Renowned LDS Cody mural historic site begins major renovation

CODY - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Wadman Corporation of Ogden, Utah, have begun a massive $3.5 million renovation of the Cody Mural Historic Site located at 1719 Wyoming Avenue in Cody, with a projected completion date of June 1, 2016. This project, funded by a private trust, is taking place nearly 65 years after the famous Cody Mural was completed by Chicago, and later Cody, artist Edward T. Grigware (1889-1960).

In 1950, before beginning to paint the mural in the rotunda, Grigware, not a member of the Church, spent a year studying the history of the expansion of the west and the integral part the Latter-day Saints had in the colonization and settling of the Big Horn Basin in his "relentless pursuit of accuracy," said Eleanor Jewett, an art critic for the Chicago Tribune. It took 11 months to complete the painting of the mural. In describing his painting of the early history of the Latter-day Saints, Grigware said, "I have painted the love and respect that I hold in my heart for these indomitable people".

Structural changes will promote better traffic flow for the thousands of visitors who come each year, and updates will include interactive kiosks, improved artifact displays, custom lighting to enhance the architectural and mural visual intricacies, upgraded electrical engineering and telecommunications, improved AV and acoustical systems, heightened safety and security, enriched sustainability, and controls integration.

Consultation with Church curators and other experts have produced a plan that incorporates most of the original artifacts into thought-provoking presentations, integrating them with state-of-the-art technology to not only attract a new generation to Church history, but also revitalize the interest of individuals who have connections with the Big Horn Basin. Kurt Graham, former director of the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, former director of the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, current director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Mo., and consultant for this project stated that "the results of this renovation will be stellar." Kurt V. Hopkin, director of the Cody Mural Historic Site commented that "the renovations taking place will not only showcase the beauty of this remarkable mural, but will also tell our story in a more concise modernized way. It will be a 'must-see' for tourists or history buffs who visit Yellowstone and the Big Horn Basin, and it will be free of charge."

Visitors will follow personal stories of settlers who constructed the Sidon Canal and built a 20-mile spur for the Burlington Railroad from Pryor Gap on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, to Frannie. A specially constructed theater screen will take viewers into the lives of those who settled in the land. An interactive touch table will invite visitors to enter their name and see how they might be related to the various colonizers of the Big Horn Basin. The center display in the mural rotunda will focus on a first edition of the Book of Mormon, the faith's unique scripture, which was published in 1830.

Demolition has already begun, with renovations slated for early January. For further information call Georgina Hopkin at 307-899-3143 or email [email protected].