Denise Grimm, Principal Planner, gave the staff presentation.
An application for landmark designation of the house has been submitted by the owner, Christian Griffith. The house is located on a .067-acre parcel that was recently created through the approval of docket SE-22-0010. The other new parcel has an associated garage with an apartment that is over 50 years old.
From approximately 1904 until the United States’ entry into World War II in 1941, Eldorado Springs was a destination resort for both local vacationers and those from points across the country. Lodging options available to visitors included hotel and cottage accommodations.
Bert Chesebro relocated to Boulder County from Michigan in 1902 for health reasons. A year later, he was joined by his wife and a daughter, Elizabeth. Within a few years, they were able to build their own home and then purchase several more cottages to start a summer cottage rental business. In 1908, the Chesebros started volunteering for the U. S. Department of Agriculture Water Bureau and recorded daily precipitations from a weather gauge in their front yard.
After Bert and Mary passed away, the house transferred to their daughter, Laura Chesebro. Laura had graduated from CU Boulder in 1929 and went on to teach school for 41 years, including at the Hawthorne schoolhouse near Eldorado Springs where she had attended herself as a girl. She also continued to rent out local cottages. In 1970, Laura was awarded a bronze Weather Services Centennial medal for her family’s long service of weather recordings. The state climatologist noted, “more than 61 years of record at one location is unusual and a highly valuable contribution to our knowledge of the climate in Colorado.” Laura went on to record the weather for another 6 years.
The house transferred to Laura’s nephew when she passed away in 1989, and was sold to current owner, Christian Griffith, in 2021, after being in the Chesebro family for 115 years.
The house dates to 1906 and was built in the popular post-railroad, National, pyramidal-roof style. The pyramidal roofs were cheaper to build because they used fewer pieces of long-spanning lumber. The front porch of the house was enclosed in the 1920s, and at least two additions were added to the back of the house over the years.
On April 10, 2023, a subcommittee of the HPAB reviewed the property at 59 Eldorado Springs Drive. The subcommittee unanimously agreed that the front house is eligible for landmark status under Criteria 1 and 4. However, they did not find the associated garage/apartment eligible and instead agreed that its eligibility should be determined by the full HPAB if a landmark application is submitted. They then gave their support for docket SE-22-0010: Griffith Subdivision Exemption which includes the landmarking of eligible historic resources.
SIGNIFICANCE
Staff believes the house qualifies for landmark designation under Criteria 1, 2, and 4.
Criterion 15-501(A)(1): The character, interest, or value of the proposed landmark as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the county;
The house is significant for its association with the development of Eldorado Springs as a tourist resort.
Criterion 15-501(A)(2): The proposed landmark as a location of a significant local, county, state, or national event;
The property is significant as the location of 67 years of daily weather recordings that have contributed to Colorado climate knowledge.
Criterion 15-501(A)(4) The proposed landmark as an embodiment of the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, type, method of construction, or the use of indigenous materials;
The house is architecturally significant as a good example of the Late 19th/Early 20th Century American Movement.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Historic Preservation Advisory Board APPROVE and recommend that the BOCC approve Docket HP-23-0003: Chesebro House under Criteria 1, 2, and 4 and subject to the following conditions:
1. Alteration of any exterior feature of the structure will require review and approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness (CA) by Boulder County (note: applicable county review processes, including but not limited to Site Plan Review, may be required).
2. Regular maintenance which prolongs the life of the landmark, using original materials or materials that replicate the original materials, will not require review for a Certificate of Appropriateness, provided the Community Planning & Permitting Director has determined that the repair is minor in nature and will not damage any existing features. Emergency repairs, which are temporary in nature, will not require review (note: Depending on the type of work, a building permit may still be required.)
OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT
None
CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT
MOTION: Larry Powers MOVED that HPAB APPROVE and recommend that the Board of County Commissioners APPROVE Docket HP-23-0003: Chesebro House for landmark status under Criteria 1, 2, and 4, subject to the two standard conditions in the Staff Recommendation.
SECOND: Chuck Gray
VOTE: Motion Passed {8:0}