On January 11, a group of ardent preservationists wove their way down an icy road (formerly the site of railroad tracks) to a once frequented but now lonely destination marking the confluence of the North Fork of the South Platte and the South Platte River.  There, we gazed upon the South Platte Hotel, a rare local example of a "working-class resort hotel" along the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad Narrow Gauge line that followed one of Colorado's most important waterways. The Hotel is situated on property currently owned by Denver Water.  Although Denver Water paid for a promising Historic Structures Assessment and rehabilitation feasibility study for this significant landmark 16 years ago, the proposed project to rehabilitate the hotel has been "treading water" ever since.  

The original hotel was constructed in 1887 by Charles and Millie Walbrecht.  By the turn of the century, the building was enlarged with a post office and saloon to appease the town's population of 40 residents.  However, the site burned to the ground after a suspicious fire in 1912.  Moved to a more scenic spot on the river, the new two-story, wood-framed structure offered 14 rooms for stagecoach and train passengers. Today, the Frontier-style facade is missing its front porch but retains its quirkiest feature: a rustic tree trunk topped with a pierced metal orb rising from the gable (an early lightning rod)?  Although somewhat protected from further deterioration and vandalism by a foreboding barbed wire fence, the former hotel is in a precarious state of dilapidation, and hardly looks like a place you'd like to hang your hat for the night.  

For members of the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) and its preservation and fundraising partner, History Jeffco (HJO), this field trip was filled with hope and purpose.  Having recently received word from Colorado Preservation Inc. (CPI) that the groups’ joint quest to nominate the hotel to CPI’s 2023 Endangered Places List had been accepted, we gathered a knowledgeable and loquacious mix of both new and longtime supporters to recall the hotel’s history and brainstorm on ways to save it.  CBS4 conducted several interviews to capture the past, present and hopeful future of the hotel.  Interviewees included John Steinle and Lee Katherine Goldstein from JCHC and HJO, Tom Klinger, a local author who has written several books about the early railroads in this area, and nearby resident David Helt, whose family owned a cabin near the hotel in the 1950s. Other supporters present that day included members of the Buffalo Park Improvement Association, North Fork Historic District, Pine Elk Creek Improvement Association, Pine Grove Library and Pine Grove Cemetery.

This event was hosted by CPI's new Endangered Places Program Director Katie Peterson, who replaced Kim Grant--whose work secured the hotel's spot on this prestigious list right before he retired.  CBS4 videographer Kevin Strong conducted interviews, filmed the area with a drone, and created a short video that was presented at the annual Saving Places Conference on Thursday, February 9th at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Boulder, CO.  For more information, visit SavingPlacesConference.org.