Laramie's historic downtown has been named one of the top three main streets in the country.
In recent years, there's been an explosion of public art in Laramie's downtown area, from massive murals to brightly colored, stylized bike racks. During that same time, the downtown area has seen the addition of more than 100 new businesses, and almost 700 new jobs.
These efforts have now been recognized nationally. Main Street America, a national organization with 1,200 member communities, named Laramie's downtown one of the nation's best main streets.
Trey Sherwood, the executive director of the Laramie Main Street Alliance, said it's "surreal" to be honored this way.
"I've been with the organization for 12 years, but it is a collective 'we' – all the community coming together to support this work," she said.
Sherwood credits everyone from the city council to her volunteers for earning Laramie this award. She said the award recognizes Laramie's holistic approach to economic development, from public art to public events.
"It wasn't just one thing but a lot of strategies that built resiliency for our businesses," Sherwood said. "Everything from the Laramie Mural Project – public art, beautification that draws visitors to come downtown, shop and explore – to the Cowboy Cash program that we initiated during the pandemic."
The Laramie Main Street Alliance provides one-on-one coaching for small business owners, tracks downtown property values and even helps with lease negotiations. It's supported by the Wyoming Business Council.
