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Cheyenne, Wyoming: Mel Gould's Buryville (Closed)

RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report

Directions:
On the north side of the north I-80 Service Rd/Frontage Rd. Either 2.5 miles east of I-80 exit 370, or 4.5 miles west of I-80 exit 377.
Status:
Closed

Mel Gould's Buryville

Mel Gould, a self-taught engineer, scientist, inventor, and general tinkerer, filled his property with wild collection of metal art and vehicles. His workshop is underground. Mel died in 2022.

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Visitor Tips and News About Mel Gould's Buryville

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Mel Gould's Buryville

I was in the area and going to stop. Unfortunately, Mel just passed away in March.

[Casey Schearer, 04/18/2022]

Melvin Wesley Gould was 92, and was giving tours of Buryville almost until the end.

Mel Gould's Buryville

Plan for spending a half hour or more to tour everything. Mel appeared almost as soon as we entered his driveway, ready to show us his work. As a bonus, my kids enjoyed playing with the cats and dogs as well as the new litter of kittens. Very friendly!

[Geoff Gingerich, 08/11/2016]

Helicopter art.

Mel Gould's Buryville

Mel's place is truly amazing! He came out to show us around a little. He made himself a mobility scooter after a stroke a couple of years ago. He has so many cool wind powered sculptures and I was in awe. The price was a hug, which I was more than happy to give. He takes the time to tell you about his tinkering and some of his inspiration. He is an amazing artist even if he doesn't think he's a genius.

[Mikalanne, 07/31/2015]

Buryville.

Mel Gould's Buryville

Mel Gould, a self-taught engineer, scientist, inventor and general tinkerer, has a wild collection of metal art. The "Welcome Visitors" sign was a good indication that I wouldn't be run off with a shotgun so I pulled up to the house with the odd assortment of metal sculptures and strange vehicles. Glenn Gould, Mel's son, was coming out of a back shed and greeted me along with an assortment of barking dogs.

The Goulds are no stranger to strangers, as Glenn proceeded to give me the full tour of his father's place. Inside one shed was the Purple People Eater, a crazy eight-wheeled vehicle featured in Mechanix Illustrated 1961 (Got an extra copy? They sure would appreciate an original!). We proceeded to tour the rest of the property with oddball sculptures scattered around the yard such as Mr. Cranky and "The Wind Thing" that generates electricity for the home.

Mel created some other fantastic vehicles and sculptures and Glenn gave me the rundown on all of them. There was a truck that was used to install anchors, that Mel had invented and were used for the artists Cristo and Jean-Claude's Running Fence in California and the Lily Pads (He also was involved with the Umbrellas project in Japan) with a seat that was sideways to the dashboard and had foot pedals in front of the door!

Glenn invited me into the house and offered me the elevator ride in a re-purposed school locker. Down in the basement was a school bus, camper, an old grain silo on it's side and a 55,000 gallon concrete gasoline tank that made up Mel's workshop "Buryville." He even had a couple guitars rigged up for a one man band! They didn't charge anything and were the nicest people.

[S. Brian Berkun, 07/04/2012]

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