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OAHP
Do You Know? - December 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.c) northeast of Silverton; 2.c) 1904; 3.a) a boarding house and tramway terminal
Perched 2,000 feet up Galena Mountain, these two wood frame buildings with corrugated metal
siding and roofs are located near the town of Howardsville, approximately six miles northeast of
Silverton. Part of the Old Hundred Mine, they were constructed above timberline at an elevation
of over 12,000 feet. A wooden deck once ran the full length of the two-story boarding house,
which is over 56 feet long. The three-story tramhouse still contains hoisting equipment and
several cable supports. A clearly discernable path with a few wooden supports marks where a
boardwalk once connected the two buildings. Linked to the tramhouse, the precarious boardwalk
gave the roomers access to the various levels of the mine and the stamp mill in Cunningham
Gulch below.
The two buildings were constructed in 1904 with enormous difficulty. Materials were brought
by railway to Howardsville, carried by wagon to the tramway terminal at the mill, then packed
by mule six and a half miles up a winding trail to the top of the mountain. The materials were
then lowered by hand windlass 250 feet down a wooden chute to the construction site. Food,
water and smaller supplies were raised by ore bucket from the valley floor. There was very little
room to maneuver materials or equipment, as the only level ground at the site was the narrow
ledge on which the buildings would sit.
Built to house miners at the lowest working level of the mine, the boarding house allowed
employees to readily access the adit without having to combat weather or rugged terrain. This
on-site housing also allowed the mining company control over workers during their off-hours
while providing the expected room and board considered part of a miner’s compensation. The
boarding house slept 24 men but may have housed twice that many as the miners going on shift
would give their bunks to those finishing a shift. The upper floor was reserved for bunks and
sleeping areas, while the lower level contained the dining room and kitchen. There was a staff of
four—a cook, a baker, and two waiters.
Three aerial tramways that connected the various mine levels with the boarding house and the
mill were also impressive engineering accomplishments. The buckets traveled at a rate of 800
feet per minute and could carry five tons per hour. Although dangerous and difficult to install,
the tramways were the most efficient means of transportation available in the rigorous terrain.
The San Juan Mining District, established in 1873, covered four million acres of land within
present-day San Juan, Hinsdale and Ouray counties. By 1874, nearly 4000 claims had been
recorded on lands previously owned by the Tabeguache Utes. A family of four German brothers,
the Niegolds, made the earliest gold and silver ore discoveries on the Old Hundred veins. The
brothers formed the Midland Mining Company and continued operating their claims until about
1884. They built a 40-stamp mill at the bottom of Cunningham Gulch capable of processing up
to 200 tons of ore a day. Construction of the mill cost nearly half a million dollars, an
astonishing amount at the time, and newspaper reports praised the mill and its state-of-the-art
technology. Only foundations remain today.
The mine supplied approximately $150,000 in gold to the Denver Mint (over three million
dollars at today’s prices). However by 1908, questionable management practices, diminishing
values, depleting ore deposits, and rising operating costs combined to force the company to cease
production.
Reflecting the remarkable resourcefulness, perseverance, and technology needed to mine the
rugged San Juans, the Old Hundred Mine Boarding House and Tramhouse were listed in the
Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. Several State Historical Fund grants have aided
in the stabilization of both buildings.
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Do You Know? - November 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1. b) Ouray; 2. b) 1887; 3. c) Victorian Eclectic
This three story brick building sits at the corner of Fifth and Main in Ouray, a town nicknamed
the Switzerland of America that lies in the shadows of the San Juans. Built to lure investors,
architect O. Bulow drew up plans for the elegant hotel and work began in 1886. The official
opening ball was held July 22, 1887 with much fanfare. The interior was modeled after Denver’s
Brown Palace Hotel and featured a rotunda encircled by balconies, cathedral glass skylights,
rosewood paneling, and a sweeping oak staircase. The building was lighted by electricity, and is
believed to be one of the West’s first hotels wired with alternate current electricity. Steam
heating and hot water were also featured.
The hotel sat across the street from six saloons and became a grand centerpiece of the promising
mining town. In its heyday, the hotel attracted guests such as Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert
Hoover, Chipeta (wife of Ute Chief Ouray), and Lily Langtry. Sarah Bernhardt was known to
belt songs from the balconies and King Leopold of Belgium demonstrated his mountain-climbing
skills by dangling from the second-story railings.
By the early 20th century, the hotel suffered from financial setbacks, but tourism picked up again
after World War II. Falling into disrepair, the once chic hotel, painted a raffish pink, sat empty
for more than 30 years. Known by the locals as the pink elephant, it was an eyesore with broken
windows and crumbling façade. To add insult, the roof partially collapsed in the mid80s. Locals swore the ghost of a waitress, who was murdered by a drunken pastry cook shortly
after the hotel opened, haunted the building.
Despite the dilapidated condition and ghost, Dan and Mary King purchased the hotel in 1998 for
$850,000 and began the painstaking task of rehabilitating the building. Anything that could be
saved was restored, including marble sinks, wainscoting, the glass atrium above the lobby, and
the rooftop weathervane. Although the restoration project qualified for a State Historical Fund
grant, the new owners turned it down as the time frame would have exceeded the target opening
date of July 2002, the hotel’s 115-year anniversary. Listed in the National Register of Historic
Places, the Beaumont Hotel was the recipient of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation
in 2003. The Kings were also presented with a 2004 Preserve America Presidential Award.
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Do You Know? - October 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.a) Alamosa; 2.c) 1936; 3.b) Art Deco
Sandwiched within a series of small commercial establishments that each occupy only one city
lot along Main Street in Alamosa, this building is particularly notable for its Art Deco detailing
and well-preserved terra cotta façade. The building’s cream-colored terra cotta face is
highlighted with colorful ornamentation that includes chevrons, volutes and stylized
sunrises. The façade and its historic neon sign create a vertical emphasis that is also
characteristic of the style. Constructed in 1936, Husung Hardware possesses the distinctive
characteristics of Art Deco, a style not well represented in Alamosa County or in other small
towns across Colorado.
By the late 1920s, new stylistic influences emanating from Europe impacted American
architecture. Art Deco was essentially a style of decoration that was applied to furniture,
jewelry, clothing, appliances, handicrafts, as well as architecture. As a conscious rejection of
historical styles and a popular form of ornamentation, Art Deco flourished in America’s larger
cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Miami. The most elaborate examples of the style in
Colorado are found predominately in the state’s largest cities (i.e., Denver, Boulder and
Colorado Springs). Most of Colorado’s small town buildings characterized as Art Deco exhibit a
simple form with understated vertical elements and restrained ornamentation. In the small towns
of Colorado, the Art Deco style was most often reserved for courthouses, municipal buildings
and schools. It was less frequently used for commercial buildings. Husung Hardware,
considered one of the best small town expressions of Art Deco in the state, is listed in the
National Register of Historic Places.
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Do You Know? - September 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.c) southeast of Greystone; 2.c) 1898; 3.c) charcoal kilns
Located in a remote area southeast of Greystone, these are the only remaining intact structures
associated with copper mining in Moffat County’s Douglas Mountain Mining District. A
Welshman supposedly first noted local copper deposits in 1882. A small but very rich body of
copper ore was discovered and mined most intensively in the late 1890s through World War I,
when copper prices were high.
Freighting ore to the nearest railroad in Rock Springs, Wyoming, approximately 90 miles away,
was expensive. Consequently the Bromide Mining and Milling Company erected a smelter
facility six miles from the mines. The smelting operation included a 15-ton copper blast furnace
that operated 24 hours a day. These four kilns were built in 1898 to supply charcoal for the
furnace. Constructed of native sandstone, the “beehive” or dome-shaped kilns are approximately
20 feet in diameter and 20 feet high. Encircling the base of each kiln are small vent openings.
The kilns are aligned backing onto a low rise of land, which facilitated access to their rear
openings.
Copper can be processed in the same way as iron or lead, using charcoal and coke to create an
atmosphere for the reduction of oxide ores. Generally smelting operations in Colorado used the
combination of charcoal and coke in early blast furnaces in order to generate the heat necessary
to separate the various metals within the primary ore. By the 1890s, the increasing availability of
suitable coke lessened the need for charcoal. However, the demand for locally produced
charcoal continued in remote locations of some operations into the 20th century.
Charcoal kilns were typically constructed of brick or native stone laid so as to form a dome,
reaching a height of 20 to 30 feet and measuring 20 to 27 feet in diameter. The process of
producing charcoal began with the cutting of local trees, in this case, pinon pine. The kiln was
filled with loosely stacked wood, and hot coals were placed around the base. The loading doors
were closed and sealed with mortar. Each vent opening around the base was usually filled with a
brick, which was removed as needed to regulate the oxygen flow so that the wood would
smolder without bursting into flames. After smoldering for approximately one week, another
four or five days were required for cooling.
It is interesting to note that signs along the county road as well as topographical maps have long
incorrectly identified the kilns as coke ovens. Believed to be the last set of charcoal kilns
constructed in Colorado, the well-preserved Bromide Charcoal Kilns are listed in the National
Register of Historic Places
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Content Callout Item:
Do You Know? - August 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers:
1.d) Castle Rock; 2.b) 1904; 3.b) rhyolite
The First National Bank of Douglas County is located in the heart of downtown Castle Rock’s
commercial core. Constructed in 1904 of brick, the two street elevations are faced with rhyolite
from the Santa Fe Quarry west of town. Denver architect George Louis Bettcher designed the
building, which displays elements of the Romanesque Revival style, popular in this country
during the Late Victorian period. Born in New Jersey, Bettcher came to Denver in 1895 and
opened what would become a successful architectural firm designing residential and commercial
buildings. His work includes the Denver Turnverein, the Rossonian Hotel, and several homes in
the Denver Country Club neighborhood. This was the second home for the bank, which closed
in 1933. The building sat vacant for three years until the Masonic Lodge purchased it. The
Masons use the first floor for their dining hall and the second floor as the meeting hall.
More than a dozen buildings in Castle Rock employed rhyolite as their primary exterior
material, and only three of these were constructed for commercial use. Listed in the National
Register of Historic Places, the First National Bank of Douglas County is the only one of these
that was designed by a prominent architect. Similar to granite in appearance and composition,
rhyolite is an igneous rock found in the Castle Rock area. According to geologists, rhyolite
resulted from an overflow of lava covering the land between what is now Palmer Lake and
Sedalia. The stone’s unique texture and color is the result of the flowing molten lava. EuroAmericans first quarried rhyolite in 1872, and soon railroad spurs were constructed to connect
the quarries near Castle Rock to the main lines of the Denver & Rio Grande and the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe. The attractive hard stone became a popular construction material. While
entire façades were constructed of the stone, it was more commonly used in foundations and as
decorative trim, such as sills, lintels, and arched entryways. At the peak of production during the
boom years of the 1880s and early 1890s, three quarries were cutting, dressing, and shipping
stone to Denver and other towns along the Front Range. Like most industries in the state,
production decreased after the 1893 Silver Crash. Although its popularity waned, rhyolite
continued to be used in the early decades to the 20th century.
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Do You Know? - July 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.d) Durango; 2.a) 1882; 3.d) Victorian Eclectic
Located at the southern end of Main Street, a block and a half from the depot, this red brick
building with white stone trim is a mix of several Victorian-era styles. Completed at a cost of
$70,000, an extravagant figure at the time, the building utilized 376,000 bricks. It was built at a
time when Durango was experiencing a boom due to the wealth from the mines of the San Juan
mountains, the opening of two smelters, and the arrival of the Denver and Rio Grande
Railroad. Although there were plenty of hotels and boarding houses in town, one 20-year old
man undertook the task of building a luxury hotel. Henry H. Strater lacked sufficient money,
had no experience in the hotel business, and was still a minor who legally could not enter into a
contract. None of these drawbacks stopped him. He lied about his age, gained financial backing
from family members and began construction on the elaborate building. His lack of hotel
experience was demonstrated in one important omission—the 50-room hotel was built without
any closets.
Opened in August 1888, the Strater Hotel with its ornate exterior and lavish interior was
advertised as “strictly first class in all appointments.” The building featured a four-story atrium
topped by a skylight, and the first sewer line in Durango serviced the hotel. Henry Strater
promptly leased the building to Mr. H. L. Rice, a competent hotel man. The two soon started
quarreling and in 1892, Strater was constructing a two-story annex immediately south, called the
Columbian, which he hoped would compete with his lessee. A third floor was added shortly
after it was completed in 1893. Unfortunately, no business was able to escape unscathed from
the financial panic that year and Strater lost both the hotel and the just-completed annex.
Many stars of stage, screen, and political circles who visited Durango stayed at the
Strater. Guests at the hotel included Tom Thumb, Will Rogers, Lowell Thomas and John F.
Kennedy. It was also used by the townspeople, who closed their homes during the winter
months and moved their families to the hotel, as each room had its own wood-burning
stove. The Strater Hotel is within the National Register listed Main Avenue Historic District.
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Do You Know? - June 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.a) Washington; 2.c) 1915; 3.d) all of the above
This simple wood frame building is located along the main street of Otis, a small agricultural
town on the high plains in northeastern Washington county. The town began in the 1880s when
the Burlington railroad was laying tracks on its way to Denver. The post office opened in 1886
and the town was platted the following year. In the first five years, the town boasted a train
depot, newspaper, bank, drugstore, a lumber company, and a well with a windmill that supplied
water to the town and the railroad. The population grew to 150. Eastern Colorado and the Plains
states were hit hard by drought in the 1890s, forcing many homesteaders to walk away from their
land. By 1900, the town’s population dwindled to 50 with only one business surviving.
However, with the turn of the century came new hope for the plains. State Agricultural Colleges
working with state and federal agencies were developing “scientific dry farming” methods that
included drought resistant crops, along with new methods of crop rotation, tilling and
irrigation. The result was two new homestead acts--one in 1909 that increased claims from a
quarter of a section (160 acres) to half a section, and the other in 1916 which again doubled the
land of a claim making a full section (640 acres) available to those attempting to farm and ranch
on the plains. These acts and a nationwide general economic growth brought another period of
prosperity to Otis that continued for almost two decades. Incorporated in 1917, the town reached
its peak population of 900 by 1926. However, the Great Depression and the terrible dust storms
of the 1930s would cause another decline and by 1933, the population in Otis dropped to just
over 500.
This building, constructed by J. W. Kilpatrick circa 1915 during the second wave of prosperity,
initially opened as the Crawford Pharmacy. In 1930, William and Lottie Schliesfsky purchased
the building and operated it as a variety store for many years. While the ground floor of the
building was dedicated to commercial endeavors, the second floor functioned as the first meeting
hall in Otis and the scene of musicals, Chautauqua events, and public forums. Vinyl siding once
obscured the upper story windows, but a State Historical Fund grant aided in the restoration of
the two windows. Schliesfsky’s Dime Store is listed in the Colorado State Register of Historic
Properties.
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Do You Know? - May 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.a) Chromo; 2.c) 1922; 3.c) poured concrete
Located 26 miles south of Pagosa Springs along US Highway 84, only four miles from the New
Mexico state line, is a cluster of buildings whose smooth exterior finish and deep-set windows
are reminiscent of the Hispano adobe construction commonly found in southern Colorado. This
one-room schoolhouse and its privy are built of poured concrete. A short open bell tower sits
atop the steeply pitched hipped roof of the school; its promised bell never received. Rural
schoolhouses constructed of concrete are rare in Colorado despite the fact that poured forms of
concrete were gaining popularity and professional acceptance in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. This is the only identified rural schoolhouse of poured concrete construction in the
state.
Constructed in 1922 for Archuleta County School District #2, it replaced a smaller 1901
building on the same site that was razed earlier that year. The impetus for a new building can be
found in school records that indicate 42 students were enrolled in 1921. The builder camped on
the grounds as he worked on the construction, mixing the concrete for the school and the
outhouse by hand. His wife was the first teacher for the new building. Prior to the construction
of the teacherage in 1947, teachers usually boarded with a local rancher.
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Do You Know? - April 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
1.b) Monte Vista; 2.c) 1938; 3.c) an auditorium and gymnasium
Located between downtown and a residential section of Monte Vista, the T-shaped brick
building sits alone on the southern edge of the school block. The 15,017 square foot multipurpose building contains an auditorium with a sloped floor and a balcony. At the south end
behind the proscenium arch, is a four-foot high, 80-by-50 feet hardwood floor that serves as the
stage and gymnasium. Prominent Colorado Springs architect Charles E. Thomas designed the
brick building that combines elements from several architectural styles. The building has
Mission Style curvilinear parapet walls, a round window with a Spanish Colonial Revival
decorative surround, and Romanesque-inspired buttressing.
In 1936, the board of the Monte Vista Consolidated School District was faced with a serious
situation of providing adequate educational facilities for a constantly increasing
enrollment. There was not enough space for students, no indoor sport facilities, no adequate
heating plant, and no auditorium. Plans were completed for a new grade school along with
another building that would house an auditorium, a gymnasium, and a heating
plant. Construction began in1937 after taxpayers of the consolidated school district voted for a
$88,000 bond issue and the community took advantage of a Public Works Administration (PWA)
grant that provided 45 percent of the construction cost. Often confused with the more prolific
Works Progress Administration (WPA), both programs were part of President Roosevelt’s New
Deal administration. The PWA provided grants and loans to supplement local funding for the
construction and expansion of schools, libraries, colleges, courthouses, town halls and other
public buildings. The architectural style of the building, the services of a well-known architect,
and the use of a Federal PWA grant was an unusual combination for Monte Vista.
Completed in 1938, the auditorium sat between an existing junior high school and the new grade
school. The junior high and the grade school were razed in 1993, leaving the auditorium as the
only building on the block.
The largest auditorium in the San Luis Valley, the building continues to serve the school district
and the community in that same capacity for which it was built. The Central School Auditorium
and Gymnasium is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and two State Historical
Fund grants have aided in the building’s preservation.
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Do You Know? - March 2004 Answer
Do You Know This Building?
Answers: 1.b) north of Woodland Park; 2.c) 1937; 3.d) part of a Forest Service station
complex
Approximately seven miles north of Woodland Park is a widely dispersed complex of buildings
built on a gentle slope covered by open ponderosa pine forest. Six of the buildings have walls of
locally quarried, rock-faced, red sandstone ashlar with steeply pitched roofs clad in wood
shingles.
The area was first settled in the early 1860s and was known as Bergen Park. A resort hotel was
established in 1873. Fire destroyed the hotel in 1887 and a second hotel was built on the same
site in 1889, which also succumbed to fire ten years later. The property was deeded to Colorado
College, and a portion of the land was eventually sold to private owners. This parcel was
foreclosed in 1932, and title was acquired by the Resettlement Administration with management
of the land turned over to the U.S. Forest Service. In 1934, the remaining holdings of Colorado
College in Manitou Park were turned over to the Forest Service to be managed as a
demonstration forest. In 1936, the entire 16,560-acre area was designated as the Manitou
Experimental Forest.
The following year plans were made to construct three major buildings (a six-room residence for
the superintendent, an office, and a dormitory with kitchen facilities—the largest structure in the
complex) followed by several smaller garage and storage buildings. Constructed between 1937
and 1939 and exhibiting excellent masonry craftsmanship, the six stone buildings exemplify the
Forest Service’s philosophy of architecture at the time, stressing the use of local natural materials
to create buildings that would gracefully blend into their surroundings. The eclectic style of
architecture is an unusual expression for federally-sponsored, depression-era construction in
Colorado.
One of only two experimental forest stations in the state, numerous research projects have taken
place at the forest. These studies have provided important results that have improved
management of forest lands along the Front Range for nearly 60 years. The Manitou
Experimental Forest Station, one of the best examples of Depression-era construction in the
state, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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