Efforts to have the downtown Calkins Building placed on the National Register of Historic Places were officially launched last week. The first steps include photographing the structure, inside and out.
Rosin Preservation, a historic consultant for the project, will be submitting the National Register application. It will include architectural drawings, photo documentation and research.
“It’s about a nine-month process,” said preservationist Kristen McSparren Ottesen.
Constructed for $14,000 by Swedish immigrant Peter Baxstrom in 1909, the Calkins Building in downtown Cortez now includes two additions, made in 1924 and 1937. Calkins served as a community schoolhouse through the mid-1960s.
Though the building is boarded up, Ottesen said she was impressed by its integrity. She noted that the original hardwood floors, plaster walls on wood lathe, windows, door latches and layout of the classrooms and stairs.
“There’s so much historic fabric here,” said Ottesen. “It’s not in the best shape, but it has a lot of integrity.”
Placement on the National Register includes distinctions. For example, a structure could be added to the register for its architectural styling or its historic role. Ottesen envisions the latter for the Calkins Building.
The official listing, if approved, could be announced next spring.
While officials again declined to offer specifics for future potential uses of the building, developer Becky Barber did offer a hint, stating a substantial amount of natural light would make for a cozy apartment.
“Our focus right now is getting it placed on the National Register,” said Barber.
In January, the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 school board voted unanimously to sell the former schoolhouse to the Missouri-based Calkins Redevelopment Corp. for $275,000. Valued at $154,280, the sale of the 19,800 square-foot structure and surrounding 6.5 acres is pending.
Re-1 officials have included the sale price as revenue in its 2015-16 budget. The district’s financial document also reveals a $25,000 line item for expenses incurred connected to the sale of the building.
Named in honor of Dr. Royal W. Calkins, a local physician, the building served as the Cortez schoolhouse until 1947. Junior-high students attended the school through the mid ’60s.
The building underwent some renovation about a decade ago, but the project was shelved in 2008 due to a lack of funding. It’s been estimated that complete renovation efforts could cost as much as $5 million.
Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect the country’s historic and archaeological resources. There are more than 90,000 properties listed in the National Register, which is the first step toward eligibility for National Park Service-administered federal preservation tax credits. Across Colorado, nearly 1,500 sites are listed on the National Register, including 34 in Montezuma County.
