Laramie's downtown is a well-preserved block of late-nineteenth century commercial architecture strung along Second Street and Ivinson Avenue. The brick storefronts — mostly from the 1880s and 1890s railroad boom — now house bars, coffee shops, and independent retailers that cater to a mixed population of ranchers, university students, and the service economy.
The downtown is small enough to walk entirely in an hour, but the density of intact Victorian commercial buildings is notable. The 1896 Albany County courthouse dominates the north end of downtown. The bar scene along Second Street is active in the evenings — this is a college town at elevation, and the students drink with the enthusiasm appropriate to both conditions. The best coffee shops are in the university-adjacent blocks rather than the commercial strip.