Supporting History

The Community and Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation and the Arts

There are many ways that historic preservation and the arts impact our economy and the quality of life for residents in our state. The Colorado Historical Foundation's (CHF) economic benefits report, issued last Spring, states that rehabilitation of historic buildings has generated approximately $1.5 billion for the state since 1981. Another recent study shows that the arts had a $1 billion impact on our state's economy last year. Over the past decade the State Historical Fund (SHF) has provided grants to a number of projects run by organizations which exemplify a dual mission of saving historic sites and providing arts programs that benefit their communities culturally and economically.

For example, there are a number of historic opera houses throughout the state, many of which have received SHF grant funding for rehabilitation to provide for their continued use as performing arts centers. Outstanding projects include the Central City Opera House, the Sheridan Opera House, and the Mancos Opera House.

The Central City Opera House Association has received approximately $735,000 in SHF funding to date to restore and rehabilitate three buildings. The buildings include the 1878 Opera House (the oldest functioning theater in Colorado), the Medical Building (built in 1863 as a doctor's office and hospital and now used to house festival artists), and the D'Able Hall (used for rehearsal and support space).

Telluride's Sheridan Opera House, built in 1913 as a vaudeville and moving picture theater, has received SHF grants for exterior, interior, and roof restoration. This work allows the Sheridan Arts Foundation to use the building to host film and music festivals, a repertory theater company, and community events. As stated in the application for funding, "The Opera House provides local residents and visitors…the chance to alternately work, perform and be entertained within a culturally and historically significant space."

The Mancos Opera House, built in 1910 and currently owned by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter, is benefiting from $166,800 in SHF grants to date for structural stabilization and assessment. The VFW hopes to return this town treasure back into a center for community and performing arts events as it was during it's hey-day.

Some arts organizations have used SHF grants to transform buildings originally designed for other uses into art and performance spaces. The Salida Steam Plant supplied the City of Salida with electricity from 1887 to 1953. Today, the building, now owned by the City of Salida and managed by the Salida Steam Plant Council, houses a summer theater program and dance classes. A current project at the building involves turning the old pigeon room into a community event space.

Another unusual example of re-use involves the former Reform Temple Emanuel, now the Temple Events Center. This Byzantine-Moorish-style building was dedicated as a Jewish temple in 1899 and served as such until 1956. The site, which has received approximately $250,000 in SHF funding, is now used as a performance and community events center.

Two other interesting and successful rehabilitation projects funded by SHF are located in Durango. The Hocker Motors Building was built in 1927 as a car dealership and is one of a few remaining post-Victorian commercial buildings in Durango. The building was slated for demolition in 1996 to make way for a municipal parking lot. However, the City of Durango and the Durango Arts center partnered to become co-owners of the building, which is now a regional arts center serving twenty-six arts organizations. The SHF provided almost $113,000 toward that rehabilitation project. The other Durango project involves the Smiley Building, once the Emory E. Smiley Junior High School. The Durango School District sold the building to private individuals who formed a nonprofit organization, Smiley Studios, to act as building manager and SHF grant applicant. The site received almost $140,000 for a historic structure assessment and restoration of the historic windows. Nonprofit arts organizations, artists, and other organizations and businesses now occupy the building's classroom and theater spaces.

These sites reflect only a small number of the many projects involving arts organizations that have received State Historical Fund grants over the past ten years. Together, historic sites and the arts help us define who we are culturally, and provide our communities with an environment rich with heritage and creativity. They are also an important part of SHF's mission-to foster heritage preservation through tangible and highly visible projects for direct and demonstrable public benefit- and provide a positive impact to our state's economy.

BY ALYSON MCGEE, State Historical Fund Public Outreach Coordinator