McCormick, Lulu, Junior High School, aka Emerson Building - Cheyenne, WY
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 41° 08.208 W 104° 49.067
13T E 515293 N 4553959
This stunningly decorated former junior high school now houses the Wyoming offices of Administration and Information.
Waymark Code: WMN4FV
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 12/25/2014
Views: 1
"The building that formerly housed Lulu McCormick Junior High School is located at 2001 Capitol Avenue in the northern portion of the original commercial district of the City of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The building occupies the entire block, and the facade or west side fronts on Capitol Avenue. The building also has formal but secondary entrances on the north side fronting West 21 st Street and on the south side fronting West 20th Street. The rear or east side of the building with associated parking lots fronts on Central Avenue. The building was constructed in 1929, and it originally housed Cheyenne's junior high school. The building is currently known as the Emerson Building and is occupied by the offices of the Administrative Department of the Wyoming State Government.
The building rests on a raised basement (ground floor); the central portion consists of three above ground stories, and the north and south portions consist of two above-ground stories. The basic dimensions are 105 feet north-south, 58 feet east-west (on north and south) and 88 feet east-west (center of building, including gym and auditorium), resulting in a T-shaped plan.
This dark red brick building is an excellent representative of the Collegiate Gothic style. The main entrances (north, west and south sides) feature terra cotta portals with polychrome accents. Terra cotta detailing was also used on the water table, string courses, panels, and finials. Features of the Collegiate Gothic style included the use of arched doorways, vaulting, and the spire-like motif of the entrance portals and spandrel panels. The liberal use of terra cotta and tile work on the facade (west side) is a character-defining element The detailing is unrivaled in any other Collegiate Gothic building in the state except for Natrona County High School in Casper, a building designed by the architectural firm of Garbutt, Weidner and Sweeney. The two buildings, built in the late 1920s, share similar terra cotta detailing, suggesting that those components could be ordered from catalogs of the day.
The facade is a full three stories above the raised basement and contains the primary entrance, which consists of three such portals. The terra cotta Tudor arched portals are open and lead to recessed steel twinleaf doors. The front stoop consists of stone steps with a flagstone deck. The second and third-story portions of the entrance each contain three window bays. The central entrance is flanked on the north and south by three-story components, each containing nine window bays. The three-story central component, in turn, is flanked on the north and south by two-story components. Each contains groupings of window bays (3-2-3-1 on the north, reversed on the south); the window groupings are separated by brick pilasters capped with terra cotta ornamentation. The north and south ends of the facade consist of a windowless brick wall with a large rectangle outlined in brick. Decorative terra cotta detailing is used throughout the cornice area and resembles a balustrade. The water table on the facade consists of rectangular ashlar blocks and light-colored brick. Original windows have been replaced but are similar in appearance since the bays were not altered.
The north side of the building consists of two above-ground stories and contains a single entrance, asymmetrically placed west of center. It is not, however, an open arch portal but contains the doorway. The doorway has been altered and consists of a simple glass panel with two sidelights. The multi-light transom is probably original. The surrounds are similar in detail to the entrance on the facade. There are three window groupings west of the entrance separated by brick pilasters capped with terra cotta fmials, and six window groupings east of the entrance, also separated by brick pilasters. The north side continues the terra cotta string course below the parapet." (from (
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