The Laramie Plains Museum occupies the Ivinson Mansion, a large Queen Anne house built in 1892 on Ivinson Avenue near the center of downtown. The mansion is worth seeing for the architecture alone — towers, wrap-around porch, elaborate woodwork — but the interior exhibits cover Laramie's history from the early railroad era through the twentieth century with good depth.
The collection includes period furnishings from the Ivinson family's occupation, as well as artefacts related to the Union Pacific Railroad, the University of Wyoming's founding, and the social history of the high plains. Tours depart on a regular schedule and are led by guides who know the family stories. The museum is a short walk from the downtown bar and restaurant strip.