Historic Buildings Survey Phase IV North Side of Main Street Cortez, Colorado 2016 CLG grant number CO-15-016 Prepared by Cultural Resource Planning Jill Seyfarth PO Box 295 Durango, Colorado 81302 Historic Buildings Survey Phase IV North Side of Main Street Cortez, Colorado 2016 Prepared for the Cortez Historic Preservation Board The City of Cortez 210 East Main Cortez, Colorado 81321 Historic Preservation Board Chairman-Linda Towle Dale Davidson Joyce Lawrence Dan Giannone Terry McCabe Mitchell Toms Janet Weeth Cortez City Staff Chris Burkett Neva Connolly Doug Roth Prepared by: Jill Seyfarth Cultural Resource Planning PO Box 295 Durango, Colorado 81302 (970) 247-5893 May, 2016 CLG grant number CO-15-016 Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Background/Purposes Federal Funding Acknowledgement Project Description Survey Area................................................................................................................... 3 Legal Description Physical Setting Research Design and Methods .................................................................................... 7 Survey Methodology Historic Contexts ......................................................................................................... 11 Survey Results ............................................................................................................. 27 Developmental History of the Survey Area Construction Dates and Architectural Styles in the Survey Area Assessment of Survey Results..................................................................................... 35 National Register Eligibility Wilson Building- Stone Block Building (5MT6906) Cortez City Hall (5MT22260) State Register Eligibility Wilson Building- Stone Block Building (5MT6906) Cortez City Hall (5MT22260) Havran’s (5MT6904) Local Register Eligibility Cortez City Hall (5MT22260) Cortez Post Office (5MT6905) Havran’s (5MT6904) Le Nails (5MT22265) High Mesa Designs (5MT12686) Pioneer Printing (5MT6910) Recommendations Eligibility Summary Tables Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 45 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 47 Appendix ...................................................................................................................... 49 Table A1-Previously Recorded Sites Located Near or Within the Survey Area Table A2-Sites surveyed in Phases I and II (2012-2014) Table A3-Sites surveyed in Phase III (2014-2015) i List of Figures Figure 1 USGS Quad Showing Survey Area .......................................................................... 4 Figure 2 Aerial Map Showing Surveyed Properties ............................................................. 5 Figure 3 Map Showing Surveyed Properties........................................................................ 5 Figure 4 Historic Cortez Townsite with Survey Area Outlined ........................................... 10 Figure 5 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map 1919 ........................................................................ 31 List of Tables Table 1 Surveyed Sites ......................................................................................................... 6 Table 2 Population of Cortez .............................................................................................. 18 Table 3 Survey Area Construction Dates ............................................................................ 32 Table 4 Survey Area Styles .................................................................................................. 32 Table 5 Sites Surveyed, Organized by Site Number with Indication of Eligibility ............... 43 Table 6 Sites Surveyed, Organized by Street Address with Indication of Eligibility ............ 44 List of Photographs Photograph 1The Montezuma County Courthouse ........................................................... 22 Photograph 2 Main Street in 1906 ..................................................................................... 27 Photograph 3 Looking East in about 1920 .......................................................................... 28 Photograph 4 Looking East in the 1930s ............................................................................ 29 Photograph 5 Looking West in the 1930s ........................................................................... 29 Photograph 6 Color Post Card from the 1950s or 1960s .................................................... 30 Photograph 7 Former Cortez Post Office at 34 West Main ................................................ 32 Photograph 8 The Stone Block Building ............................................................................. 33 Photograph 9 McEwen Hall ................................................................................................ 33 Photograph 10 Le Nails Storefront ..................................................................................... 34 Photograph 11 Former JC Penney Building ........................................................................ 34 Photograph 12 The Stone Block Building ........................................................................... 36 Photograph 13 Cortez City Hall .......................................................................................... 38 Photographs 14-15 Havran’s at 48 West Main ................................................................... 39 Photograph 16 High Mesa Designs at 44 East Main ........................................................... 40 Photograph 17 Pioneer Printing at 110 East Main ............................................................. 40 ii Introduction Background/Purposes This project is part of an ongoing effort to survey the historic properties within and adjoining the original Cortez townsite. It follows the first three phases of the project, in which the City of Cortez surveyed the properties in the residential neighborhood along Montezuma Avenue and in the residential/commercial transition area between Montezuma Avenue and Main Street. This project is located on the north side of Main Street within the original townsite. It is funded by a Certified Local Government (CLG) grant (#CO-15-016). The survey results contribute to the knowledge and appreciation of the history of the development of Cortez. The City will use the survey data to guide future planning, development and interpretation projects. The project results also provide valuable information for property owners contemplating restoration or rehabilitation of their historic property. Federal Funding Acknowledgement The activity that is the subject of this material has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Historic Preservation Act, administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior for History Colorado. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of the Interior or History Colorado, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the Department of the Interior or History Colorado. This program receives Federal funds from the National Park Service. Regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful discrimination in departmental Federally- assisted programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility operated by a recipient of Federal assistance should write to: Director, Equal Opportunity Program, U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240. Project Description This survey area encompasses the commercial properties along the north side of Main Street and within the original townsite. The survey boundaries are Linden Street on the west and the lot at the northeast corner of Main and Ash Streets (210 East Main) on the east. Main Street forms the south boundary and the alley on the north side of the lots forms the north boundary. Vacant lots were excluded from the survey. Twenty-eight survey forms were completed for the area. The City of Cortez Historic Preservation Board supervised and coordinated the project under the direction of the Chair, Linda Towle, with assistance from Chris Burkett, the Cortez Grants and Special Projects Coordinator. Jill Seyfarth, the Principal of Cultural Resource Planning of Durango, Colorado, contracted with the City of Cortez in August of 2015 and completed the project in May of 2016. Cortez Survey Phase IV Cultural Resource Planning Page 1 The History Colorado State Historic Fund staff contacts for this work were Mark Rodman, Amy Unger, Michelle Chichester and Jennifer Deichman. New Information in this Report This report repeats the previously established historic contexts for and history of Cortez, as described in the Historic Contexts section. New information is provided in the Survey Results section regarding the historic development of the survey area, including updates to existing contexts when new information relevant to the survey area warranted it. Cortez Survey Phase IV Cultural Resource Planning Page 2 Survey Area Legal Description The cumulative survey area encompasses approximately 10 acres,