Cowboy Hall of Fame

Several cities vied to become home to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, including Rapid City, SD; Prescott, AZ; Dodge City, KS; Cheyenne, WY and even Las Vegas. But, because Oklahoma City boasted high traffic counts thanks to Route 66 and other main highways, offered up a site for free, and committed to underwrite the building costs, delegates chose to locate the center here in April 1955. Fundraising efforts for the initial $1 million it would cost to construct the main hall began right away, with a final goal of $5 million to be raised to complete the entire complex. At the same time, directors named Lee Sorey of Sorey Hill Sorey to be the professional adviser for a nationwide design competition. A Michigan firm, Begrow & Brown, won the competition in 1958 with their light and airy modern design consisting of a series of hyperbolic paraboloids. Fundraising efforts took a lot longer than expected, and the building wasn’t completed until 1965. Sorey Hill Sorey is named as the associate architect for the Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Also, Bruce Goff submitted a design for the museum in the shape of interlocking horseshoes.

Julius Shulman’s photos of the completed building appeared in the Ideal Cement Company Annual Report, 1966.

Now known as the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the original complex has been expanded and remodeled almost beyond recognition.