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6 - Update MemoMarch 7~h, 2007 TO: Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board FROM: James Hewat, Chris Meschuk SUBJECT: Update Memo Work Plan Certified Local Government Grant Award Boulder has been awarded ~4,095 for historic district signage. runding for the disaster plan was unfortunately denied. Board Appointments Six applications were received for the citizen appointment ta the Board being vacated by Leland Rucker. Applicants will be interviewed by the City Council in the next couple of weeks and appointments made shortly thereatter. Valmont Butte Mill On January 30 during the City Council Valmont Butte study session, statf presented information regarding the history and potentially historic elements on the property. The city is currently in negotiations to sell 71 acres of the l01 parcel the Trust for Public Lands, Staff will be reporting back to the Council as to the impact that landmarking signiticant cultural may have on the value of the property. Historic Preservation and Environmental Sustainability (ntegration Project Final edits have been made to the brochure and it will be printed and distributed in the next several weeks. Historic Preservation Month and Awards The Preservation Roundtable is currently coordinating this year's preservation month events with the national them "Making Historic Preservation Work". The Square Nail, City, and County preservation awards ceremony taking place in the Community House at the Chautauqua on May 14. More information will be forthcoming. Depot Discussion continues regarding the temporary storage location for the depot (immediately north or south of Goose Creek). Team of Hansen, Lopez, and Bill Davis formulating moving and storage plan which will be presented to the design review committee for review and approval - move currently estimated to occur in May of 2007. New and Pending Land Use Review Applications No new comments, however re-submittals have been received tior 1655 Walnut Street, 2221 Walnut Strcet as well as new applications for 900 28'h Street and 400 Marine Street. Comments will be shared ~vith the Board at subsequent meetings. ~ ARTICLES AND INFORMATION: "Rocky Mountain Retreat", Cody Dougtas Oreck and Ann Stewart O'Donnell in Fall/Winter 2006-07 issue of Sryle 1900 - Anliqire.5• & tnteriors Mu~a~ine. Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board Stay of Demolition Status Summary, March 7t", 2007 Address Date of Construction Date Stay Im osed Date of Ex iration Current Status 1936 Mapleton c 1900 11/1/2006 04/04/2007 Avenue . 2127-2135 14 Street 1902 2/7/2007 6/17/2007 o~ ~""''~„~ Destinations Cody ~nd Bruce Oreck found n~tur~l beauty, sim~le living and a rich historic~l tradition in Boulcler, Color~do. You c~n, too. • oc ount~ln By Cody Douglas Oreck with Anne Stewart O'Donnell Since 1898, the beaury of the rugged landscape (opposite) has lured visitors to the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado. Originally a summcr retrcat oRcring conunwng cducation for teachers, the Colorado Chautauqua began as a cluster of tenu (shown opposite) around the Academic Hall and Auditorium. Soon, huwever, simple cottages began to replace the tents. One summer evening in 1990, while on vacation in Boulcler, Coloracio, my husbanc{ Bruce and f set out for a f~teful picnic. Friends h~d tolci us not to miss Chautauqua P~rk, and as we entereci the much loved place it w~s easy to see why. This w~s no ordinary ~atch of green sp~ce. A grancl old Dining Hall overlooked rolling meadows stretch- ing u~ to the scenic ancl hike~ble Fl~tirons, the distinctive rock faces of the foothills of the Rockies. Behind the park, narrow streets were lined with dozens of miniature fr~me houses and cabins, old-f~shioned but with virtually no tradi- tional orn~ment, painted ~rim~rily in dutiful "Park Service Brown," each with a neighborly- looking porch and a scrap of garden. Deeper in the trees, peo~le made theirway, laughing and talking, toward a huge wooclen auciitorium where we heard the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra tuning up. I w~s charmed-~nci curious. I knew something about the ideals of the Arts and Cr~fu movement, and while I haci no idea what "Chautauqua" meant, [ senseci a kinshi~. Here were the s~me ideas of turning to nature for inspiration and renew~l, of nurturing the s~irit through the arts, ~nd ~Uove all of choosing sim~licity in the mic~st of a modern world that seemed to be ~ccelerat- ing out of control. Bruce and I had been looking for the perfect town in which to raise our young family. As we sat in that s~ectacular setting, watching the sun set over the Fl~tirons, we re~lizecl we'd found it. 3 ~ Built in 1898, the Chautauqua's Audicorium (above, on postcacds) has wclcomed speakers such as ~lliam Jennings Bryan and performers such as bandleader John Philips Sousa Now on the Nadonal Registcr of Historic Places, the Auditorium has been voted one of the top ten places artists love to play because of iu superior acoustics and intimate barn-like fal. ~`ti,. y . ~ ~'. ~. _ b._. t Destinations Drawn to Ch~ut~uqu~ Before long, we'd sold our hame in New Orleans and returned to Boulder for good. The house we bought, builc around 191 C i« an English Atts and Crafts sryle, opened other doors into learn- ing about the movement. We traveled to England and Scotland ~o scudy che roors of Ares and Crafcs sryle as we rescored our new home. We discovered that Denver, Boulder, and environs had been hos~ co an active Ares and Crafts communiry at the turn of the 20th century. The movement left its mark in some of Denver's loveliest neighborhoods, in bungalows docted throughout the region, and in some scunning mountain es~ates. As we sought out these examples and sources, we joined other Arts and Crafts cn~husiasts to Found the Colorado Arts and Crafts Sociery so we could 6etter publicize and preserve them. All alon~;, we con~inued to frequent Chautauqua Park, hik- ing and attending lectures and concerts. It became clear ro me that, philosophically, the Chaucauqua movement was closely tied to the Arts and Crafts movement. The more I learned about its origins, the more I felc ar home. From Tents... In the la~e 1890s, as the Chautauqua movemen~ was hi~ting its stride na~ionally, a grouP ofTexas teachers determined ~o establish a site in Colorado. The group made a deal with Boulder adminis- trators for a 26-acre campus that would provide not only escape from the Texas summer heac bu~ also a haven of learning and independence. (~n July 4, 18)8, over 4,000 people gathered For the opening day oF the Colorado Chautauqua. Sec up as a tent camp with a Dining Hall and Auditoriwn, t6e park began with no running warer, no electriciry> and a"no fires near the tents" rule for safery (hence the necessity for a Dining Hall). Performers and lecturers toured the Chautauqua circwt, spreading the ideals of lifelong learning, volunrary simpliciry, love of nature, and immersion in music, oration and the ares. Programs featured the likes of statesman William )ennings Bryan, Jane Addams of Hull House, and composer John PhiliPs Sousa, as well as silent films and variery acrs such as che Russian Cossack Choir. Life was to he lived communally and oucdoors as much as possible. ...t0 COttc~CJ' 2S As early as 1899, Chautauqua regulars began to replace their tents with summer cottages-extremely simple wooden structures without kitchens and bathrooms, but wich comfort- able porches to encourage neighborly lingering outdoors. (A century larer, ~hese porches still play a central role in park life.) Over the years, most of Chautauqua's one hundred cotcages were win~erized, and basic ki~chens and ba~hrooms were added. Though the wrecking ball loomed in the 1970s, dedicated residents fought back. Today, ~he park is registered as the only National Historic Landmark District between Colorado Springs and Estes Park, a distance of about 100 miles. Concerts, lectures, hikes and meals at the Dining Hall remain the sruff of life here (though the food is now gourmet). Historic and nacure tours are available. Sixry of the cottages are offered for short-term rental, while the remaining forty are privately owned, many J Treasuted snapshots document the fun and fellowship experienced by early Chautauqua visitors, many of whom wcre unmarriecl women school teachers. Described by Theodore Roosevelt as `Hmerica at its besc," what became known as the Chautauqua Inscicucion began in the 1870s as an experiment in suinmer leaming for Sunday School teachers at Lake Chautauqua, New York. Picching tents or erecring rustic cabins, attendees lived a simple, inexpensive, healthy ou~door life while studying music, elocution, the ares> and issues oF the day. The concepc proved successful, and not just with teachers. Satellite Chaucauqua settlements sprang up around the narion, attracring ~he foremos~ speakers and performers of the time. For those who could not travel to a Chautauqua campus> the Chautauqua Licerary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), operating by correspondence, sponsored over 10,000 educational "reading circles." In an age when mosc citizens received no more ~han an eighth-grade education-and when formal educacion for women was severely limited-Chautauqua became a vical resource. The growing American middle class was eager to learn, to listen, and to take part in high-minded discussions of design, religion, politics, philosophy, art, and physical education. Like the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movemenc, Chautauquan principles spoke elo- quently to a nation weary of Victorian materialism and ~ ready to fall in love with its own land and cul~ure. Elbert Hubbard, one oF the driving forces in the Arts and Crafts, was strongly inFluenced by the Chautauqua concepc. He and his mother graduated from the CLSC in ~he late 1880s. I-~e also lectured ar the institution's home campus in 1896> and the Chautauqua example seems to have inspired some of his own later educational offerings at the Roycroft. Although developments sucli as radio aiid television and increased access to higher education evenrually supplanted Chautauqua's influence, the institucion scill survives-and chrives. The CLSC is now che nacion's longesc con~inuously-running book club, wich over 500,000 past and presen~ enrollees, and three Chautauquan campuses still operate, including the Colorado site, one in Lakeside, Ohio, and the original Chau~auqua Institution in western New York. America's hunger for simpliciry, intellectual scimulation, and close- ness co nature, ic seems, remains :-s strong as it was a century ago. In fact, those ideals may be even more relevant today. (For more abou~ Elbert Hubbard and the Chautauqua Institution, see °Arts and Crafts Links in Western New York' by Anne Scewart O'Donnell, Sryle 1900 Uolume 17, Number 3, pp 72-77•) STYLE I900 75 "Che Missions Lodge (l9l 1) housed the School of Missions, which trained wonten to be missionaries in the U.S. and abroad until 195G. Now resmred to Arts and Crafu style, tl~c l.od~;e ut~ers eight guest rooms and facilities for corponte or family events. Destinations Chautauqua's 6rst cott~ges werc little more than reinforced tenu. Photos of interiors-showing castoff Victorian furni- ture, Indian rugs, Navajo weavings, and the like-offer clues to the ariginal decar. Bwlt around 1901, the C:antwcll Cottaoe was advertised for sxle in 1918. Relatively untouched since then, it was an ideal cottage ro restore as a picture of early Chautauqua life. by descendants oFthe original Texas reachers. Known as the Chautauqua Cotcagers, these families have re~urned for summers generation aFter generation and helped to preserve the Park through thick and chin. Rustic U~cationer Becomes ~ Restor~tion Volunteer Around rhe same ~ime that I found myself seduced by the Park's charmingly simple architecture and incrigued by che similar values of the Chautauqua and Arts and Crafts movemencs, I witnessed a building boom in the region that seemed to ignore all principles of good design and harmony with nature (particularly fragi(e in the arid West). I became convinced that che same frn-de-siecle excesses that had galva- nized reformers ac the end of the last century needed to be addressed again. In 2002, I joined the Board of Direcrors of the Colorado Chautauqua Association (CCA), hoping to encourage a rekindling of the Chautauqua ideals. It was a time when finances were particularly tight for rhe organization. One decision we faced was ~he fate of che 1901 Cantwell Cotcage (named after the family chat had owned it from rhe 1920s until they sold it to the CCA in 2001). Should ~his cottage-relatively uncouched-be restored as an incerprecive 76 STYLE 1900 ~ In the Cantwell Cottage restoration, uplifting period books and a class p6oto of turn-of-the-century women-possibly students at a teachers' college-evoke Chautauqua's origins. Pboto~~~ipb by Jennifer Kirschke. 1'hc ideal oFvoluntary simplicity resonateci stcungly in many A~ncric:ut hearu and min~ls azound l')00. 'Che rusuq almost monastic Feeling of the Cantwell beciroom has been lighteneJ by colorFid summer quilts, the frugal art of the nation's women. Photograpfi by Jennife+• Kirsrbke. center, a showcase oEwhat Chautauquan lifc was like in ics heyday? Or should it be sold to bring in much-needed funds? We decided on a chird way-to restore and furnish the cottage as a rental, bur ro recapture as much of the original Elavor as possible in the process, making the house both a ~eaching tool and a modest revenue-generator. We applied for a State Historic Fund granr, when we received ic, we set about raising matching funds. As chair of the rescoracion commiaee, [ worked closely with Steve Watkins, ~he park's Preservation Manager, and with archi~ec~ Kristin Lewis. The challenge of whar we'd chosen to do soon became obvious. To represent the experi- ence of one of che Texas teachers who spent cool summers in the mountains of Colorado, continuing her education and nurturing her love of the greac outdoors, we wanced ro use period furni~ure and tittings that captured a rough-and- ready, improvisacional feeling. Aker all, the early residents were campers, and the cottages were not much more than reinforced tents. Yet the struccure also had to meet modern standards oE comfort and energy efficiency, and we had to keep in mind that it would be occupied by casual visitors, not all oE whom would be "Heritage Tourists" who would creac che concencs wich reverence. For inspiracion, [ studied phocographs from the early days of Chaucauqua, read accouncs left by the early residents, talked to cheir descendents, che present-day cor~agers, and visited houses thac scill recained original features. Then I put myself in the shoes of a'Iexas ~eacher without a loc of money, :uid headed for tlea markets and antiyue shops. [ picked out the kind ot "souvenirs° she might have brought wich her or accu- mulated during a Chautauqua summer: a framed photograph of a class oEyoung women, perhaps from a~eacher-training school; period sheet music to represent rhe singing chat wen~ on; a deer skull with the anders still attached, something sdll easily found on hikes up the Flacirons; and a Chaucauqua pro- gram featuring a phoco of America's firsc woman governor, Wyoming's Nellie T~ayloe Ross, something our teacher might have kept as inspiration, I bought assorted odd sticks of furni- rure, and salvaged some vincage chairs from the Auditorium basement. An expert local resrorer, Larry Gossman, gave us reasonable prices to reglue and refinish pieces as needed. Now they'll last another hundred years with a modicum of care. Where 21st cencury needs had to be considered, I drew on the improvisational spirit that had animated the first residents. ~ STYLE 1900 77 ~ Destinations The early coaages had bare electric bulbs hanging ti-om rhe ceiling (no expensive Tiffany or mica shades in these rustic sur- roundings) but we wanted to encourage reading by providing 3-way bulbs. These were coo bright to remain unshaded, so, t~ reduce glare and eyestrain, [ inserted them into converced antiyue oil lamps. Kicchen counters posed another ciilemma. The exiscing ones had to go; they were plywood covered with contact paper. Formica wu clearly wrong as a replacement, but so was narural granite. Taking my cue from the red linoleum Eloors in oiie of the earliest cottage kitchens, [ found a similar shade of modern lino and covered che surface with it. "rhe cottage welcamed ics First residenrs in April. According to reports, our hard work seems to have paid ot~. Though comfortable and practical for today's tourist, living in che Cantwell Cottage for a few nights is like stepping in[o a time machine-just as we had hoped. [n fact, the project has inspired park preservacionist Steve Watkins to embark on more pcriod-conscious restorations-launching whac will be called che "Heritage Series" of coccages. Of the CCA's exis~ing rentals, he says, "12 to l5 are candidates, induding a couple of the earliest co~tages, and some that have a special storv co chem"-like the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) Rest Cottage. As this article goes co press, he and I have nearly Finished refurbishing che second cottage in ~he series. Called "21C," rhis 1920s scucco home, which was moved to the park in the f 950s, has a more distincc Craftsman feel than ochers in die Park, a feeling echoed in rhe furnishings I've chosen. A Chaucauqua cottage, like Cantwell or number 216, makes a~erfect base for exploring the Arts and Crafts delights of Coloradds Eront Range, But a Chautauqua sojourn is also much more-ic's a chance to recapture the high-minded, hopeful, ideal-driven atmosphere of a time gone by. Partaking of the natural, cul~ural, and educational experi- ences that beckon, or merely rocking on the porch as the sun secs over the Flacirons, the visitor becomes a symparhet- ic participant in history and in the cozy, simple life still available co each of us-if we choose it. Cody Douglas Oreck u an ~utive pre.rervationist with a particular pusrion far the ~te,cthetzcs und philosop~iy of the Arts and Crafn movement. She wishes to thank all the folks wha made tbe mrtara- tivu of thr Cantwell Cottage possiGle, and is gratefid to ~fartha l/zil Cynthia Shaw McLaughlin, und photographers Jennifrr Kirschke and Linda Svendsen for their help with tliis article. Chautauyuans improvised with cast-offfurniture and other oddments, creating rustic summer havens where the focus wu nacure, music, oration and the arts. ln t6e restorrd Cantwell 6ving room, old serapes and rug fragments were used to uphu(strr rerycled seating pieces. A Jeer's skull hangs on the wall, the kind of "souvenir" still found on hikes in the F(ati~ons. Photograph Gy Je~uiifer Kirschke. In Cantwcll, as in the uther cottages, kitchens were installed only in the l9'20s when plumbing ber.ime more commun in the Park. Llntil then all meals were shared in the communal Dining Hall. Pfiotograp{~ by feienifer Kirsebke. .~~1