Ames Monument -- Sherman Hill, Albany Co. WY
N 41° 07.869 W 105° 23.878
13T E 466596 N 4553392
The Ames Monument, a landmark on the Lincoln Highway near Buford WY, is listed in the SIRIS Database
Waymark Code: WMXT05
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 02/22/2018
Views: 2
The Oakes and Oliver Ames Monument, a landmark on the Lincoln Highway near Buford WY, lies just a short distance off the route of the old Lincoln Highway (and the modern I-80) along Monument Road near Buford WY.
This monument was previously located ON the route of the Union Pacific as it made its way over Sherman Hill, but when the UP rerouted its tracks a bit to the south, the monument was left at this historical point, the summit of Sherman Hill on the UPRR.
In the 19-teens the Lincoln Highway was routed over Sherman Hill, just a bit to the north of the monument. Nevertheless, the monument was visible from the highway, and so it was a tourist draw for those motoring by then, and now.
In 1992 the Ames Monument was added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 1972, and was named a US National Historic Landmark in 2016.
From the SIRIS Database:https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=15W9X2L141887.3628&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!317088~!39&ri=1&aspect=power&menu=search&ipp=20&spp=20&staffonly=&term=ames+monument&index=.GW&uindex=&aspect=power&menu=search&ri=1&limitbox_1=LO01+=+ias
"Ames Monument, (sculpture).
Artist: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907, sculptor.
Richardson, H. H., 1838-1886, sculptor.
Title: Ames Monument, (sculpture).
Dates: 1882.
Medium:
Reliefs: sandstone; Pyramid: mortared granite.
Dimensions:
Reliefs: approx. 9 ft. x 9 ft. x 16 in.;
Pyramid: approx. 60 x 61 x 63 ft.
Inscription:
(Carved on north face of pyramid:) IN MEMORY/OF OAKES AMES/AND OLIVER AMES (East face, Oakes Ames:) BORN/JANUARY/10, 1804/MAY 8/1873/ A (inscribed within circle) (West face, Oliver Ames:) BORN NO/VEMBER/1807/DIED/ MARCH 7/1877 signed
Description:
Step pyramid of mortared granite blocks with two bas-reliefs portraying on East side, Oakes Ames; and on West side: Oliver Ames. Both portraits are bust length, three-quarter views.
Subject:
Portrait male -- Ames, Oakes -- Bust
Portrait male -- Ames, Oliver -- Bust
Architecture -- Monument -- Pyramid
Object Type: Outdoor Sculpture -- Wyoming
Sculpture Owner: Administered by State of Wyoming, Wyoming State Museum, Barrett Building, 2301 Central Avenue, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
Located 1/2 miles South of Interstate 80, near the summit between Cheyenne & Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming
Remarks: The Ames brothers were major investors in Credit Mobiler of America, the construction company building the transcontinental railroad. The sculpture was designed by Henry Hobson Richards; Augustus Saint-Gaudens was commissioned to create the bas-reliefs. The sculpture was constructed in 1882 near the summit between Laramie and Cheyenne next to railroad tracks. In 1901, the railroad was rerouted three and one half miles south of the monument.
References: Save Outdoor Sculpture, Wyoming survey, 1993.
Illustration: Image on file.
Note: The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.
Repository: Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Control Number: IAS WY000010"
TITLE: Ames Monument
ARTIST(S): Augustus Saint-Gaudens (reliefs) and H. H. Richardson (pyramid)
DATE: 1882
MEDIUM: Granite (for pyramid) and Sandstone (for reliefs)
CONTROL NUMBER: IAS WY000010
Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link]
PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Sherman Hill
Albany Co WY
DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH:
none
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