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HISTORY
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Historic Walking Tour
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By historic standards, Telluride is a fairly modern town. The first pioneers didn’t arrive until 1876, and they settled on the Valley Floor, west of
the present town’s site. Once gold was discovered, the boom was on. In a short span of 20 years, the town grew from a hodgepodge of cabins
and shacks to rows of elegant Victorians and stately brick buildings. Businesses on main street were soon decorated with elaborate façades,
many of which remain today. Because of its important contributions to early mining, Telluride was designated as a National Historic Landmark
District in 1964. To protect the town’s Victorian and mining character, Telluride established the Historic and Architectural Review Commission
(HARC). Any new building or remodeling plans must be reviewed and approved by HARC before construction begins. The buildings on this
self-guided tour have withstood the passage of time, although most have been restored. For guided historic tours, see page 56.
1. San Miguel County Courthouse
In 1886, a courthouse was erected on the
south side of West Colorado Avenue. This
building burned shortly after construction, but
the bricks were saved to build the present
courthouse less than a year later on the
opposite corner (Colorado Ave. and Oak St.).
Complete with clock tower, it stands as one of
town’s oldest remaining buildings.
2. New Sheridan Hotel
& Opera House
This Telluride landmark was built in 1895.
For fine dining, the Continental Room had 16
velvet-curtained booths, each equipped with
phones so diners could call for service and not
be interrupted by waiters. The Sheridan Bar
remains much the same with its cherry wood bar
imported from Austria. William Jennings Bryan
delivered a speech, though not his famous
“Cross of Gold,” on a platform in front of the
Sheridan in 1903. The Opera House, a lovely
theater with a Venetian scene painted on its roll
curtain by J. Erickson, was added in 1914.
3. Roma Bar Building
Once one of Telluride’s oldest saloons, this
building contains a period piece downstairs—an
1860 Brunswick-Balke-Collener Company bar
of carved walnut, with exquisite 12-foot French
mirrors on the back bar. The Roma was one of
the wildest and most raucous establishments
in town. It was renovated in 1983 and again in
2006 to become Honga’s Lotus Petal restaurant.
4. St. Patrick’s Catholic Church
This church was built in 1896 on Catholic Hill
for $4,800. By 1899, it had 200 members. The
wooden figures of the Stations of the Cross
were carved in the Tyrol of Austria.
5. Old Waggoner House
Charles Waggoner, president of the Bank
of Telluride (yellow brick building with pillars
on main street; see E on map), contrived a
scheme purportedly to save his bank in the
Wall Street Crash of 1929. By siphoning money
from New York banks, he possibly kept most
Telluride depositors in the black. Waggoner
testified in court, “I would rather see the New
York banks lose money than the people of
Telluride, most of whom have worked all their
lives for the savings that were deposited in my
bank.” Waggoner was sentenced to 15 years in
prison but was paroled after six years. He never
returned to Telluride. Later tenants included the
Goldsworthy family from 1932 to1988: George
Goldsworthy, born in nearby Rico, Colorado,
grew up to be an astute businessman and
operated the City Bakery and the City Grocery
in the present Telluride Trappings and Toggery
building on main street. George and his wife,
Bessie, raised 10 children in this house.
6. Town Hall
On the corner of Fir and Columbia is
Telluride’s first schoolhouse. This one-room
building was built in 1883 for the sum of $3,000.
The first class held there had 53 students and
one teacher. After a new school was built, the
town offices moved into the building. The tower
for drying fire hoses was added at that time.
24 Telluride & Mountain Village Visitor Guide summer/fall 2009 Make reservations or get information online at www.VisitTelluride.com
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7. Telluride Historical Museum
The building itself was built in 1896 by Dr.
Hall and served as a hospital for the miners,
townspeople and county poor. It was renovated
in 2002, and a strong collection of photographs
and artifacts now reconstructs the colorful days
of Telluride’s mining past.
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8. North Oak House
Built in 1900, this house survived the 1914
flood, when a spring cloudburst caused the
usually gentle Cornet Creek to turn into a
torrent of mud and rocks that swept through
town, depositing five feet of mud and debris
from the Liberty Bell Mine down to Colorado
Avenue. One woman was killed, and the
Sheridan Bar was filled with mud halfway to
the ceiling. This house has been restored to
its original condition, enabling it to be on the
National Register of Historic Homes.
9. Davis House
This stately brick house was built by
E.L. Davis in 1894. Davis was a mining and
real estate entrepreneur and owner of the
Mayflower, Nellie and Etta gold mines in the
Ingram-Bridal Veil Basin and Bear Creek area.
He owned all the land where the former Rio
Grande Southern Train Depot now stands, as
well as one-third interest in West Telluride.
Davis sought to bring business to the town as
vice-president of the Telluride Board of Trade.
After Davis’ death, the house was sold to Dr.
Oshner, who used it as a hospital, particularly
during the 1918 flu epidemic. The house was
renovated in 1983.
10. L.L. Nunn House
This white Victorian was bought by L.L. Nunn
for his Telluride Institute, where “pinheads”
from Cornell University came to expand their
knowledge about the production of power.
Today, Cornell University has a “Telluride
House” funded by Nunn’s estate. Next door, on
the corner of Aspen and Columbia is the house
in which Nunn lived. His home was built in 1887
and remodeled extensively in 1980.
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