Wyoming’s Capitol open for extended summer hours

The ‘People’s House’ will be open Saturdays through Sept. 28.

by Maggie Mullen June 7, 2024June 6, 2024

The Wyoming State Capitol will have extended hours this summer. (Courtesy State of Wyoming)

For rougly four years, the public was kept out of Wyoming’s State Capitol as it underwent a $300 million renovation.

When the doors of the “People’s House” reopened in July 2019, all kinds of treasures had been uncovered and restored by the hands of almost 4,000 workers — vaulted ceilings, grand arches and columns, intricate oil paintings on historic vault doors, sparkling chandeliers and stained-glass skylights. The House returned to its original shades of green and gold, the Senate to its golds and maroons.

The Historic Supreme Court Room — where Wyoming’s 1889 Constitutional Convention was held, enshrining women’s suffrage before any other state — was the most transformed by the project. The room is also responsible for the Capitol’s designation as a National Historic Landmark. That’s something only 20 states can claim.

Gallery onlookers and members of the Wyoming House and Senate applaud during Gov. Mark Gordon’s State of the State address at the Wyoming State Capitol in January 2023 (Megan Lee Johnson/WyoFile)

The building’s interior delights, however, are kept behind closed doors when the Capitol shuts down in the evenings and on weekends.

“Unless we’re here, unless we’re in session, the doors aren’t open often enough,” Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D-Laramie) said during the 2024 legislative session as lawmakers debated additional funding for staffing and security to extend the Capitol’s open hours.

“It is incumbent upon us to decide, ‘Do we want the public to be able to come here and see these chambers, see the work that we’ve put in, be proud of these chambers, or do we want to keep those doors closed?” Rothfuss said.

Several of his Republican colleagues agreed.

“I don’t want to see Wyoming hang the sign that says, ‘We’re closed on weekends,’” Sen. Stephan Pappas (R-Cheyenne) said. “We need to provide dollars to do this, and we need to tell people that ‘We’re open,’ and we welcome anybody here.”

The funding ultimately made it into the budget — which squeaked by in the Senate — and extended summer hours are on.

Now through the end of September, the Capitol will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays. It will also be open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays until Aug. 30. It will be closed July 4.

Photos of the extensive renovation can be found here.

The People’s House

Shrouded Capitol

Maggie Mullen

Maggie Mullen reports on state government and politics. Before joining WyoFile in 2022, she spent five years at Wyoming Public Radio. More by Maggie Mullen

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