End Of An Era: Cheyenne’s Iconic Hitching Post Inn Sign Comes Down

CHEYENNE — An era is coming to a close. The capital city’s iconic Hitching Post Inn sign, a last remnant of the place-to-be hotel that for decades was known as the “Second Capitol of Wyoming,” began to be dismantled Thursday.

And it appears that it is probably gone for good.

An employee working at the site told passersby that they would try to “take her down easy.”

But he doubted the effort could succeed.

“It’s just made of tin,” he said. “There’s no way it’s not going to just crumple.”

Still, workers on site were having a quick powwow between digging out around it to discuss how best to approach the problem.

If successful in saving enough of the sign, the worker said it will probably go to a museum for restoration.

Robert Swagger, owner of Swagger construction who was one of the general contractors and developers for the project, previously told Cowboy State Daily that they would try to save the sign if they could.

However, Swagger Construction didn’t ultimately bid on becoming the project’s general contractor, and he didn’t immediately return a call to Cowboy State Daily on Thursday to discuss the sign.

The Hitching Post site has been undergoing intense construction with two hotels going vertical at the site.

Work could be seen going on at the Hitching Post site simultaneously with the effort to take down the sign.

Many Memories

The clouds were hanging low in the sky, blocking out the sun in Cheyenne, on Thursday morning as work continued to bring down the sign — a pensive mood that fit the occasion, Cheyenne resident Jonathan Downing told Cowboy State Daily.

“I was a bellboy, a desk clerk and a night auditor there,” Downing said. “And I also worked for the Contractors Association at an office there in the back when I was part of the leadership for contractors.”

The Hitching Post Inn in those days was a “secret weapon” for lobbyists, Downing said.

“You could watch legislators coming in to check in and just wander out and say ‘Hi,’ to them,” Downing said. “It really was a secret weapon when it came to trying to run into people and talk to them about legislation or just catch up on what was going on around Wyoming.”

The Hitching Post Inn was so popular in its heyday that it became known as the “Second Capitol of Wyoming.” While none of the legislators would cast a vote at this second capitol, most would stay there during the session, and many a pivotal conversation was held there, particularly in the area of the bar.

“There were breakfast, lunch, dinner receptions and parties — it was a time, a different era,” Downing said. “But a lot of times you might have these big floor debates and then people would be going down to the bar or reception area and they’d realize that they might have let things get a little too heated. Sometimes they’d sit there and apologies would be made or friendships mended.”

If things got too heated in the bar, there was always breakfast the next morning.

“A lot of times, the next day, you’d see them come up with a solution for whatever had been the problem on the floor the day before,” Downing said.

A Different Era

The tone of yesterday’s fights were different than the fights of today, Downing added.

“Back then, we were fighting because we didn’t have money,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It wasn’t fighting like nowadays, where we have money and we’re trying to fight on how we spend it.”

The fights did get pretty passionate, Downing recalled, but there was more civility to it, and Downing believes the Hitching Post played a role in that.

He recalled two old friends fighting like “cats and dogs” over a bill and how they ultimately came to terms and voted for the same bill.

“You’d see them ending up at the same table or breakfast that day,” Downing said. “And it was just that’s how we used to do things when there was more civility in Wyoming politics and where it was like you had that sense of community and neighbor.”

The sign coming down feels like a sign of the changing times, Downing added, but he still hopes for a return to civility in Wyoming politics.

“We’re trying to get those back,” he said. “Unfortunately, we are in a time where things are polarized. I mean, that’s also what elections are about, and we’ll see if we can get back to some of those basics, because it’s not only on those who are sitting in elected office, but also those in the lobby. We’re all responsible for those things.”

Entertainment Center Of Cheyenne

The Hitching Post wasn’t just Cheyenne’s unofficial second capitol, though, it was also a magnet for the community’s nightlife, a place where people went to see and be seen, to party, and to be entertained.

Singer songwriter Michael DeGreve, the self-described “Hippie from Hollywood,” presided over much of that scene for 30-some years, playing to packed houses two times a day for six nights a week through 2007.

DeGreve came to the Hitching Post to play for a weeklong gig, but by the end of the week, the owner at the time, Paul Smith, had convinced him to just stay.

“On a handshake, I was there 30 years, six nights a week,” DeGreve has told Cowboy State Daily.

He made thousands of Cheyenne friends during that time, many of whom still interact with him over social media. He also met many famous people, including Neil Young, and has what he calls the literal “time of his life” at what was a magical place.

DeGreve told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that he was saddened to hear the sign was coming down and would probably not going to be back.

“I thought they were going to leave the sign up as the one thing from the old days that’s going to stay there,” he said. “Well, nothing lasts forever. It’s a shame. I thought that leaving the sign would be beneficial to the new, whatever they do there. That place was such an institution for a long time.”

DeGreve said he’s been asked if he would come play for a grand opening at the hotel once it’s finished, and he has been considering it.

“If the sign has to come down, I certainly understand that,” he said. “But it’s a shame. I was hoping they would leave it just as a reminder, a remembrance, a symbol of what was there for so long, what was so important to so many people including me.”

DeGreve has moved to Oregon since his time in Cheyenne, where he has continued to sing and write songs.

“That was a landmark for so long,” DeGreve said. “But, you know, ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on. I can’t help it, I’m a Beatles freak.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.