Historic Resource Survey of Main Street, Downtown Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado
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Historic Resource Survey of Main Street, Downtown Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado Prepared for City of Cortez 110 West Progress Circle Cortez, CO 81321 Prepared by Espinoza Cultural Services San Luis Valley Office PO Box 571 La Jara, CO 81140 800-511-8685 _________________________ Date: August 31, 2017 Steven F. Mehls, Ph.D. Prepared under Certified Local Government (CLG) grant (#CO-16-012) Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 Background/Purposes .............................................................................................................. 1 Federal Funding Acknowledgement ......................................................................................... 1 Project Description ............................................................................................. 2 New Information in this Report .......................................................................... 2 Survey Area ........................................................................................................ 3 Legal Description ...................................................................................................................... 3 Physical Setting ......................................................................................................................... 3 Research Design and Methods ............................................................................ 8 Research Design ...................................................................................................................... 8 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 8 Previous Work in the Area .............................................................................................. 8 Research Sources ............................................................................................................ 9 Contexts ........................................................................................................................ 10 Survey Methodology ......................................................................................... 11 Historic Contexts ............................................................................................... 14 Context 1. ................................... Early Settlement and Euro-American Contact: 400 A.D.–1886 ....................................................................................................................................... 15 History 15 Cultural Resources Illustrating this Context ................................................................. 15 Context 2. ............................................ Founding and Early Development of Cortez: 1886–1904 ....................................................................................................................................... 15 History 15 Cultural Resources Illustrating this Context ................................................................. 17 Context 3. ............................................................ Agriculture, Water, and Prosperity: 1904–1920 ....................................................................................................................................... 17 History 17 Typical Cultural Resources Illustrating this Context ..................................................... 18 i Context 4. .................................................. The Automobile, Mobility, and Tourism: 1916–1945 ....................................................................................................................................... 18 History 18 Typical Cultural Resources Illustrating this Context ..................................................... 19 Context 5. ................................................................... Vaulting into the Modern Age: 1945–1970 ....................................................................................................................................... 19 History 19 Typical Cultural Resources Illustrating this Context ..................................................... 20 Context 6. ......................... Commercial Development of Main Street between 1900 and 1970 ....................................................................................................................................... 21 History 21 Typical Cultural Resources Illustrating this Context ..................................................... 24 Results of the Survey ........................................................................................ 26 Construction Dates and Architectural Styles/Forms in the Survey Area .............................. 26 Assessment of Survey Results ............................................................................................... 30 National Register Eligibility.................................................................................................... 30 State Register Eligibility ......................................................................................................... 34 Cortez List of Historic Properties ............................................................................................ 35 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 43 Recommendations ............................................................................................ 44 Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 45 Tables Table 1. Surveyed Sites ................................................................................................................ 7 Table 2. Survey Area Construction Dates ................................................................................... 26 Table 3. Survey Area Historic Styles ........................................................................................... 26 Table 4. Eligibility Recommendations for Surveyed Resources ................................................. 30 Figures Figure 1. Survey area shown on the Cortez, Colorado 7.5-minute USGS quadrangle map ......... 4 Figure 2. Aerial view of the survey area provided by the Cortez GIS Department. ...................... 5 ii Figure 3. Map of resources surveyed ............................................................................................ 6 Figure 4. Survey Area on Cortez Zoning Plat ............................................................................... 13 Figure 5. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from 1919. ..................................................................... 27 Plates Plate 1. South Side of Main Street East of Market Street ca. 1890. ................................................ 22 Plate 2. South Side of Main Street East of Market Street ca. 1930. ................................................ 23 Plate 3. Clay Mesa: Example of Mission Revival storefront remodel. ................................................. 29 Plate 4. Chamber of Commerce: Example of Spanish Colonial Revival remodel. ......................... 29 Plate 5. Brubaker’s Lumber ...................................................................................................................... 33 Plate 6. Montezuma County Courthouse .............................................................................................. 34 Plate 7 Kenyon Motors, Cortez Motors ................................................................................................ 37 Plate 8 Main Street Brewery .................................................................................................................. 38 Plate 9 Hair Headquarters ....................................................................................................................... 39 Plate 10 Once Upon a Sandwich ............................................................................................................... 40 Plate 11 Rent- a-Center .............................................................................................................................. 41 Plate 12 Slaven’s True Value Hardware .................................................................................................. 42 iii Introduction Background/Purposes The survey reported here is another step in the City of Cortez’s effort to survey the historic building and sites within and near the original Cortez townsite. This project is the fifth in the series of studies managed by the City through its Historic Preservation Board. The first four surveys examined the commercial and residential areas from the north side of Main Street north to Montezuma Avenue, one of the premier residential streets in the community’s history. The current survey examined 23 potential historic properties on the south side of Main Street from 209 East Main Street, opposite the City Hall, west to 237 West Main Street and two outliers at 301 West Main and 310 East Main Streets. These two properties were added to the survey as replacements for two others within the original townsite that were eliminated due to integrity issues. The survey is funded by a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant (#CO-16-012). The results of this project will assist the City in its planning efforts for future development and/or redevelopment of the downtown area as well as