The Hoffman House is a Craftsman style home, built about 1924. It has a low-angled roof, simple front gable and exposed rafter tails, details associated with the Craftsman style. The Arts and Crafts movement began in England in the late 19th century, as a reaction to the manufactured and overblown Victorian houses and décor. In the United States, the movement influenced a new style of houses with a handcrafted feel, simpler designs, and a more open layout.

On the 16th September, 1908, the following advertisement was placed in The Weekly Courier newspaper, “5 ROOM HOUSE FOR SALE. Modern except heat Must be sold at once. Call at 801 Peterson Street”. The people of Fort Collins in these early days were a hardy bunch and the lack of modern heating must not have been a deterrent to John Cope, who purchased the home in February of 1909. However, it was John’s widow, Roberta, who predominantly resided here, after John’s passing in 1913, with Roberta remaining until 1918 or 1919. This was a lengthy stay, compared to the rapid succession of many of this home’s early inhabitants.

The Addie R. Debolt residence was designated a Historic Landmark Property in 1998 and named for one of the property’s earliest owners. Interestingly, it seems while Addie purchased this lot in 1903, she never resided here. In fact, as best can be determined from contemporaneous records, there was not a home on this site during Addie’s lifetime

618 W Mountain Ave. was built by Assistant District Attorney Newton Crose in 1906-07, for his new wife, Louisa (Mettie) Avery, youngest daughter of Franklin and Sarah Avery. Mettie was active in social and educational groups such as the Kanatenah, which in February of 1910 held their monthly meeting in the house. In 1914, Newton was shot and killed by the mentally unstable husband of a client, and Mettie moved back in with her parents at 328 W Mountain Ave.

The Moore House at 117 N McKinley Street is a charming Craftsman bungalow. The Craftsman style was a reaction to the elaborate and manufactured Victorian houses. Homes in the Craftsman style were typically one story, with low pitched roofs, and exposed rafter tails. Inside, the emphasis was on wood floors, hand-carved details, and a more casual living space.

A Lutheran congregation of Germans from Russia built the graceful church at the corner of Whedbee and Olive in 1914, following up in 1931 with this parsonage house, which probably replaced a smaller structure. Among the early ministers who resided here was Conrad Becker in the 1920s and 1930s. After a dispute over modifications to the original German service Becker led the “modernizing” faction elsewhere

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.

Franklin Avery came from New York to Northern Colorado in 1870. Fort Collins has him to thank for our wide streets; he took advantage of the open spaces when he surveyed the town in 1873. Avery later founded 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 and raised their children, Edgar, Ethel, and Louise, there.