Dancing at the Sheridan Inn

On May, 15, 2015, fifty years after the last guest stayed at the Historic Sheridan Inn of Sheridan, Wyoming, the famous hotel will reopen for guests after many years of major renovation. Buffalo Bill Cody, indisputably one of the greatest promoters of Wyoming tourism, was not shy about using his own money to build tourism in his adopted home state. He put his money on the table when he lobbied the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad to build the unique three story inn. Thomas R. Kimball of Omaha, Nebraska, designed the landmark hotel with big porches and dormer windows similar to inns he had visited in Scotland. Cody, who hosted numerous notables for hunting expeditions into the nearby Big Horn Mountains, also ran a livery and stage line to the Black Hills from the hotel, which he managed from 1894-1896. The Sheridan Inn’s revival, with its 22 rooms themed around iconic Westerners and Open Range Restaurant is a great success story for the town of Sheridan, the investors and its owners Bob and Dana Townsend of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.