The Kendrick Building - Wyoming Arts Council

"Speech given by William Dubois on September 17, 1990 at the Kendrick Building Dedication"

It is a great pleasure for me to give a short history of the Kendrick Building. Much of what I have to say comes from the research of Do Palma who could not be here today. The research was prepared to place this build ing on the National Historic Registry.

I was honored to be asked to speak today. I have been interested in the preservation of Wyoming buildings and sites since I was in college. Secondly, the original architect for the Kendrick Building was my grandfather, William R. Dubois, Sr. And, housed in this fine structure is the Wyoming Arts Council. All of us that are active in the arts use and appreciate Joy Thompson and her excellent staff.

For the past five years I have been on the Mayor of Cheyenne's Commission for Historic Preservation. One of my fellow members and workers is architect, Rande Pouppirt. This Kendrick Building as it is today is thanks to Rande's outstanding abilities. He took an old house and turned it into this marvelous structure we see today.

The Kendrick Building, recently named for Wyoming Governor John Kendrick of Sheridan because it was built during his term. He was Governor for two years, but served for many years as a Wyoming Senator. It is representative of one period of Cheyenne's development as a community. It was an American Foursquare residential structure.

The Kendrick Building was built as a home for prominent banker Charles L. Beatty in 1916. It was neither pretentious nor spacious; its style is very conventional. Its location is a reminder of the accessibility of Wyoming people to their government and the fact that our state government buildings are located in a residential rather than a commercial district.

During the 1910-1920 period when this home was built, Wyoming was experiencing major booms brought on by the advent of dry land farming and the economic growths caused by World War I. The extensive use of automobiles greatly added to the demand for more oil production.

Several large homes were built in Cheyenne during this period. Some are in the historic Rainsford district east of the downtown area, and the others in the Capitol North District. The Beatty home, or Kendrick Building is unique because of its prominent location - interestingly in sight of two of William Dubois's other buildings, the wings of the Capitol and the later built Supreme Court. It is significant too because it is a superior illustration of how an American Foursquare style was interpreted by an important local architect. It is a particularly visible symbol of an important and formative period of rapid growth in Cheyenne history.

Though the home was built for the Beatty family many old timers in Cheyenne have known the house as the Wilson home. The Wilsons lived here from 1932- 1955. Their son, James o. Wilson, was a prominent lawyer in Cheyenne for many years--studied for his bar exams in one of the upstairs bedrooms--and with his wife Jean is here today for this dedication.

The building served as the headquarters for the Wyoming Travel Commission from 1958-1975. For a short time the State Planning Coordinators office was here, and from then until the present time, the Arts Council. Special thanks to our legislature for saving and adapting a worthwhile structure instead of creating another new generic building.

Property is located on block 169 - lots 1 and 2 - north 88 feet. The address is 2320 Capitol. The Beattys sold the house to W.H. Taylor in 1924. He sold it to the Wilsons in 1932. Interestingly enough William Dubois held the mortgage during the latter transition. The Wilson children gave the house to the First Church of Christ Science in 1955, and the church sold it to the state in 1958.