Long abandoned to the elements and vandals, the South Platte Hotel has stood as a silent witness to more than 100 years of Colorado history.
Once a welcoming respite for stagecoach and narrow-gauge rail passengers, the 14-room clapboard wooden structure now stands in disrepair along the confluence of the South Platte River and its northern fork.
Local do-gooders who want to rescue the historic building said “complications” with Denver Water, which purchased the building and land in 1987, have both sides scratching their heads over the fate of the 111-year-old hotel.
Volunteers and history enthusiasts recently helped give the 111-year-old South Platte Hotel a long-overdue facelift. Plywood panels painted with images of what the hotel's windows may have looked like not only keep out the elements and vandals, but also stir conversation around the building's fate.
Colorado Preservation, Inc. is a statewide nonprofit organization that works with individuals and communities to save endangered historic buildings, landscapes, and archaeological sites through its signature Endangered Places Program, said Executive Director Jennifer Orrigo Charles.
In 2023, CPI added the South Platte Hotel to its annual Most Endangered Places list, a move designed to rally concerned citizens and raise awareness of the building’s impending demise after Denver Water notified Jefferson County the building would be slated for demolition.
In May, CPI and a group of dedicated history enthusiasts gave the hotel’s tired facade a long-overdue facelift.
Armed with paint and 27 plywood panels, volunteers recreated and installed overlays of how they envisioned the hotel’s original windows might have looked.
Obviously, in addition to protecting the building's interior from the elements and vandalism, Orrigo Charles said she really wants to generate a reaction from the public.
Hikers along the neighboring trails are often curious about the building and its story, she said.
The window panels are a small step in telling that story.
But for the project to move forward, Orrigo Charles said CPI will need the cooperation of the landowner.
Again, it’s complicated.
Orrigo Charles said her organization wants to work with Denver Water and help alleviate what she calls their “internal concerns” regarding preserving the hotel.
Decorative panels depicting what life may have been like at the historic South Platte Hotel help deter vandals, animals and the sometimes brutal Colorado elements. The project, sponsored by Colorado preservation, Inc. hopes to engage interest and public conversation about the fate of the 111-year-old structure.
“It's really about establishing that relationship with Denver Water and being a kind of mediator guide where we can talk about what preservation is and isn't,” she said. “It’s also bringing in experts that can talk to some of their concerns — one of those being if they invest money in this building, does that potentially conflict with demonstrating that they can retain water rights to the building.”
Plans are already underway to bring in a team of experts for their next meeting, Orrigo Charles said.
But for Denver Water, you guessed it, it’s complicated.
“Denver Water acquired the South Platte Hotel property, along with several properties in the area of the North Fork of the South Platte River, in the 1960s and 1970s in the early planning efforts for Two Forks Dam and Reservoir,” Denver Water spokesperson Jimmy Luthye said. “The hotel building, itself, was not acquired to serve a purpose for Denver Water; rather, the property was acquired because it would be within the area underwater with the proposed Two Forks Reservoir.”
The original Two Forks Dam and Reservoir project was delayed indefinitely in 1990 when the Environmental Protection Agency vetoed the project, According to Luthye.
“Since then, Denver Water has explored a variety of alternatives to meet our water supply needs,” he said, “although we’ve kept our water rights and property to maintain the option to investigate a storage project and are exploring opportunities to construct watershed health and sediment management projects in the area to provide for stream and habitat improvements.”
But with no waterworks purposes, Luthe said Denver Water is not inclined to expend ratepayer funding for building repairs.
He said over the past 40 years, since its last tenant, the building has progressively deteriorated and is now considered extremely dangerous.
“Denver Water has installed fencing to deter the public from trying to enter the unsafe structure while we go through the process of determining its future,” Luthye said.
But Orrigo Charles has hope and reason to believe that there's a “win-win” where money can be put into the project and Denver Water could keep their water rights.
Time and patience will tell.
The South Platte Hotel as pictured in the early 1900s, (upper right building) was once a major driver of tourism in Jefferson County, welcoming weary stagecoach and narrow gauge train passengers. Now, more than a century later, local history preservationists want to rescue the deteriorating structure and explore options for adaptive re-use.
View overlooking the Colorado & Southern Railway depot and tracks, South Platte (also known as Symes), Jefferson County, Colorado, includes .
“We understand the importance of the history of the site,” Luthye said. “Given the condition of the building and our role as a water provider, we are committed to working closely with Colorado Preservation Inc., History Colorado, Jefferson County Historical Commission and other groups that are interested in examining potentially viable options. We appreciate the efforts of CPI and its volunteers for this recent, creative project to improve the appearance of the South Platte Hotel.”
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