Named for Eleanor Chatterton Kennedy, daughter of former Wyoming Governor Fenimore Chatterton, and Joe and Arlene Watt, descendants of Wyoming pioneer families and long involved in cattle ranching in the state, the AHC occupies 60% of the Centennial Complex on the UW campus. Designed by architect Antoine Predock of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the building is an abstract representation of the surrounding Wyoming landscape. The cone, that houses the AHC, represents a mountain, the UW Art Museum resembles a village at the foot of the mountain, and the Sculpture Court represents the Laramie Plains.

The 127,000 square-foot building took three years to build at a cost of nineteen million dollars (half state funds and half private donations). Groundbreaking for the building took place on October 6, 1990. Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan and UW President Terry Roark cut the ribbon officially opening the facility on September II, 1993.

The Rentschler Room is an exact replica of the library of George Rentschler, a New York industrialist and collector of Western art. Born in 1892 in Fairfield, Ohio, Rentschler attended Princeton University and served as an aviator in World War I. After the war, he joined the family foundry business and expanded it into shipbuilding, railroad equipment, armaments and other heavy machinery. Rentschler often hunted in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin and his love of the West influenced the art he purchased. After Rentschler’s death in 1972, his family agreed to donate the paintings to the American Heritage Center. Lights are subdued to protect the paintings but still open to the public.

Hanging in the room is a portrait of Shoshone Chief Washakie by George DeForest Brush, and paintings by Western artist Henry Farny, who was Mr. Rentschler’s favorite artist. Farny produced more than 100 pieces of Western art.

The Storer Loggia represents an early forest with columns that resemble giant trees surrounding a welcoming fire. The Loggia contains paintings by famous Western artist Alfred Jacob Miller. Through his paintings he documented an 1837 expedition to the fur-trading region of Wyoming. Presenting a romantic view of the West Also in the Loggia are artifacts including the saddles of William “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd, The Cisco Kid, and Jack Benny’s violin. Tub Loggia also features a variety of rotating exhibits.

The Toppan Rare Books Library is home to UW’s rare books collection, consisting of more than 40,000 items. The majority of the materials are printed books, although there are newspapers, magazines, illuminated manuscripts, and other materials. Subjects collected include the American West, British and American literature, history, early exploration, religion, hunting and fishing, natural history, women authors, and examples of the book arts.

The Colket Room is located in the Toppan Library. C. Howard Colket (1859-1924) traveled the world beginning in 1879 when he journeyed by horseback from Beirut to Baghdad, visiting the ancient cities of Telloh, Corinth, Ninevah, Baalbek, Tell Billa, and Rayy, collecting many artifacts, curios, and mementos. Some of the artifacts acquired during these travels, and the cases built to house them, are on display thanks to the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Colket, II.

The American Heritage Center Exhibit showcases principal collecting areas of the AHC. These are Wyoming and the American West, UW Archives, Environment and Conservation, Mining & Petroleum Industries, 20th Century American Culture, Journalism, Politics & World Affairs, Rare Books, and Transportation. The AHC holds collections such as the papers of U.S. Senator Gale McGee, Barbara Stanwyck, Admiral Husband Kimmel, pioneer aviator Roscoe Turner, and the Anaconda Mining Company.

The LaBarre Business History Center (turn left as you exit the elevator and pass through the door labeled “Public Gallery”) is the only public area on the fifth floor. Displayed are photographs of Laramie and the University of Wyoming campus. Views of the Loggia, Laramie, and the Snowy Range Mountains are available from this floor.

The Reliquary contains exhibits that are drawn from the AHC’s collections. Located on either side of the Reliquary are the Meg and Fred Karlin Audio-Visual Room and The Anaconda Reading Room. The Anaconda Geological Document Collection is the country’s largest collection relating to geological exploration. These rooms are available by appointment only and are not part of the self-guided tour.

The Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Reprinted from Heritage Center walking tour brochure