#preserveco

One good thing about all this rain? It really highlights the beauty of the granite pavement at the 16th Street Mall! 

You probably just know it as the place you go to see flicks and shop, but the 16th Street Mall was actually designed in 1982 by world-renown architect I.M Pei...you know, the same guy who designed the Louvre Pyramid and NCAR.  

The main features of I.M. Pei’s Modernist design include polychromatic granite pavers, wide sidewalks and a central tree lined corridor, which these days is spotted with public pianos to enhance the 16th Street experience even more. 

It seems like just another place to shop, but when you consider that the 16th Street Mall is actually a unique, pedestrian-only thoroughfare for commerce, entertainment, art, and music -- complete with free public transportation! -- suddenly it seems a lot greater than ordinary. 

Do you know historic preservation? Test your knowledge!

Fact or fiction? “Every $1 million spent on historic preservation in Colorado generates 32 jobs.”

Steamboat Springs Downtown Historic District. Photo by Alexis Eiland.

If you guessed fact, you are right! Historic preservation is obviously the right route to protecting historic buildings, but it’s also an extremely effective way to create jobs and boost local economies. 

Between 1981 and 2010, historic preservation projects in Colorado created more than 34,000 jobs and approximately $843 million in household earnings, with a total economic impact of $2.5 billion. 

In particular, federal and state tax credits for historic preservation projects encourage private investment in historic properties, and Colorado has a new and improved state preservation tax credit starting July 2015.

Photo courtesy Thomas W. Thorpe, AIA, Townscapes, LLC

Check out how the building at 1212 Pearl Street in Boulder changed as a result of using historic preservation tax credits to make the rehabilitation project financially viable. 

What was once a building in disrepair is now a thriving business, encouraging commercial growth in the downtown area all while beautifying the streetscape and preserving a lovely historic building.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE!

Fact or fiction? “Historic preservation is the protection and conservation of historic buildings, archaeological sites, manuscripts, clothing and other personal objects, and works of art.”

Historical photo of the Buena Vista Depot, built c. 1891. Photo from Denver, South Park & Pacific Historical Society.

If you guessed fiction, you’re right! Historic preservation is the protection and conservation or historic buildings and archaeological sites, but preservation doesn’t include things like manuscripts, clothing and other personal objects, or works of art. 

Archivists, curators, conservators, collections managers, restorers, and other types of conservationists work to protect manuscripts, art work, and objects, but preservationists (for the most part) work to protect historic places, whether they are 1,000-year-old cliff dwellings, 1880s mining communities, or 1960s Mid-century Modern neighborhoods. 

Check out what historic preservation did for the Buena Vista Depot in Chaffee County. Pretty impressive, huh?

Buena Vista Depot before preservation

Buena Vista Depot after preservation

A mother isn’t just someone who raises children -- she’s also someone who will raise a little hell to fight for what she believes in. Take, for example, Mother Jones. 

Born Mary Harris in Ireland before moving to Canada with her family, she was the daughter of railway worker Robert Harris, an agitator who fought for worker’s rights. 

Originally a teacher, Mother Jones eventually moved to Memphis, but after tragically losing her family to illness, and later her business to fire, she turned to her father’s path and dedicated her life to improving working conditions. When coal miners went on strike in Trinidad (and were eventually massacred at the Ludlow Tent Colony) Mother Jones felt called to southern Colorado.

By the time she arrived in Colorado in January 1914, Mother Jones was already a well-known agitator and strike supporter. Because of her reputation, she was greeted by military force upon her arrival in Trinidad. 

Mother Jones was not permitted to talk to the miners, union leaders, or anyone else and was advised never to return to that part of Colorado. When a train headed for Denver arrived at the station, she was put in the custody of a lieutenant and four soldiers. But being ousted from Colorado didn’t stop her from trying to improve the lives of the Colorado miners.

During a talk at the House Mines Committee, she denounced the actions of the Governor of Colorado for bringing in the military to deal with the strikers, she spoke out against John D. Rockefeller, Jr. for connections to the mines in question, and she testified before the Industrial Commission to garner aid for the Colorado miners after the Ludlow Massacre.

Despite being told never to return to Trinidad, Mother Jones did return to Colorado where she was arrested and kept for a time in Walsenburg Jail. During her long life, Mother Jones fought for the rights of all workers and for the vote. 

Do you know historic preservation? Test your knowledge!

Fact or fiction? “Buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places are protected by the U.S. government and their owners are subject to specific federal laws.”

Arapahoe Acres Historic District in Denver was the first post-World War II residential neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

If you guessed fiction, you are right! It’s a common misconception that places listed in the National Register of Historic Places are protected from demolition or that their owners are subject to federal regulation.

Managed by the National Park Service (which operates under the Department of the Interior), the National Register does not offer properties any protection, which is why it’s so important that ordinary American citizens (like you!) value historic preservation. If you own a property that’s listed in the National Register, you can be a wonderful preservationist by respecting the building’s history and choosing the best techniques to preserve the building so that it will last for future generations.

Built in 1905, the Charles Emerick House in Trinidad was listed in the National Register in 2014. 

National Register-listed properties aren’t protected by the federal government, but that also means that if you own a National Register-listed property, you are not obligated to follow any specific federal guidelines. If you own a house that’s listed on the National Register, yes, you can still change the paint colors or build an addition! 

But we always encourage you to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards or ask us, the Colorado State Historic Preservation Office, or other trustworthy professional preservationists for advice to ensure that the changes you make to your historic property accommodate your needs but don’t infringe on the integrity of its gorgeous historic architecture or historical significance. 

Don’t forget! Always check with your locality -- your town, city, county, or other local government -- to make sure your plans for your historic property are following local laws. Local laws vary from place to place, and you may be required to follow certain guidelines or standards within your locality.

We recycle, bike to work, eat local, and try to use less water and electricity. But did you know we can make environmentally sustainable choices with our historic buildings, too? Here are five historic buildings in Colorado that you might be surprised to learn are environmentally responsible.

1. Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Grand Junction 

Built in 1918, the building now houses offices for ten federal agencies. In 2010 the building underwent a $15 million rehabilitation to become a net-zero-energy-usage building, and today it’s the first building listed on the National Register of Historic Places to earn LEED Platinum certification. See historic and modern photos of the building.

2. Silverton School

After a broken broiler left students and teachers bundled in cold-weather gear during the winter of 2009, the school took the opportunity to transform the 1911 building’s heating system (partially through using grants from the State Historical Fund) to make it the first historic building in Colorado to earn LEED Gold certification. See photos and read more about the project.

3. Engine House No. 5 in Denver

Built in 1922, Engine House No. 5 was historically (surprise!) a fire engine house. Today it’s the home of Slaterpaull Architects, who used historic preservation tax credits to rehabilitate the property into Colorado’s first LEED Platinum-certified historic building. See what it looks like today. 

4. Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver 

Sure, you knew the Capitol was closed for a few years for preservation, but did you know the Colorado State Capitol building is the first capitol building in the United States to receive LEED certification? Installation of low-flow toilets, increased use of low-energy light bulbs and lighting fixtures, and installation of geothermal heating all help to make this building environmentally sustainable. See photos and visit the Capitol.

5. Emerson School in Denver 

The exquisite 1884 building in Denver’s historic Capitol Hill neighborhood was rehabilitated in 2011 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who received several sustainability initiative grants from the State Historical Fund to install geothermal heating and low-flow plumbing, among other projects. Today the building has LEED Gold certification. Learn more about the project.

Happy National Library Week! At the turn of the century, outlying neighborhoods in Denver accessed books through traveling boxes of books and small rented rooms, but as the city expanded, residents expressed the need for bricks-and-mortar libraries, which were more convenient and reliable.

To aid in this effort, Scottish industrialist Andrew Carnegie (who from the 1880s through the 1930s funded the construction of more than 2,500 libraries throughout the country) donated $80,000 to Denver for the construction of four libraries. 

One of these was the Woodbury Branch Library, designed by well-known architect Jules Jacques Benois Benedict, known often as simply J.J. Benedict. Built in 1913 for $22,000 with Italian Renaissance Revival style features, the building was named for city library founder, Roger Woodbury.

So how does a 20th-century building in Denver mimic architecture of the Italian Renaissance? The secret is in the details.

Note the symmetrical façade that’s ornamented by tall arched windows with cream-colored, embellished terra cotta window trim. Can you see other elements that might evoke an Italian Renaissance feel? What about the pediment above the main entrance that’s flanked by pilasters (flat columns)? 

While it may seem like just a brick building at Federal Boulevard and W. 33rd Avenue, the symmetrical design and exterior embellishments of the building speak to a different time and place. 

This picture was taken in the early 1910s. The library was renovated in 1993 but still retains many of its original elements. 

On the flip side, the interior feels much more like a traditional American library, with its woodwork and exposed trusses on the ceiling, which was birch treated with acid to produce a soft silver-gray finish. Looks like a great place to get some work done! 

For its architect, its architecture, and its contributions to its community, the Woodbury Branch Library is one of our favorites.