T
he original house at the corner of First and Maroon was a handhewn log cabin, not much bigger than an apartment living room. In fact, these days, it is a living room. Weathered wooden trim around the windows and beams across the ceiling frame bright, white walls, and a leather couch and reading chairs encircle a wood-burning stove. It has the classic feel of an old ranch, yet it is somehow modern at the same time. Standing in this gracious and inviting space, it is hard to imagine that it was ever home to miners—as many as 13 at a time, according to homeowner Nora Murray. “The original house had a little stove and a little spiral staircase,” she says. “It was built on a foundation made of rubble and insulated with newspapers. They had to get these houses up fast, before winter.” Nora and her husband, Scott, didn’t know much about the house’s history when they bought the property. They live in Chicago but have been vacationing in Crested Butte for years. They own and rent out the companion dwelling and refurbished church next door, and now spend their visits in a newly renovated home just up the street. They just wanted to see something nice happen on that corner of the neighborhood. The house was covered in board-on-board siding, and while they suspected that the front building was historic, a 1970s addition on the back was not well built.
2011 | www.thepeakcb.com | 17