Debate Ensues Over Fate of Downtown WP Structure with Colorful Past
Trevor Phipps
Over the past few years, the big red building located in a prime downtown spot in Woodland Park, at the intersection of Fairview and Hwy. 24, has commanded the attention of travelers and locals alike.
The building, which previously housed the local Ute Pass Brewing Company, has sat empty, since the brewery closed at the end of 2018.
For the past few years, some officials and residents have called the downtown Woodland Park building an eye sore. The dilapidated building was supposed to be refurbished into another restaurant, but the plans never came to fruition.
At one point, pressure mounted for the city to condemn the building and tear it down. The city has even taken steps to deem the building unsafe and force the property owner, Andrew Nguyen, to bring the building up to current building codes due to health and safety concerns.
However, Steve Plutt, a member of the city’s Historical Preservation Committee Board, has requested that the city designate the building as a historical landmark. The building’s owner voluntarily agreed to the nomination.
According to Woodland Park Mayor George Jones, a historical landmark designation wouldn’t stop the process to make the property owner comply to the safety concerns. The property owner was recently granted an extension until November to make the changes.
However, the historical designation would prevent the building from being torn down in the future. The city also probably wouldn’t try to take the property via eminent domain if the building were to receive historical landmark status.
During the initial posting of this issue at the council’s Aug. 6 session, there was no discussion or public comment taken. The stage, though, was set for a more detailed discussion later in the month. According to Jones, “the issue will be coming before council whether or not that building should obtain the historic designation, and there’s a lot of questions about that.”
A public hearing on the building’s status was initially set for Aug. 20.
Building Sports a Colorful History
Regardless of the council’s decision, the building has a storied past and is likely to spark significant discussion on social media and at upcoming meetings.
The ordinance to designate the building as a historical landmark stated that the building has historical significance mainly due to its previous owner, Clara Vos, who built the building in 1939. The ordinance also states that it’s in the best interest of the community to designate the building a historical landmark since “this building has the character and design of no other building in the City or State.”
“Mrs. Clara Vos was a major figure in the historical chronicles of Woodland Park with her list of contributions including: during WWII made and sewed mattresses by hand for the Red Cross; brought dental professionals and optometrists to Woodland Park to serve Woodland Park’s children in need; procured Woodland Park’s first city/town hall by convincing the City (Town) to buy the old Odd Fellows Building on Main Street to hold town hall meetings; she held movie nights (attended by hundreds of people on Friday nights) in that building to benefit the community; and more,” the proposed ordinance states. “Her most important contribution was raising the money to buy 12 residential lots that now form Memorial Park. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Vos’ foresight, those lots would be houses today instead of Memorial Park. Mrs. Vos was the main propeller of getting Memorial Park established. All these ideas were conceived in the Vos Building.”
Clara Vos’ Legacy and the Past Uses of This Site
“Jerry’s Junque Antiques and Unusuals” opened in the late 1930s. The building served as Vos’s home and antique shop for over 50 years.
“’You live in Woodland Park, Colorado? Well, how’s Mrs. Vos?’ These questions were posed to Larry Black UPHS (Ute Pass Historical Society member and volunteer, one summer visiting the Grand Canyon,” the book “Discovering the Ute Pass Volume II: Tales of the Upper Ute Pass” by UPHS states. “This was 20 years after her death. It was not just the locals who were acquainted with Mrs. Vos. The inquisitive summer visitors loved to visit her antique shop too.”
Vos continued to attend auctions and operate her antique shop well into her golden years. Vos passed away on May 2, 1991, at 101-years old.
Then in the early 2000’s the building was remodeled into a bar and restaurant. The building served as the home to Paradise Mountain Café, Curtain Call, The Martini Hut, Maximillion’s Café and Liberty Bistro before it became the Ute Pass Brewing Company in 2013.
Since the brewery closed in 2018, the building has sat lifeless. Efforts to turn it into an Asian eatery or to lease it to someone have since failed.
Even if the building does eventually receive a historical landmark status, it will then be up to the property owner to preserve it and keep it from becoming an eyesore into the future.
