Laramie Main Street is sponsoring a tour of select 2nd stories to highlight the potential of Laramie's upper flors. The self-guided tour will be on September 19th from 3-7pm.

Visit 6 residences and one retail store to see how attractive downtown living and working can be for homeowners, renters, and investors.

Tickets are $10/person in advance or $15/person day-of. All proceeds benefit the Laramie Main Street Program. Buy tickets at Main Street booth at the Farmer's Market or -- starting next week -- at the Copper Kettle, Antique Fever, Chickering Books, or Second Story Books.

Call Main Street for more information: 742-2212.

[Posted 2008-09-05]

Take part in efforts to beautify the entrance to Laramie and to Downtown from the South -- take part in a fall cleaning!

Have you been meaning to get rid of those piles of trash -- building materials, junk cars, or house trailers on your property? From Aug. 30th to Sept. 14th, there's help, which includes:
- Cash for junk cars
- Cash for steel and other metals
- Cash for auto/truck batteries
Call Ace Salvage (745-8068) or AAA Salvage (742-6971) for more information or to schedule a pick-up.

AND there will be no dump fees at the City Landfill for refuse and tires: just say "South Laramie Water District" to the attendant.

If you have non-metal trash or house trailers you'd like to get rid of, call Liz or Tony at Laramie Rivers Conservation District (721-0072) for help hauling.

Sponsored by Albany County, Laramie Rivers Conservation District, Laramie Beautification Commitee, City of Laramie and local businesses.

[Posted 2008-09-05]

Two public workshops will be held to refine the design for a landscaped public plaza at the corner of 1st and Grand in Downtown Laramie. These are scheduled for Thursday, September 11th at 7pm at the Railroad Depot (1st and Kearney) and Wednesday, October 8th at 7pm, also at the Depot. Public input on what people would like to see in a future public plaza will be gathered at the first meeting; at the second an updated Concept Plan for the plaza will be presented.

A concept plan for this space was developed by Reif Artworks and Design Consulting, at the request of the Streetscape Committee. The project is now a Main Street project. To raise public awareness and buy-in for the project, Main Street felt that a process for public input into the final design was necessary.

The landscape architecture firm Russell Mills Studios, which has extensive experience designing similar public spaces with public input, will be running the meetings and putting together the final design. They will also be completing engineering drawings and cost estimates for construction as well.

The design, construction drawings, and cost estimates will be complete by the end of this calendar year. A fundraising campaign will run simultaneously. Construction is planned to start next year.

[Posted 2008-09-05]

Two public workshops will be held to refine the design for a landscaped public plaza at the corner of 1st and Grand in Downtown Laramie. These are scheduled for Thursday, September 11th at 7pm at the Railroad Depot (1st and Kearney) and Wednesday, October 8th at 7pm, also at the Depot. Public input on what people would like to see in a future public plaza will be gathered at the first meeting; at the second an updated Concept Plan for the plaza will be presented.

A concept plan for this space was developed by Reif Artworks and Design Consulting, at the request of the Streetscape Committee. The project is now a Main Street project. To raise public awareness and buy-in for the project, Main Street felt that a process for public input into the final design was necessary.

The landscape architecture firm Russell + Mills Studios, which has extensive experience designing similar public spaces with public input, will be running the meetings and putting together the final design. They will also be completing engineering drawings and cost estimates for construction as well.

The design, construction drawings, and cost estimates will be complete by the end of this calendar year. Main Street will A fundraising campaign will run simultaneously. Construction is planned to start next year.

[Posted 2008-09-05]

The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will be holding a historic preservation training session at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne on September 18th, 2008. This training is the second of two trainings and covers advanced historic preservation ideas and techniques; since the morning session will include a short review of the previous training everyone is encouraged to attend. Topics will include an overview of historic preservation, protection tools, design guidelines and coverage of the basic legal foundation for preservation.

The total cost for the training is $10, which includes lunch. To register, please download the registration form (PDF), which includes instructions on mailing and payment. Registrations are due by September 2nd.

The SHPO will reimburse hotel and travel expenses for those attending the training. For more information, please contact Audrey York at (307) 777-6357 or by email at ayork@state.wy.us.

[Posted 2008-08-25]

Laramie Main Street has invited Betsy Bradly, a historic preservation specialist with the State Historic Preservation Office, to Laramie on August 27th. Betsy will be leading a tour and discussion of Downtown Laramie architecture that morning during the Downtown Laramie Business Association's regular meeting. All DLBA members are highly encouraged to come to this meeting.

If you would like to schedule a time that day for her to visit your building and talk with you about the architecture, please contact Laramie Main Street at 742-2212 or mainstreet@laramiewy.org.

[Posted 2008-08-25]

Brochures for a new and expanded downtown walking tour can be picked up at Laramie Main Street's office (313 S. 2nd, Ste. B) or Albany County Tourism Board office (2nd and Custer).

Produced in conjunction with Albany County Tourism Board and Albany County Historic Preservation Board (with funding from Albany County Tourism Board and State Historic Preservation Office), this brochure is one of a set of seven guides designed to help people get to know Albany County. If you are a business owner who would like multiple copies to give to your customers, please contact us or stop by our office and we will get copies to you. If you would like to view the brochure in PDF format, you can find it on our website here.

[Posted 2008-08-19]

Laramie Main Street is working with the Laramie Boomerang to publish a monthly column about topics of interest to the community related to our work. This month, the column details our current projects and initiatives. In the future, look for more columns written by the director and volunteers covering a wide range of topics. To read this month's column, click here.

[Posted 2008-08-18]

John Kearney's "Alligator" sculpture has been placed on the lawn of the City Annex at 4th & Grand as part of the ongoing Sculpture: A Wyoming Invitational event. Made of car bumpers, the sculpture was gifted to the Art Museum in 1974 and has not been exhibited outside of the museum for 16 years. Another sculpture, Robert Russin's "First Steps," was installed in Undine park.

To learn more about the artists, their work, and the exhibition itself, read the Museum's blog. This project is being funded in part by a Wyoming Art's Council Community Arts Partners Grant, of which Main Street is a partner.

[Posted 2008-08-18]

Laramie Main Street contracted with an architectural firm to assess the state of the Fox Theater building. The report recommends abating and deconstructing the Fox Theater as soon as feasibly possible.

The consultant team was led by SlaterPaull Architects, an architectural firm that specializes in historic preservation. The team also included JVA Engineers, a structural engineering firm, and RLH Engineers, an environmental engineering firm. Main Street selected this team for their expertise in historic building projects.

The team presented their findings to the city council on Tuesday June 24th at a city council work session open to the public. Main Street and city staff also shared these findings with property and business owners and residents in the area immediately surrounding the Fox.

The city is now working to find ways to fund and implement the report's findings. To learn more about the report's findings, check out the summary report here.

[Posted 2008-07-21]

The Farmer's Market is happening every Friday in Downtown Laramie, but the rising cost of fuel affects everyone who comes from out of town - especially the vendors in the market.

Because of this, the Wyoming Business Council (WBC) has created the Farmers' Market Fuel Reimbursement Grant to help Wyoming producers offset transportation costs associated with participating in the state's numerous farmers' markets.

Producers travelling 60 miles or more one way can be awarded up to half the federal mileage rate to a maximum of $1,000 per year. Visit the WBC's website for more information. To request an application, call Kim Porter at (307) 777-6319 or email her at kim.porter@wybusiness.org.

[Posted 2008-07-21]

Revisions to the regulations on development in Downtown Laramie are being considered.

Currently, Downtown Laramie development is regulated with the same regulations (originally written in the 1960s) that govern development out along east Grand and other commercial districts in town. Revising these regulations for Downtown is meant to make it easier to develop in keeping with Downtown's current historic and pedestrian-friendly character, and harder to develop in a more suburban form that would detract from that character and history. If revised regulations are adopted, current uses and buildings would be grandfathered in.

The city's Community Development Department presented an early draft of the revised regulations at the Railroad Depot on July 2, as well as at that week's Downtown Laramie Business Association (DLBA) meeting.

This revision of the downtown zoning is part of a larger project to update the entire city's zoning code; this is meant to implement the city's Comprehensive Plan, adopted last summer.

You can find more information on the update and links to current and draft revisions on the city's website by clicking here.

[Posted 2008-07-21]

Laramie Main Street has posted a list of local engineering, construction and restoration firms on our website in order to provide a resource for property owners downtown. The list is available for download here (147K PDF). This document will be permanently posted in our resources section. For more information, please contact Laramie Main Street at 742-2212.

[Posted 2008-06-02]