Sidney's history draws some traffic to downtown, though more would be welcome

Sidney's wild west history of Sidney and the buildings that still stand from that and calmer eras serve downtown well these days, at least to some extent.

“When they advertise like that, people stop—those that have some time,” said Tim Miller, owner of Miller Office Supply.

Travelers on I-80 sometimes encounter Sidney's interesting story by accident.

“They're at Cabela’s they hear or see the advertising about Historical Sidney and people who have some interest come down,” Miller continued.

Dates etched into building facades and plaques posted at eye level on downtown walls tell of Sidney's past. In 1994, the city took things a step further, earning accreditation as a Historical Business District—one of only two such designations in the western part of the state.

A decade later, Sidney's downtown received Historical Main Street status. In 2008, the historic district was named by the National Main Street Center.

These help to spread the word through tourist literature. But the number of people drawn from the Interstate to Sidney's downtown strip may be small. And there is little left of the old gunslinging, barroom brawling gold rush town, once known as the “wickedest” town in the west.

Still, the cowboy era has tourist appeal, as does western architecture dating from the 1880s through the Model T days.

“I don't think we promite it enough,” observed Sidney Mayor Wendell Gaston, referring to potential tourist dollars in a historic district.

“It may not be a huge draw,” he conceded, “but any little bit helps.”