Preservation Projects

Beaumont Hotel, Ouray: Built in 1886 and opened in 1887 at the height of the gold boom, the Beaumont Hotel was built to lure investors for mining from Eastern cities and served as the town's social and business center. It soon became known as the "Flagship of the San Juans". In its heyday the Beaumont was host to guests like Sarah Bernhard, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and King Leopold of Belguim.

After being boarded up and closed for more than 35 years the hotel was in a state of disrepair close to being condemned and destroyed. In 1998 the hotel went up for auction and was purchased with the intent of restoring it to its original grandeur. After five years of hard work restoring the hotel it has once again opened its doors to guests and to the community as the social hub.

We welcome you to come and stay with us where you will be taken back by the beauty of our restored hotel, its history and the scenery around us!

Yankee Girl Mine, Red Moutnain Pass, to the south of Ouray: In 1882 John Robinson discovered the fabulously rich Yankee Girl Mine and the rush to Colorado's newest mining district began. What had fooled the prospectors was that the ore was to be found in vertical chimneys rather than in lode deposits typical of the area. The Red Mountains themselves consisted almost entirely of very low grade ore except where the rich ore chimneys of some 30 to 100 feet in width plunged into the earth. There silver could be found that contained as much as 1,000 ounces of silver per ton of ore - an unheard-of richness.

Red Mountain Mining District, south of Ouray: The Red Mountain area was one of Colorado’s richest and most productive mining districts. During its heyday, approximately 3000 people lived in the mining towns of Red Mountain, Ironton, Guston, Chattanooga and numerous cabins and dugouts scattered throughout. To service the numerous mines, a wagon road connecting the district to Ouray and Silverton was completed in 1885, and the Silverton Railroad traversed the rugged pass by 1889. Although most of the physical features of the district have disappeared, the area contains several excellent examples of mining headframes, cabins, boarding houses and railroad features that represent a very important part of our heritage.

The Strater, Durango: Steeped in history as Durango's most prominent downtown landmark, the Strater Hotel delivers world-class accommodations and hospitality. It features 93 spectacular Victorian rooms, each filled with beautiful walnut antiques and period wallpapers. The Strater has been used as a hotel since it was built in 1887.

The world-renowned Henry Strater Theatre is the oldest continually running theatre in Durango, tallying over 47 years of quality performances. Formally known as the Diamond Circle Theatre, this intimate and prestigious venue welcomes ‘Forever Plaid’ directed by Mona Wood-Patterson. As a local celebrity, we are honored to have her in the Henry Strater Theatre. Also on the playbill this exciting summer season will be Darryl Kuntz, Mysto’s Magical Spectacular, Live Music, Comedy, Cowboy and Cabaret Shows.

Pagosa Hot Springs Pool: When the first white men came across the Great Pagosa Hot Spring over 150 years ago, they noticed the ground around the pool to be packed by human foot prints with paths radiating out from the 75 foot diameter bubbling pool like spokes from the hub of a wheel. Native American's had been enjoying the waters of this natural hot mineral spring for generations before others found the special waters.

The ancient native legend about the discovery of The Spring tells of a plague which devastated the tribe and thwarted the concoctions and powers of the Medicine Men. A plea to the gods was in order and the tribe gathered along the banks of the San Juan River to participate in prayer ceremonies and fire dances. They worshipped, prayed and danced until they all fell asleep from exhaustion. The next morning they awoke to the sounds of bubbling water coming from beneath the coals of their extinguished ceremonial fires. They saw this as the gods' answer to their prayers and began to bathe in the warm water. Suddenly their afflictions were cured! They called the cauldron..Pag-Osah."Healing Waters", and the great Spring became a sacred place of peace and healing,

The medicinal effects of the water was studied by U.S. Army physicians in the 1860's and their reports concluded: "The waters of Pagosa are without doubt the most wonderful and beneficial in medicinal effects that have ever been discovered."

 As the news spread and the area became more inhabited by the Army, railroad crews, and settlers. The first bath house was erected in 1881 four years after Pagosa was designated a township by the U.S. Government. As rail travel reached Pagosa in 1900, travelers came from far and wide to "take the waters" and stay at the motel on site. Then, with the advent of new advances in medicine, health seeking travel began to wane. Rail service to Pagosa ceased in 1936. Not until the 1950's did "new motels" begin to be erected for the driving public seeking the waters again.

The "motel" at the springs went out of business by the late 1980's and new owners purchased the property in the early 1990's. The Inn had 4 plastic tubs for soaking, which were corroded and could only be filled with a garden hose. But, the health-seeking movement was about to begin anew in the '90's and the world-class resort that is today's Springs Resort was beginning to take shape.

Capt. J. N. Macombs, U. S. Army Surveyor and the first white man to write about The Spring, entered into his journal."There can scarcely be a more beautiful place on the face of the earth." He also predicted in his writings that the area around the Great Spring would some day "become a place of great resort". A visit to The Springs Resort today is proof positive of Captain Macombs' vision and great gift of prophecy.

Silverton Town Hall, Silverton: Halfway through construction of Silverton Town Hall in 1908, the building’s stone façade toppled over into Fourteenth Street. A new contractor was brought in to finish the job, but by then bad luck must already have been stirred into the mortar. In the 1970s another exterior wall began teetering and had to be completely rebuilt. And on a frigid November night in 1992, faulty electrical wiring touched off a raging fire that all but destroyed the building.

In any other community, the building probably would have been razed—and good riddance. But Silverton has a long history of picking up the pieces. One of Colorado’s most remote yet most productive mining towns, it has bounced back from periodic economic depressions, population crashes, a devastating flu epidemic, and almost every other calamity you can name. Just a few months before the Town Hall blaze, Sunnyside Mine—the biggest local employer—abruptly closed, putting several hundred miners out of work and raising the local unemployment rate to 58 percent.

Many of the laid-off workers found new jobs salvaging Town Hall from the wreckage; the community and the building helped rehabilitate each other. Silverton officials made a point of hiring local contractors and local laborers to do the restoration work, with out-of-town experts providing consulting or training only as necessary. But the project yielded more than paychecks; it also boosted morale, becoming the centerpiece of a broader redevelopment drive after only 4 years. So in a very tangible sense, the historic hall served as a foundation for Silverton’s future.

In 1996 the National Trust for Historic Preservation presented Silverton with a National Preservation Honor Award in recognition of its outstanding work on Town Hall. From the community’s standpoint, though, the hall itself is reward enough.

Lowry Pueblo is located about 9 miles west of highway 666 at Pleasant View, Colorado and a key part of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. Named after early homesteader George Lowry, it was constructed about 1060 AD on top of abandoned pithouses from an earlier period of occupation. The inhabitants were farmers who also hunted small game, made elaborately decorated pottery, and wove cotton obtained by trade.

Lowry was home to about 100 people. Many rooms were probably plastered inside and painted with bold geometric designs. Initial excavations in the 1930s revealed a kiva with a well-preserved decorative mural, and the kiva was backfilled to preserve it. After re-excavation in 1974, the mural began to discolor and peel away due to exposure to light and air. None of it survives today, except for a salvaged fragment at the Anasazi Heritage Center. Current technology cannot preserve such murals in situ except by reburial.

Lowry Pueblo was excavated during summer field seasons (1930-1936) by Paul S. Martin of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1967. Today visitors to the Lowry Pueblo will get a first hand glimpse into the lives of the Anasazi as they tour these excavated structures.

Sheridan Opera House: The Sheridan Opera House, one of Telluride's most well-loved and most frequently-used buildings, is currently in the midst of a multi-phase project of restoration.

The Sheridan Arts Foundation efforts and Telluride's support of the restoration have been praised throughout the state. One grant reader commented, "As the focal point for a great number of performing arts activities, for both young and old, as well as amateur and professional, the Sheridan Opera House is a worthy recipient of grant funds, due primarily to the substantial public benefit derived from its continued operation and preservation. The Sheridan Arts Foundation's emphasis on children is especially noteworthy." As a result, the Sheridan Arts Foundation (SAF) was awarded $246,000 from the Colorado Historical Society for Phase Two of the Sheridan Opera House Restoration! The grant awarded to the SAF was one of the largest grants awarded by the Colorado Historical Society that year.

So far, the generous support of patrons and grants from the Colorado Historical Society, State Historical Fund, the restoration of the building's west façade and renovation on the theater's interior has begun. This work includes restoring interior walls, installing air conditioning, and restoring the seats. We have also restored the beautiful hardwood maple floors. Safety improvements added to date include a new fire escape, upgraded electrical components and a safety fire wall to separate the stage from the theater.

Fairlamb House Bed and Breakfast, Delta: The 1906 Fairlamb House is one of the few surviving examples of the residential foursquare style in Delta. Typical of foursquares built in Delta, the house is a variation on the type. It was built for Millard and Stella Fairlamb. Millard, a practicing lawyer, set up an office inside his newly built house and was heavily involved in legal cases dealing with water rights. The Fairlamb House now serves as a bed and breakfast.

Hotchkiss Hotel: Completed in 1897, the two-story, red brick hotel was the community’s first major commercial building. It was constructed for Enos T. Hotchkiss, who founded the town in 1885. It serves as an early example of mixed use development with retail spaces located on the first floor and apartments on the second floor. Today the Hotel still has retail space on the first level and the apartments above are empty.