Buffalo Bill Historical Center announces first name change in more than 50 years

The renamed Buffalo Bill Center for the West stands on the West side of Cody. The main entrance is picutred here in winter. (BBHC photo by Nancy McClure)

(Cody, Wyo.) – On Friday, February 8, the Board of Trustees of the Buffalo Bill HistoricalCenter in Cody voted overwhelmingly to change the name of the institution. Effective immediately, the museum complex will now be called the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

The reason for the name change is to more accurately describe the width and depth of the museum’s mission, collections, and programs. “The new name captures more fully our great collections and everything the museum is about,” explained Chairman of the Board Barron Collier II. “Visitors were often surprised to find that the Center is more than a history of the West. Our five museums and research library are a world class experience in Yellowstone nature and science, art of the American West, Plains Indians, firearms, and, of course, history as told through the life and times of William F. ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West will take the Spirit of the American West to new audiences in new ways, and I’m excited about where we are going.”

The name change is effective immediately, but will be phased in over the coming months. The Center worked with the renowned branding firm Siegel+Gale to study, evaluate, test, and design a new identity for the Center, long considered among the finest western museums in America. The Buffalo Bill Center of the West will have an entirely new logo and graphics presentation that are now in the final stages of development and will be released over the next several months.

“The new brand is much more than the name, although that will be the most noticeable change,” added Executive Director and CEO Bruce Eldredge. “Working with Siegel+Gale, we have looked closely at every part of our organization, and we will present the museum to the world in a more dynamic new way. It will take a while to work out all the details, and some of the changes will be subtle. What won’t change, however, is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West’s continued commitment to provide the people of the Cody area and all of our visitors with an unparalleled encounter with the American West.”

The Buffalo Bill Memorial Association was founded in 1917 at Cody upon the death of Buffalo Bill. By 1924, it had orchestrated the creation of Buffalo Bill—The Scout, a monumental sculpture of Cody on horseback set northwest of the Center. The association opened the Buffalo Bill Museum in 1927, and by 1949, it began to investigate museum expansion—the first time the term “Buffalo Bill Historical Center” was coined.

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Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Center for the West weaves the varied threads of the western experience—history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms, and the nature and science of Yellowstone—into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is now operating its winter schedule through February 28: open Thursday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., closed Monday – Wednesday. For general information, visit www.bbhc.org, or call 307.587.4771.