The Townsend Hotel, also known as the Hotel Townsend, is a historic hotel in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

. It was renovated and expanded for government use in 2008-2009 and is now known as the Townsend Justice Center.

Description

The Townsend Hotel is a five-story brick edifice in the heart of downtown

. Although the first story has a square floorplan, the remaining floors have E-shaped layouts, originally allowing all of the 135 guest rooms to have exterior walls and windows. The front façade is made of

cast stone Cast stone or reconstructed stone is a highly refined building material, a form of precast concrete used as masonry intended to simulate natural-cut stone. It is used for architectural features: trim, or ornament; facing buildings or other st ...

, mixed red and burgundy bricks, and some plaster. The first two stories are grey cast stone, and the remaining stories are brick. The sides and back of the hotel reveal the exposed concrete infrastructure with a red brick infill, which has since been stained to match the front. Although double-hung windows were originally placed around the building, they have been replaced with their single-paned counterparts.

History

The hotel was built on the original location of the William Anthens pioneer homestead."Former Resident Incentive for Numerous Parties". Casper Star Tribune, p4, 27 Sept 1931. Casper, Wyoming. Accessed on Newspapers.com on 11 May 2020. (https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15203228/casper-star-tribune/) The hotel structure was built in 1923 by Charles H. Townsend, a prominent local settler and businessman, and was designed by architects

Garbutt, Weidner & Sweeney Arthur M. Garbutt was an American architect who practiced in Fort Collins, Colorado and Casper, Wyoming. He worked from approximately 1903 to 1928. Life and career He practiced alone and in partnerships Fuller and Garbutt, Garbutt and Weidne ...

. It was one of three grand hotels built in the downtown area of Casper and the only one still standing, the others being the Henning Hotel and the Gladstone Hotel. The Townsend served as an important hub in the early social and political life of Casper. It hosted the Casper

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

and other local organizations, and was used by the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

and commissioned officers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. By the 1970s, however, the hotel had deteriorated to the point that it was closed in 1982. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 25, 1983. The building was purchased by Realtor Betty Luker in the late 1980s, then sold to Jan Gray in 1998. In 2002 the hotel was bought by Townsend Properties LLC, which gutted the structure and removed all the asbestos in 2006. On January 2, 2007, the building was purchased by the government of

Natrona County Natrona County is a county in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 79,955, making it the second-most populous county in Wyoming. Its county seat is Casper. Natrona County comprises the Casper, WY ...

. The building was renovated throughout 2008-2009 for use as a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

. A substantial addition was built on the building's north side, with a mixed brick scheme echoing that of the hotel's façade. In late 2009, the building was opened as the Townsend Justice Center. It now houses the district court offices and the clerk of county court, formerly located in the old courthouse across the street; along with the Natrona County Circuit Court, moved from the fifth floor of the Hall of Justice. Remaining from the hotel's glory days, the lobby's original marble staircase is still intact, although it simply stops at the ceiling. Some of the marble from the hotel's interior was re-purposed, and a

ghost sign A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. The sign may be kept for its nostalgic appeal, or simply indifference by the owner. History and preservation Ghost signs a ...

advertising the hotel was kept on the back of the building.

References

{{NRHP in Natrona County, Wyoming Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Buildings and structures in Casper, Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Natrona County, Wyoming Commercial buildings completed in 1923