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| Adventures in Victorian Architecture: Determining a House's History | ||
| Determining a House's History | ||
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Houses can tell stories that help us to understand the history of our town. Think about the story that a house might tell. Try to answer the following questions on your own, using the information you have learned about Victorian architecture. Then look at house of your choice and ask someone who might know, or do some research to see if you are right.
1. When was the house built? 2. Who was it built for? 3. Who was the architect? 4. What did the area around the house look like when it was first built? 5. Has the neighborhood changed since then? 6. How many different families have lived in the house? Why did they move to this location? 7. What is the house used for now? 8. What could it be used for in the future? If you are in Aspen and are able to find the following addresses, you can check on their histories here: |
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| Victorian Style Guide: Second Empire Style | Queen Anne Style | Richardsonian Romanesque | Carpenter Gothic | Eastern Stick Style | Shingle Style | ||
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620 W. Bleeker (Wheeler Stallard House)
Look for Queen Anne Style, steep roofs, bay window, square cut shingles, fish scale shingles, deep porch on one side of house & carriage stone out front for ladies to get into carriages without messing up their skirts. Jerome B. Wheeler built this house in 1888, but he never lived in it. A Mr. Devereux lived there instead. In 1905, Edgar and Mary Ella Stallard bought it. She was a seamstress. In 1945 Walter Paepcke bought it. Starting in 1961, the Aspen Institute’s president lived there. The Aspen Historical Society received it in 1969. It is now a museum where you can learn all about Aspen's history. |
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| 533 W. Hallam (Tissington House) Look for a bay window This house was owned by a cashier in the J.B. Wheeler Bank. He had worked for 16 years with the bank of New York and 5 years with the First National Bank of Denver. This is an example of a successful man’s home. |
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| 504 W. Hallam Look for wooden clapboard, entablature, fish scale shingles, portico, columns, cornice & reveal windows This was originally J.D. Hooper’s house. He came to Aspen in 1887 and owned the Hooper Hook and Ladder company for fire protection. He was sheriff in 1885. He built the County Courthouse. The house consists of a log cabin and 2 to 3 houses stuck together. It was remodeled in 1984. |
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| 442 West Bleeker (Pioneer Park) Look for mansard roof, dormers & transom Henry Webber, a cobbler and shoe merchant, built this house of local brick in 1885. It is Second Empire style, as you can see by the mansard roof. The Prechtls, who owned a blacksmith shop, owned it later. Walter Paepcke bought it in 1940. He and his wife Elizabeth remodeled and redecorated it. |
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| 401 W. Bleeker Neo-Victorian |
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| 432 W. Francis (Hallett House) Note the carriage stone in front This house was built in 1888. It was first owned by S.I. Hallett. He was superintendent of the Smuggler Mine and cashier of the Compromise Mining Co., the Durant Mine, and the Conamora Mine. |
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| 333 W. Bleeker (Copeland George’s House) Look for oriel window, entablature, columns & steep gable This house was built by Mr. Copeland who was the cashier and assistant manager of Taylor and Brunton Sampling Works. It has a stone foundation that is made from peachblow sandstone that comes from the Frying Pan River. The colors are historically correct. It has the only oriel window left in Aspen. |
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| 334 W. Hallam (Wilder House) Look for bay window, cornice, transom & dentils Eugene Wilder built this house. He owned one of the five lumber yards in town. The house has a very plain design with a bit of decoration that may have been ordered from a catalogue. |
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| 306 W. Francis Look for tower & flat lintel Neo-Victorian |
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| 234 W. Francis (Waite House) Look for reveal window, fish scale shingles & columns Francis Orange built this house in 1888. It was the home of Judge Davis H. Waite who served as governor of Colorado. Herbert Bayer designed the fence. He lived in the house once too. Later, R.O. Anderson, chairman of Atlantic Ritchfield Oil CO, and chairman of the board of the Aspen Institute owned it. |
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| • 201 W. Francis (Bowles-Cooley House) Ryland R. Bowles built this house. He was active in mining, lumber, furniture, and hardware. The house is Queen Anne style. Red and Peggy Rowland owned it once. Red was Ski Co. Vice President and Aspen Mountain manager for many year |
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| 120 E. Francis between 1st and Garmisch • 120 E. Francis Captain T.C. Monaghan, owner of the Buckhorn Saloon, owned this building. The Aspen Daily Times reported that it would have the best billiard room in the city. In 1893, the captain married Miss Maggie Drew. It was rehabilitated in 1993. |
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| 100 W. Hallam (McClure Residence) The J.E. McClure house was built in 1893. Mr. McClure lived there with his sister and her husband, the Cannings. Mr. Canning was superintendent of the Deep Shaft Mining and Drainage Co. Their daughter, Annette, was a high school teacher in Aspen. They sold it to Mr. Gordon Hardy, Dean of the Aspen Music School, in 1964. Someone else owns it now. |
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| E. Hallam between Garmisch and Aspen across from Red Brick) • 123 E. Hallam (Kirk House) This building was Benny’s Shop, a garage, until Dr. Kirk re-modeled it |
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| • 101 E. Hallam and 105 W. Hallam These two brick houses used to be mirror images before they were remodeled. They were owned by Kate Cowenhoven and may have been used for her housekeeper. |
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| • 131 E. Hallam (Dexter T. Reynolds House) This house was built in 1891 by Dexter T. Reynolds. He sold real estate and fire insurance. C.E. Doolittle, manager of the Roaring Fork Electric Power and Light Co., owned it next. Later, Elias Cohen, manager of the Smuggler-Durant Mines, owned it for many years. The house was called the Gibson Girl House when it was used as ski employee housing in the 1950s. The front door has been moved. |
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| • 302 E. Hopkins (The Sheppard House) Look for bargeboard trim or "gingerbread" on the gable This house was originally built in 1892 by A.G. Sheppard on a lot he bought for $300 from Isac Cooper (of Cooper Street fame). It was subsequently sold to DRC Brown for $2000 and later transferred to the Cowenhovens, two prominent Aspen families. |
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| • 205 W. Main Street (Chisholm Residence) Look for gable with dormer and shingles everywhere This house was built for mining and land attorney Porter Plumb in 1888. By 1889, City Judge Strickland owned it, and around 1950 it belonged to the Chisholm family. |
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| Now try designing your own Victorian House! > | ||
