The Broker – Lapeyre Steakhouse

The Broker, operating as Lapeyre Steakhouse, occupies a historically significant building in Riverton, Wyoming, a town that developed as a commercial and service center in the Wind River Basin region of central Wyoming. The structure represents the architectural style and construction methods characteristic of early twentieth-century commercial establishments in Western towns, with brick construction and multiple floors designed to accommodate both retail and service operations on the ground level along with upper-story spaces serving various purposes. The building's prominence in Riverton's downtown district and its function as a restaurant and bar established it as a social gathering place and commercial hub within the community. The property's location and architectural features reflect the prosperity and development of the region during periods of economic activity driven by agriculture, ranching, and natural resource extraction.

The building's history encompasses multiple uses and operators over its existence, reflecting the changing commercial landscape of Riverton and the broader Wyoming region. Its function as a steakhouse and restaurant positioned it as an entertainment and dining destination attracting patrons from both the local community and transient populations of travelers and business visitors. The bar facility and dining areas created social spaces where significant human interaction occurred, establishing the location as a focal point of community social life. The basement level, with its network of old tunnels, represents an architectural feature that may date to the building's earliest construction or reflect modifications made during its operational history. The presence of these underground passages suggests previous purposes or functions that may have included prohibition-era activities, storage, or other utilitarian uses typical of basement spaces in commercial structures of that era.

Paranormal phenomena at The Broker Steakhouse manifest across multiple areas of the building, with distinct manifestations suggesting the presence of multiple spirits and entities. A melancholic female ghost is reported to appear in second-floor windows, with witnesses describing a lonely and sad presence associated with this apparition. A child entity manifests in the waiting room area, with supernatural activity including the movement of a stool without apparent physical cause. Running sounds are reported ascending and descending the stairs at times when no living persons are present on those floors, suggesting the continued movement of spirits through the building's vertical circulation spaces. The basement generates reports of an eerie presence, with witnesses describing a distinctive quality of paranormal energy concentrated in that underground space. Additional phenomena include the sounds of children playing tag echoing through the building when no children are actually present, and muffled screams heard emanating from the old tunnel system beneath the building, suggesting that traumatic events or suffering occurred within those subterranean spaces.

The complex pattern of paranormal activity at The Broker Steakhouse indicates a building that has been site to multiple deaths, likely tragic or violent in nature, and that continues to be inhabited by the spiritual consciousness of those whose lives ended within its walls. The concentration of phenomena in specific locations such as the second-floor windows, the waiting room, and particularly the basement tunnels suggests that different spirits became attached to distinct areas of the building based on where death occurred or where significant emotional events unfolded. The presence of child spirits suggests that at least some of the tragic events resulted in the deaths of young individuals, possibly occurring in or connected to the basement tunnel system. The muffled screams from the tunnels imply suffering and violence, potentially pointing to historical incidents of murder, accident, or abuse that left traumatic imprints on the physical space. The ongoing manifestation of these paranormal phenomena has established The Broker as a recognized haunted location within Wyoming's paranormal landscape, attracting investigators and curiosity-seekers interested in documenting and understanding the complex haunting phenomena associated with this historically significant commercial structure.