Dear Editor,

For the last year, I have been working as the project manager on the restoration of the Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts. We completed the first phase of work late this summer, providing a new parking lot and underground perimeter drainage.

We are now ready to begin Phase Two, which will make a noticeable improvement to the exterior of the building. In Phase Two, we will fix the stucco, repaint the exterior, restore the windows, provide new doors, re-roof the building and add two brick chimneys (which existed on the original building).

This building is an historical “gem” for Glenwood Springs, built in 1888 as a part of the Hot Springs complex. Although it was originally the town’s hydroelectric plant, it was designed in a residential vernacular style to be compatible with the pool and bathhouse. The architect/engineer Theodore von Rosenberg was commissioned to design the entire complex, by Walter Devereux, who was the visionary behind the development of the hot springs into the major resort area it is today.

The Glenwood Springs Center for the Arts is working hard to raise $380,000 for a building renovation project which will include this exterior work, an interior remodel and work on the adjacent addition. We have been awarded a grant of $151,150 from the Colorado Historical Society to work on the exterior restoration and also have a cash match of $75,600, donated by the Center for the Arts and the City of Glenwood Springs. We have received bids for the exterior work, but are short about $100,000. We would be grateful to anyone who would donate money so we can complete Phase Two as well as attract additional grant funding.

We urge the citizens of Glenwood Springs to help us in preserving this architectural “gem” which is a rich part of our history.

Marina Florian

Glenwood Springs