WLM
| history
automotive showrooms and canopied gas
stations, diners and cafes, truss bridges
and underpasses, ghost signs and neon. In
addition, natural landmarks like Tree Rock
west of Cheyenne, Toll Gate Rock in Green
River, Church Buttes near Granger, and
Eagle Rock near Evanston were recorded.
Small business owners and local historians
brought the route alive with personal
stories of their experiences with the road.
In Egbert, Lawrence Anaya lives in “The
Warwhoop,” a concrete teepee where
tourists once bought beer and souvenirs.
Dieter Coletti operates the Wyoming
Motel as long-term housing, maintaining
a landmark on Lincolnway through
Cheyenne. Local historian Marv Cronberg
is happy to recall colorful happenings along
the Medicine Bow loop of U.S. 30 between
Laramie and Rawlins. In Rock Springs,
Norman and Irma Gillespie offer a clean,
quiet alternative to the standard chain motel
at the Springs. And in Evanston, Stan
Taggart operates Pete’s Rock-n-Rye, a
roadhouse that inspires waves of nostalgia
for those of a certain age.
Surveys like this one are a major
responsibility assigned to the State Historic
Preservation Offices in the National Historic
Preservation Act because these projects
create a permanent record of the historic
built environment and help explain the ways
that humans use and occupy the landscape.
Tourism is a leading source of revenue in
Wyoming and has been important to the
state for many years. The Wyoming SHPO
believes that the Lincoln Highway has been
a major influence in shaping America’s
vision of Wyoming and the West. W L M
58
Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine | Winter 2013
“Dreamland Motel 315 E
Cedar Rawlins:”
Postcard in possession of
WY SHPO