Cody Firearms Museum: Sustainable Infrastructure Improvements

FAIN: PF-255660-17

Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, WY 82414-3428)
Philip Anthony (Project Director: December 2016 to February 2020)

An implementation project to upgrade environmental controls and improve fire and security systems at the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association’s Cody Firearms Museum, which houses a collection of 7,000 firearms and more than 20,000 related objects chronicling the development of firearms from 1425 to the present.  The collection would be stored and then reinstalled after the museum undergoes a complete renovation.

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West will improve collections care and infrastructure in the 45,000 square-foot Cody Firearms Museum (CFM). The CFM holds more than 7,000 firearms, the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world and the only firearms museum that has earned American Alliance of Museums accreditation. Planning is underway for a complete reinstallation of the CFM, which will interpret the story of firearms as a continuous narrative about people, ingenuity, and artistry. While the reinstallation process is underway, and CFM objects have been moved to safe temporary storage, engineers will connect CFM galleries to the Central Plant at the Center of the West, eliminating outdated boilers and providing clean, efficient atomizer humidification in the CFM. The project will also eliminate deficiencies in the fire and security systems of the CFM.