We are a community fostering connections, nurturing creativity, and ensuring an enriched future.
We work to cultivate a vibrant and inclusive space for people to gather, connect, and grow.
Now & Then
The historic Laramie Plains Civic Center (LPCC) is an impressive building in the heart of Laramie, Wyoming. The LPCC is the oldest school building in the state, originally built as the East Side School in 1878, and the first stone building in the Wyoming Territory. Two major additions were completed in 1928 and 1939 following the original construction. These multiple structures of the LPCC form a block square facility, occupying an entire block with a footprint of nearly 58,000 square feet. Presently, all but a partial fourth floor of approximately 2,000 square feet is usable space.
The LPCC began making significant contributions to the city of Laramie from its inception. The largest contribution of the building was made through educating the community’s youth for 100 years until 1979, as well as providing a meeting place for the local members of the community. As a point of comparison, the LPCC has a longer history than the University of Wyoming, established in 1886. These historic pasts demonstrate that the LPCC is one of Laramie’s irreplaceable treasures. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 17, 1981.
Laramie’s Hub for Creativity
Since its first century as a school, the LPCC’s structure has housed creativity as an avenue for growth and connection. As with any school, the facility nurtured growing minds in science, math, and history, alongside music, art, and recreational activities. Today, LPCC offers diverse learning and growth opportunities just the same.
Laramie’s creative economy is robust thanks to the proximity to the University of Wyoming and active community organizations working to enhance the community through the arts and entrepreneurship. Within the building, 18 entrepreneurs operate their small businesses in industries including micro-manufacturing, technology, food service, and childcare. Accessible rent and communal space allow a supportive environment to bring Laramie’s startups to life.
The first murals of Wyoming’s past to be placed in a public building were installed in the auditorium of the LPCC. The four 19’ masterpiece murals in the auditorium were painted by Florence Ware, a Salt Lake City artist and granddaughter of a pioneer Laramie couple. She was teaching art and interior decorating in Salt Lake City, Utah, when she was commissioned in 1929 by Wilbur A. Hitchcock, the architect for the building’s addition, to paint the murals for the auditorium. The murals still hang in the historic auditorium, now the LPCC’s Gryphon Theatre–a modernized venue for live music, theater, film, and performing arts programming drawing audiences from throughout the Front Range.
While many artists call Laramie home, accessible spaces for group arts programming beyond the university’s campus are important. LPCC has become a destination for visual and performing artists' studios, housing over 35 tenants working in the arts. In addition to managing these spaces, LPCC operates Siren Studios, a communal pottery studio for public classes and working ceramicists, and the Gorgon Gallery, a free public art gallery featuring regional works.
A Diverse Facility for the Community
The LPCC, as a multi-use building, continues to grow and adapt to the needs of the Laramie community, fulfilling the role of education, recreation, entertainment, and workplace. The facilities of LPCC provide an otherwise unmet need for community members to gather, teach, and explore new possibilities for a diverse demographic.
Current tenants include, but are not limited to:
visual and performing artists
nonprofit organizations
small businesses
micro-manufacturers
religious groups
health and family services
state offices
Adding to the LPCC’s diverse facility, the building houses two gymnasiums that encourage intramural recreation, provide childcare recess options, host local markets, and supply additional venues for other community events. The centralized location of the LPCC in the city of Laramie is extremely valuable for community members and remains a viable option for an array of events, functions, and workspaces. The LPCC is surrounded by quiet residential areas, only a short walk from downtown and directly across from the University of Wyoming.
LPCC’s mission is to provide accessible space for the community at large to connect– making spaces, programs, and opportunities for growth available to individuals, including but not limited to those from low-income communities, aging populations, queer and BIPOC youth, and adults. While facility spaces are rentable by the community, LPCC offers in-kind opportunities for organizations hosting programming that invites inward marginalized and lesser-served communities.
All LPCC operations and activities are dedicated to the mission of bringing together agencies throughout the city and state to promote recreational, educational, and cultural activities by cultivating an environment conducive to cooperation, synthesis, and creativity while preserving the historical integrity of the building.
