As time marches on, more and more structures become historic, including your home or business if it’s over 50 years old.
“People may be surprised to learn their split-level, or ranch-style home built in the 1960s could qualify as historic,” said Linda Towle, vice chair of the Cortez Historic Preservation Board.
The preservation board has already inventoried historic buildings within the original Cortez townsite; now they plan to expand their search.
“Montezuma Avenue gets a lot of attention for historic homes, but there are many more out there,” Towle said.
The board has been awarded a $14,972 grant from the Colorado State Historical Fund to develop a survey plan to identify historic homes and businesses throughout the city. The grant did not require a match from the city.
The city will host a meeting Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. at Cortez City Hall on the historic structure survey plan. It will be hosted by the preservation board, historians and city planners.
Public input could include information or old photos of your property, neighborhood or business. Whether a historic person lived in or built the home should also be shared.
“We would love to hear your stories and see pictures. We’ll explain what is involved in a historic designation,” Towle said.
The latest survey plan will outline a long-term project to inventory portions of the city with funding from future grants. Any COVID protocols in place at that time will be followed for the public meeting.
Using grant funding, the city contracted with Wood’s Canyon Archaeological Consultants in Cortez, which hired Jen Wahlers, an architectural historian, to develop the survey plan.
This summer, she completed a windshield survey of all the streets in Cortez and is now working on a draft of the plan.
So far 900 properties more than 50 years old have been identified as potentially historic, Towle said.
For a structure to potentially qualify for historic status, the exterior architecture cannot be substantially modified from when it was first built.
Wahlers has identified several residential neighborhoods with potential historic homes.
These include the Ertel Heights subdivision, south of town on the west side of U.S. Highway 491; the Kemper subdivision, north and east of the Kemper School; and the McBride subdivision, along South Park St. between East Second and East Fourth Streets.
There are also 10 motels on Main Street and South Broadway that are more than 50 years old and represent the post-WWII travel boom locally and throughout the U.S.
Five old gas stations have retained their historic architectural integrity, along with many businesses and restaurants. Six Quonset huts within city limits could also meet historic status standards.
Once a survey plan is in place, additional grants would be sought to study and inventory historic home candidates.
The owners apply to the city for the structure to be listed on the town’s historic register. The designation is separate from state or national registers and does not come with stringent restrictions, Towle said.
If a home is listed as historic on the city register, the owners are requested to work with the city when renovations are made to retain the historic status, she said, but it is advisory.
If changes are made that negate features necessary for historic designation, the designation will be revoked. Owners also have the option of requesting to be removed from the city’s historic register.
There can be benefits for retaining historic building designation, Towle said.
Tax breaks are potentially available, and the owner could apply for state historical fund grants to renovate the exterior of the home while keeping it historic, such as for roofs and windows. The grants can pay up to 50% of a renovation, and typically require a match.
There are 57 buildings on the Cortez Register of Historic Structures, and one archaeological site. Four business signs have also been designated by the city as historic, including the Cork ’n’ Bottle, Aneth Lodge, Fiesta Theater, and Tomahawk Lodge.
Information about these inventories and the city historic can be found on the Cortez historic structures website page at: www.cityofcortez.com/408/Historic-Structures-and-Preservation
For further information, contact City Planner Tracie Hughes at thughes@cortezco.gov or 970-564-4046.
