2014 historic homes TOUR INFORMATION

Historic Homes Tour: Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Fort Collins
Saturday, September 13, 2014, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

1905, CONLEY HOUSE - 202 EAST ELIZABETH STREET
OWNERS: AARON AND ASHLEY MCGREW
STYLE: FOURSQUARE WITH CLASSIC DETAILS

The M.G. Conley house was built around 1905. It is a foursquare with classic details. Foursquare houses were a popular design, especially in the west, from 1900 into the 1920s. A typical layout has four rooms on the first floor – a hall, living room, dining room and kitchen, and four rooms upstairs. Foursquare houses can be colonial, classic Greek or quite plain. The Conley house has classic details: quoins on the corners, deep windows, door trim with egg-and-dart detailing, and a paneled staircase. in spite of numerous owners, it has many original features: the wood floors, the turning door bell, steam radiators, carved woodwork, leaded-glass windows, and many of the original doors.

Merritt g. Conley, who also worked on the masonic temple on oak street, and his wife Ella, lived in the house until 1917. It passed to Edward and Amanda Sayre, and then began a pattern of changing ownership, every two to four years, that would continue until the 1980s. Given the size and location of this home, the owners varied from retired farmers, to bankers, to several college professors and their families. 

In 1987, John Clark purchased the house and converted it into the Elizabeth street guest house. John and Sheryl Clark lived in the converted garage and rented the three bedrooms to guests. they installed small sinks in each bedroom, and decorated the rooms with wallpaper and vintage accessories. 

The current owners, Aaron and Ashley McGrew, have converted the house back into a residence. They remodeled the kitchen. It has new cupboards with classic lines, a butcher block center table, a farmer’s sink and a gourmet stove. The new kitchen compliments the classical elements of the rest of the house, with its simple lines and natural surfaces. 

Robin Stitzel

 1910, DEAN HOUSE: "GLENROCK
1160 LAPORTE AVE.
OWNERS: LIZ AND GLENN TELLING
STYLE: CRAFTSMAN BUNGALOW
TOUR PATRON: JANELL PRUSSMAN - REMAX ALLIANCE

Constructed about 1910, this home had investment broker Leonard “Herbert” Swett and his wife rose as its first residents. They sold in 1919 to rancher James Dean and his wife Alma; the couple remained here only until 1923.  For the next 50 years the property remained in the hands of several generations of the March family, some of whom were well-known attorneys in Fort Collins. Among the more recent owners have been James and Beverly manning, who hosted on the historic homes tour in 1993.

Despite their short occupancy the deans apparently were responsible for much of the current look of the home. They added the front porch, the second story, and the original rock exterior. They also did some work on the interior, but additional modifications took place in the 1980s and 1990s. These modifications, however, incorporated wood siding and continued use of ceramic roof tiles. note also such features as a shed dormer, overhanging eaves, the stone foundation and stone walls, as well as the carport on stone piers. In all, this is an excellent example of a craftsman bungalow.

Almost all the interior remodeling in recent years was the work of owners prior to Liz and Glenn telling. That work was done with care. Much of the woodwork was left intact or matched, and the high ceilings evoke the spaciousness of early 20th century domestic architecture. The music room, the dormer windows upstairs, and a glazed bathroom window will also draw your attention. Outside, take a look at the large catalpa tree in the front yard, and in the backyard, the water feature with its extraordinarily deep pool and decorative wrought iron safety feature.

And finally: As you can see from the sign over the front entrance, this home is "Glenrock." the name dates from the early years but is of unknown origin. A mystery!

Doug Ernest

1918, LINTON HOUSE
1501 PETERSON ST.
OWNERS: ROBERT & SALLY LINTON
STYLE: PRAIRIE STYLE

Prairie style was a short-lived architectural style popular between 1900 and 1920, and is most commonly found in the US Midwest. The excellent example at 1501 Peterson is one of the few houses in Fort Collins built in this style. The estimated construction date is circa 1918, but its earliest history is obscured by a foreclosure. much of the present structure is shown on the 1925 Sanborn fire insurance map, and a 1926 building permit for a back porch lists H.C. Bradley as the owner. 

Harry C. Bradley was a successful automobile dealer and early photographer living at 1510 s. college, and it was apparently a rental property for a number of years. In 1935, it was sold to John Forrest and Elizabeth Webster Crane. John was a successful sheep farmer, a member of the Wyoming Wool Growers and Wyoming Stock Growers Associations, and a long-time member of the local elks lodge. The only significant change the Forrests made was the addition of a second floor sleeping porch in 1937.

in 1967, after 32+ years, the house was sold to CSU professor John A. Campbell, and his wife, Patricia. In 1975, CSU professor Joel Bedford and his wife Judith purchased it, and resided there for 35 years. in 2001, they demolished the old garage and replaced it with a new two-car garage and attached greenhouse. in 2010, the house was sold to Brenda Uihlein, who then sold it to the current owners in 2012. 

The spacious rooms, open flow, and four-square plan of this house are a delightful reminder of houses that were designed for gentler times. Interior details include the original hot-water radiators; a typical mixture of American Standard “Peerless” and “Rococo Window” styles, which complement the original doors, trim, and hardware. There is also a delightful and very useful built-in storage unit in the upstairs central hall. 

Bill Whitley

1928, MOORE HOUSE
1147 W. LAPORTE AVENUE
OWNERS: JOHN FOSTER AND LAUREN CHIARELLI
STYLE: CRAFTSMAN 

This charming example of a small craftsman style house was built in about 1928 by ray m. Moore for $3,000.00. A year later it was sold to William M. Moore and his wife Alice. A modest clapboard house, it featured a living room, dining room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. There was a small, open porch with graduated pillars, windows with a line of smaller panes across the top, and wide, flat gables, all details typical of craftsman houses. The house remained nearly unchanged until the 1980s.

William Moore died some time after 1929, as Alice Moore was already a widow when she died in 1933. While some houses have the same families for years at a time, this bungalow changed owners every few years from 1932 until 1972. The owners and renters provide a snapshot of a small western town growing into a small city. In 1933, a pressman for b & m printing, Arthur Jebens and his wife moved in for three years. Successive occupants included a florist, a barber, a widow and her son, a plumber and a postal clerk. In 1979, Stephen and Donna Rhodes bought the house, and stayed until at least 2002.

In the early 1980s, the Rhodes remodeled the house, adding a back addition with a half story upstairs with a bedroom and bathroom, and a half story downstairs, with a family room leading into a small, finished basement. The new addition had big windows that look into the lush, private backyard. Large trees, a grape arbor, and high fence made the back yard a cozy family retreat.

The Rhodes family left sometime after 2002. New owners appeared in 2010, then sold to terry Nolan in 2011. Terry put in the updated kitchen with solid wood cupboards and new countertops. She solved the challenge of the tiny, cramped hallway leading from the kitchen to the original bathroom and small bedrooms by installing “barn” style sliding doors made of frosted glass and wrought iron. These give privacy to the hall and bathroom, but do not take up precious hall space as regular doors would. Terry also remodeled the front porch. She continued the craftsman aesthetic with wood and stone and graduated columns, but expanded the size, added beams, and replaced the concrete with recycled composite decking.

In 2013, the present owners bought the house, and have added their own touches with lovely landscaping in the front yard and original art throughout the house.

Robin Stitzel

1962, SCHMALTZ HOUSE
2319 WESTVIEW ROAD
OWNER: DALE SCHMALTZ
STYLE: MID-CENTURY MODERN

Built in 1962, this unique mid-century home was owned in 1966 by Richard Price, a Colorado State University research scientist, and his wife, Rita. The home was sold in 1972 to Petar Todorovic, also a CSU professor. In 1999, dale schmaltz purchased the home and began restoration of the home’s interior elements, patio and landscape.

The architectural interior and furnishings reflect an authentic mid-century modern style with the addition of exquisite decorative touches by Denver designer Marrion Irons. The home features an Afrormosia wall panel, Marmoleum and cork floors, a George Nelson dining room light, and numerous architectural treasures from the mid-century modern aesthetic. Marmoleum flooring, a brand of linoleum which was first patented in England in 1863 by Frederick Walton, complements and enhances the architectural interior. The George Nelson inspired bubble lamp in the dining room represents a mid-century classic design that can also be found in the permanent collection of the museum of modern art in New York.

Reflecting organic architecture influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, this home has a horizontal orientation and an open floor plan with ample glass windows. the striking architectural style of this home is characterized by clean simplicity and integration of diverse structural elements. The interior remodeling includes a remarkable kitchen designed by Chuck Lloyd in the mid-century style infused with diamond shaped features. Don’t miss the vintage furniture, unique light fixtures, and the interior doors that have been redesigned to admit light and reflect the 1960s style. Outside, the white concrete patio, fountain and furnishings have been refurbished with the addition of two decorative gates. This home is an impressive example of the mid-century modern movement in Fort Collins.

Patricia A. Nelson

1732 HILLSIDE DRIVE
OWNERS:  DAVID AND CATHIE MAY
STYLE: MID CENTURY MODERN TRI-LEVEL

The Lindenmeier name is associated with a number of features in the Fort Collins area, most famously the archaeological site, where Folsom artifacts were found on Lindenmeier grazing land. William Lindenmeier, however, also owned an extensive farm around the lake with the same name. Although his farm persisted after his death in 1942 well into the 20th century, eventually it gave way to subdivisions, including country club estates in the early 1960s. Built in 1965, the home at 1732 Hillside Drive is one of those on the former Lindenmeier farm. this front to back tri-level, with its low lines and large overhanging eaves, typifies the style of the era.

Those visitors with a passion for interiors will recognize a keen eye and intuitive talent at work when they step through the door. That eye and talent belong to David May, a homebuilder of long experience. He and Cathie have lived here since 1986. He has remodeled every room in the house, installing wood floors in the process. The kitchen has had two remodels, opening a much smaller room into the airy space seen now.  Elsewhere on the first floor a cozy living area has a unique corner fireplace, a study, and an office with a travertine floor.  Upstairs David created a master suite where once there were three bedrooms and two baths. 

Many original features do remain, however, including the fireplace in the kitchen, doors, a screened-in rear porch, and large windows. Outside, take time to notice the brickwork, places where 1960s siding is still in place, and the tranquil mix of trees and lawn in the back.

The mays did remove one original feature, an intercom not necessary for a home so roomy yet relatively small.  tour participants themselves may wish for an intercom – or at least a cell phone – to communicate their excitement to their friends about this remarkable home.

Doug Ernest

1864, AUNTIE STONE’S LOG CABIN - HERITAGE PARK, 200 MATTHEWS ST.
OWNER: CITY OF FORT COLLINS
STYLE: LOG CABIN
RECOGNITION: THE ONLY BUILDING REMAINING FROM THE ORIGINAL FORT.

It would be difficult to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of Fort Collins without acknowledging “Auntie Stone’s Cabin”. The hand-hewn log cabin is the only remaining building from the fort’s founding in 1864. Lewis and Elizabeth Stone came by covered wagon to Denver in 1857 but moved to the new fort in 1864 to operate the officers’ mess in this cabin which was at the edge of the fort near the corner of riverside and linden.

When the fort was closed in 1867, the recently widowed Elizabeth made travelers welcome in her cabin “hotel.” when her niece Elizabeth Keays and son Wilbur joined her, the cabin became the first school in the area. she became our first businesswoman when she partnered with Henry Clay Peterson (who had built this cabin) to harness the Poudre River for a grist mill. They also established the first brick factory. Elizabeth became “auntie,” they say, because all who knew her loved her. She finally retired at age 80, but continued her support of temperance and women’s suffrage, dying at age 94. She is buried at Grandview cemetery.

Auntie’s cabin has a living room, dining room, steep staircase and two upstairs sleeping rooms. a lean-to had been added out back for kitchen and an extra bedroom. Auntie lived there until 1873 when the cabin was moved to mountain and mason as the kitchen/laundry behind the new agricultural hotel. in 1877 the hotel was moved and the cabin was improved to become the family home of the Vandewarks until 1907. it then was covered with siding and painted white to become a paint shop until 1909.the newly founded association of pioneer women bought it for $150 (raised by holding dinners and ice cream socials,) moved it to mason street in 1909, added a front porch, fireplace, electric lights, plaster and wall paper and used it for their meetings.

The city of Fort Collins accepted the cabin as a gift from the association on April 17, 1959, when it was moved to the site it occupies today.

1879, AVERY HOUSE - 328 WEST MOUNTAIN AVENUE
OWNER: CITY OF FORT COLLINS
MANAGED BY: POUDRE LANDMARKS FOUNDATION
STYLE: GOTHIC COTTAGE
RECOGNITION: NATIONAL REGISTER, 1972; STATE REGISTER, 1972; LOCAL LANDMARK, 1974; PART OF AVERY HOUSE LOCAL LANDMARK DISTRICT, 1990
2014 TOUR PATRON: WATTLE & DAUB

Franklin Avery took advantage of the open spaces when he surveyed Fort Collins in 1873. Avery later founded the first national bank and was instrumental in developing water projects that enabled agriculture to flourish in northern Colorado. In 1879, he and his wife Sara built a family home on the corner of Mountain Avenue and Meldrum Street where they raised their children Edgar, Ethel, and Louise. 

The original two-story home consisted of two rooms on the first floor (now the entry area and dining room), three bedrooms upstairs, and basement. Built of sandstone from local quarries, the cost of the original house was $3,000. During the ensuing years, the Averys added to the house several times; the final addition included the distinctive Queen Anne tower. Members of the Avery family lived in this comfortable home for more than eighty-three years.

in 1974, the city of Fort Collins purchased the Avery House at a cost of $79,000. The Poudre Landmarks Foundation managed the restoration of the house until the first PLF auxiliary, Avery House Historic District Guild, was organized in 1981 to assist with this project. The Avery House, gazebo, fountain, and carriage house are now part of the Avery House Historic District, listed as a local landmark in 1990.

Featured at the Avery House is “150 Years of Fashion in the Fort,” an exhibit which displays fashion from the founding of Fort Collins to the present day. Plan to ride the trolley along Mountain Avenue. The Fort Collins municipal railway is again offering free rides to Historic Homes Tour ticket holders.

1882-83, FT. COLLINS WATER WORKS - 2005 NORTH OVERLAND TRAIL
OWNER: CITY OF FORT COLLINS
MANAGED BY: POUDRE LANDMARKS FOUNDATION
STYLE: GOTHIC REVIVAL PUMP HOUSE, 1883 SUPERINTENDENT’S HOUSE, BARN, CHICKEN HOUSE
RECOGNITION: STATE REGISTER, 1999; FORT COLLINS LANDMARK, 1971
2014 TOUR PATRON: ZEIGLER ROOFING

In 1880, the Fort Collins board of trustees began deliberating about the town’s need for a better water-delivery system and selected this location as the site for its pumping station. Until this plant was built, water for household and commercial use was delivered by the water wagon, dipped from nearby irrigation canals, or pumped from shallow wells. After several devastating downtown fires, area voters agreed on a plan to build the water works in 1882. Work began immediately on an $85,000 project. Water diverted from the Cache la Poudre River to a reservoir behind the new pump house supplied the town and provided the power to drive the pumps.

Completed in June 1883, the gothic revival style pump house was built of locally manufactured brick. Sandstone for the foundations, sills, and lintels came from the stout quarries. Two American water wheel turbines and four holly-Gaskill pumps forced water to Fort Collins through wrought iron pipes. Initially, people were slow to sign up for water service, but by the 1890s, many households had subscribed, and the city added rooms to the pump house to hold a steam-powered pump and filtration system. in 1905, a new water system at the confluence of the north fork with the Cache la Poudre river replaced Fort Collins’ first water works.

The PLF and its second auxiliary, the friends of the water works, oversee the ongoing preservation work, with plans to convert the site into a regional water interpretation center.