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Saving Colorado Landmarks
Preservation planning for Florence, Colorado’s Orecchio Block.
From iconic hotels to community landmarks, theÌý works to protect the state’s most meaningful places — andÌýCatherine Stroh (Art’95) is leading the effort. A Colorado native and longtime Boulder resident, Stroh blends an appreciation for design and architecture with a passion for Colorado history as the foundation’s president and CEO.Ìý
How do you best describe the Colorado Historical Foundation?Ìý
We have many different tools to preserve historic places in Colorado. One of the ways we do that is through conservation easements on physical buildings, structures and cultural landscapes. This prevents them from being demolished or severely altered, so that they can essentially look the same as they did during their significant period of history. We also operate a low-interest loan program to help people repair and revitalize historic buildings.ÌýWe also operate a low-interest loan program to help people repair and revitalize historic buildings.
What are some of the foundation’s projects right now?Ìý
The Fort, a well-known restaurant in Morrison, is modeled after Bent’s Old Fort (a fur trading post built in 1833) in Southeast Colorado and protected by one of our conservation easements. We also have an easement on the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. And in Boulder, we provided a low-interest loan to help support the rehabilitation of the Mary H. Galey Cottage within the nationally landmarked Colorado Chautauqua property.Ìý
What should Buffs know about Colorado history?
There is so much history centered in Colorado. The story of the state is really a convergence of so many different stories, from indigenous populations who were here originally to the pioneers who came in when it was a Spanish Territory. There are many different influences throughout the state and a lot of history to continually uncover.
What’s your favorite historic place you’ve worked on?
The old Smiley Junior High School in Durango has been turned into a commercial space with a lot of unique offices, creative spaces and even apartments. On the first floor, there’s a coffee shop and an art market retail area. To see that building activated in such a new way while still retaining its schoolhouse properties, is really cool.Ìý
How have you seen Colorado change over time?
I think the biggest change that we see is just the continual population growth and how that influences the shape of towns, especially the merging and blending of communities along the Front Range. We are losing some of the open space that I think a lot of us grew up with, but this also brings in a lot of new and interesting people and opportunities.Ìý
Photo courtesy Colorado Historical Foundation