Press Releases

Owens urged to save aged barns
Sabrina Henderson - Golden News
11/23/03

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Roughly 20 volunteers documented three historic structures near the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center on Nov. 8 while they await a

decision from Gov. Bill Owens’

office on whether to prohibit their demolition.

The Golden Historic Preservation Board led an effort to save the 1912 dairy barn, 1915 horse barn and 1918 blacksmith shop set in three masonry barns, but quickly found the city had no jurisdiction because the barns are on state property. Complicating the matter, the historic barns were slated for demolition as part of a contract between the city and state in exchange for land at Fossil Trace Golf Club. At the time the contract was agreed upon in August 2001, board members said the city did not understand the historic relevance of the buildings.

However, sometime that year, the State Historic Preservation Office said the barns have the

integrity and significance required to be eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. They are included in the Colorado archives at www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/lmsb/bns.html.

Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center wants the structures removed because they are outside the school’s perimeter and pose security risks. They could potentially obscure a getaway car waiting for an escapee from the detention center. The state has not used them for many years, and they have fallen into disrepair.

HPB didn’t find out the barns were to be destroyed until the contract for the demolition came before the City Council for approval in August. Despite HPB’s attempt to save the barns, the City Council approved a contract to raze them Nov. 17, with several councilors lamenting their inability to intervene and save the historic buildings.

Determined not to give up, HPB wrote a letter to Gov. Bill Owens asking that he stop the demolition of the important historic structures.

Last week, HPB board member Steve Stevens received the support of Rep. Ramey Johnson, R-Lakewood, and Sen. Maryanne “Moe” Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, and the Greater Golden Chamber of Commerce for saving the barns.

“One of the biggest draws regarding Golden and the most important things about the charm that Golden has are the old barns throughout that city. Those buildings are an important part of our past and we can’t just discard them like they have no meaning. We have to hold on to these things for our children. They are a part of what we are,” Johnson said. “I have been very impressed with what (Stevens) is doing to save these structures. I will do anything I can to lend the weight of this office to support that.”

At the Nov. 6 City Council meeting, Stevens asked the council for an additional delay.

“Maybe it’s a bad analogy, but when you feed a baby, you don’t know if it will grow up to be the president or a terrorist, but you feed it anyway because it’s the right thing to do at the time. If you have a place of National Register of Historic Places caliber, you should at least try to save it,” Stevens said.

Golden City Council agreed to an administrative delay of the barns’ demolition until Dec. 29 to allow HPB more time to work with Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center to find an acceptable solution to the dilemma.

HPB has contacted the school’s management. Colorado Department of Human Services, which operates Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center, has agreed to postpone the demolition, according to spokeswoman Liz McDonough.

“We can postpone any action on the barns until the end of December and at that time, we will sit down with all parties to discuss the possibilities,” she said.

Stevens said there is certainly a will to save the barns, but that preservationists likely will have to propose a use for them and find funding.

The barns cannot be moved because the large, unreinforced masonry structures would fall apart in the process. Simply stabilizing them until they could be rehabilitated would likely cost $60,000 to $80,000 each, and full rehabilitation for use would easily run more than $500,000 each.

The governor’s spokesman, Dan Hopkins, said Owens is out of the country on an economic development trip, but his Director of Policy Chris Cistalian has been discussing the matter with people involved with the barns. He said Cistalian will continue to work with them to find a solution during the delay in action until the end of the year.