The historic district contains only thirty buildings, of which twenty are contributing. The newest building in the district was built in 1938 and, were it not for loss of architectural integrity as the result of later renovations, all buildings would almost certainly be contributing.
The most notable building in the district, the
Irma Hotel, is non contributing as it is registered separately. Completed in 1902, it was one of the first buildings to be built in the town, the rest of the downtown filling in later, being essentially complete by 1920, with only six of the existing buildings being constructed after that year. Suffering no noticeable attrition, the district proper is continuous, with no gaps in its streetscape. All buildings are either one or two story and all are faced with either brick or sandstone. There are a few iron storefronts but, for the most part, little embellishment beyond stone trim and the occasional fancy brickwork.
William F. Cody "Buffalo Bill" and George T. Beck formed the Shoshone Land and Irrigation Company in 1895 to divert water from what is known today as the Shoshone River. Cody, Beck and others chose the site for a town in 1896. With the prospect of taking water from the Cody Canal, business and agricultural interests moved into the area. Stores in Cody became the center of commercial activity in the basin as merchants served local ranchers. Due to Cody's growth, the Chicago Burlington Railroad decided to build a spur line into town in 1901; the
railroad provided Cody with a vital link to other towns in Wyoming and Montana. Also in 1901, electricity, telephone service and a water-sewer system were introduced. The town was incorporated in 1901 and became the seat for Park County in 1910.
The
Downtown Cody Historic District contains historically significant buildings primarily dating from 1900 to the 1930s. Most of the one or two-story structures within the district have retained their architectural integrity although some of the storefronts have been altered by additions of siding and new windows.
Of the thirty structures in the district, twenty are identified as contributing while ten are listed as noncontributing buildings. Basically, a rather small district encompassing only a few blocks along Sheridan Avenue, the Cody buildings are typical of other commercial structures built in Wyoming during the same period. Yet the sandstone buildings constructed of locally quarried materials lend the district a distinctive western character. The sandstone and brick detailing of the facades represent a simple stylistic approach to commercial design.
Most of the Cody buildings were constructed of stone or brick and have large storefront windows with recessed entries. Although relatively free of ornamentation, iron fronts, large iron cornices with brackets, and clerestory windows are evident on some buildings. The scale and density of the district is a tightly knit commercial core of one and two story structures
with shared walls.
From the NRHP Nomination Form