calendars in the offering for 2013? As per usu...

The Halls of Natrona County High School

When I attended NCHS, back in the misty dawn of time, there were no interior paintings in the building.  Now, to my surprise, there are.  When I first learned of this, I expressed surprise about it, and in turn my wife, who attended NCHS in years more recently than I, was surprised that I was surprised.  Indeed, she insisted that I must have missed them.  As it turns out, I did not miss them at all, the murals commenced in 1983, after I had left.

Anyhow, while this is somewhat outside the usual scope of this blog, they are interesting.

 Nicely executed mural of Civil War or Frontier Era solders near the JrROTC room at NCHS.  MKTH photo.

 Example of hall mural.  MKTH photo.

 NCHS hall mural which features the logo of the band House of Pain.  It must have been the year that the rap tune "Jump" came out  that this one was painted.

 One done by my brother in law, while he was there.

Another change.  Navy recruiters in the hall.  I don't recall recruiters coming on campus back when I was there.

Historic Downtown Casper

historictour.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Gamble Store, Casper Wyoming

This is the painted sign for the Gamble Store, in downtown Casper Wyoming.  This building is now occupied by other establishments.

Gambles was a department store. As the sign indicates, the stores offered a wide range of products, although as I don't ever recall this business operating here, and therefore don't know, I have to wonder how this range of products was offered in a relatively small retail space.  Anyhow, the Minnesota based company expanded from an initial store in that state in the late 1920s to being the 15th largest retailer in the United States by the end of the 1970s.  In the 1980s, it was so large that it attempted to take over Brooks Brothers.

Since that time, the company's fortunes declined.  A descendant company still exists, but it does not operate under the Gambles name as a storefront name.

Furniture Store, Casper Wyoming

Remnants of a furniture store sign, now on the side of the Kirkwood Oil and Gas building, in downtown Casper.

McEwen and Central Feed, Lewistown Montana

Two buildings on the main street of Lewistown Montana.  I have no Idea what McEwen is.