National Register Listing

Bath Row

a.k.a. Theodore Bath Historic District

155, 157, and 159 N. Sixth St. and 611 University Ave., Laramie, WY

The Bath Row historic district includes four buildings that retain integrity. (constructed in 1883). These structures were built by the Bath family, important contributors to Laramie's early settlement period. Known for their fine stone buildings and business activities, the Baths were involved in merchandising, hotel ownership, early ranching, and the construction and rental of housing for railroad workers. This, in a town with a population of only 2,000, makes it easy to understand just how much power they wielded. These buildings are excellent examples of a type, period, and method of construction used in Laramie's early settlement period, which was in large part determined by the Baths who set the standards upon which much of the local building traditions were based. Representing the largest concentration of Bath stone buildings remaining in the city, all four retain integrity of setting, design, location, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Additionally constructed as rental units for railroad workers, the stone structures are representative of the arrival and continuing influence of the transcontinental railroad in Wyoming. The railroad provided a means of shipping beeves to mid-western markets, brought eastern goods to burgeoning western communities and settlers to the high plains. The presence of permanent railroad facilities and workers insured the growth and prosperity of several communities in southern Wyoming and dramatically influenced the broad patterns of Wyoming's political, cultural and economic history. Though nine houses and a barn were initially constructed, only these four retain integrity and serve to provide a clear example of Laramie's early stone buildings. The others along the row (not included within the boundaries) demonstrate the personal tastes and trends which later became popular and the fate suffered by a vast majority of Laramie's remaining stone buildings.

Local significance of the district:
Exploration/settlement; Architecture

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.