Lusk Rest Area - Lusk, WY
N 42° 44.875 W 104° 28.920
13T E 542393 N 4732952
Wyoming Historical Marker at the rest area on the south side of US 18/20, a little over two miles southwest of Lusk, providing some history of this, Wyoming's first roadside beautification area, still blazing trails in the 21st century.
Waymark Code: WM12GAD
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 05/22/2020
Views: 2
The marker has an inset showing the original incarnation of the rest area, and it reads:
Although paved highways have existed in the U.S. since the 1920s, rest areas are a more recent feature of highway travel. In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson promoted a nationwide effort to beautify highways through landscaping, removal of billboards and construction of enhanced rest area facilities. This effort let to congressional passage of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965.
In February 1966, the Wyoming Highway Department, contracted a Wyoming architect to design the Lusk Rest Area as Wyoming's first roadside beautification area. The original, built by a local contractor, included the historic Lathrop Monument, and featured the first flush toilets, heated restrooms, sewer system, and hot and cold water in a Wyoming rest area. With shelter arbors, picnic tables, fire grills and children’s recreational facilities including a slide, merry-go-round and swings, it quickly became a popular local picnic area.
Over the years, Wyoming rest areas set design standards using innovation and a prototype design for passive solar buildings in the 1980s. In 1998, Wyoming Department of Transportation partnered with Federal Highway Administration and a Wyoming architect to develop an updated rest area prototype design, incorporating passive solar with geothermal elements to create maximum energy efficiency.
The Lusk Rest Area was selected as Wyoming's first 21st century rest area upgrade. The original steel arch picnic arbor roof supports were reused as landscape architectural elements and the site reopened to the public in November, 2000.
Marker Name: Lusk Rest Area
Marker Type: City
Addtional Information:
The rest area is open 24/7. Most visitors agree that it's a clean place to stop, with family restrooms, tourist information, picnic areas, and a place to walk your pets. Be sure to visit the final resting place of George Lathrop, an area pioneer whose memorial also honors those who worked and traveled the Cheyenne & Black Hills Trail that passed right through here.
Group Responsible for Placement: Wyoming Department of Transportation
Date Dedicated: Not listed
Marker Number: Not listed
Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Wyoming history please include that in your log.
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