The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens held a "topping out" ceremony Tuesday afternoon to mark the placing of the highest part of steel work on the new Grand Conservatory.

Community members got to sign the last steel beam before it was raised by a crane and bolted into position.

"We let anybody who's a community resident sign this beam because this structure belongs to the community," said Shane Smith, Director of the Cheyenne Botanic
Gardens. "It's going to be a place where we think people are going to enjoy and hang out and make lots of great memories and learn lots of neat things and also get out of the wind and into the tropics."

The $16 million renovation and expansion of the Botanic Gardens was approved by voters on the 2012 sixth penny ballot.

"This is our first large use of taxpayers funds to do something that will become a great community piece that will add to the quality of life, help us attract tourists and attract new businesses," said Smith. "It's really an amenity that most towns our size just don't have."

Smith says construction on the new conservatory is expected to be completed by late summer.

"Now we need to outfit the building for things that can be put in later," said Smith. "A number of folks have already given towards that end and we still have a number of great naming opportunities."

If you would like to leave a permanent legacy in the new building or learn about other opportunities to contribute, contact Development Director Tina Worthman at tina@botanic.org or (307) 637-6458.

Joy Greenwald, Townsquare Media
Joy Greenwald, Townsquare Media
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