Gymnasium and Community Hall - Cowley, WY
Posted by: T0SHEA
N 44° 52.934 W 108° 28.080
12T E 699969 N 4972987
A 1936 Works Progress Administration project, this large log structure, once a school gymnasium and community hall, is today a gymnasium and community hall, no longer directly associated with a school.
Waymark Code: WMWV1G
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 10/14/2017
Views: 2
We believe the "Then" photo here to have been taken in the early to mid '40s, as much as a decade after this gymnasium was built. Both "Then" and "Now" photos were taken from the sidewalk directly south of the gymnasium, looking north.
While the Big Horn Academy was established in 1907 with the construction in Cowley of a stone schoolhouse, the present stone building wasn't constructed until 1916, at a cost of $40,000, replacing that original building. The academy was essentially dissolved in 1924 when the school was transferred to School District No. 28, thereafter to be known as the Cowley High School. The large log building beside the stone schoolhouse was a WPA project built for $10,000 in 1936 as a gymnasium for the school. Since its construction, however, the building has served the community as a community hall as well as a gymnasium.
When the school was closed in 1985 the gymnasium became solely a community hall. As the major meeting space for Cowley and surrounding towns, it has witnessed public meetings and events, political rallies, family gatherings, weddings and funerals, class reunions, dramatic productions, dances, and even prize fights. Although the log gym had been used for storage for many years, the Town of Cowley completed renovations in 2015 to make it available once again for community use. Baskets at each end of the large room, a painted court on the floor, fixed bleachers, and pendant light fixtures indicate its principal use as a basketball court, though the facility continues to host much more than athletic events.
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Gymnasium & Community Hall - circa 1945 - 2017 |
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Gymnasium & Community Hall - 2017 - circa 1945 |
Year photo was taken: ca 1945
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