4th Street Commercial District

Listed: 2009

Constructed: Various – 1874-1940

Threat: Deterioration; vacancy; economic decline

Closest Town to Resource: Saguache

Significance: Several buildings that anchor the 4th Street Business District date to the town’s incorporation in 1874. Serving as the trade and business center for much of the historic San Luis Valley, Saguache represents an early Colorado town in history and architectural detail. The building stock of this district includes two banks, a newspaper office that operates the last “hot metal press” in Colorado, a hotel, two mercantile stores, a mercantile warehouse, a saloon, a theater, and the County Courthouse. The 4th St. Commercial District recently became a National Register Historic District and was awarded the first EPP Progress Award in 2015.

Site Needs: Preservation-minded buyer for the historic hotel and opening of the Elks Hall.

Update: Saguache continues to move forward with revitalizing this important commercial district. Recently two residents acquired the Dunn Block building with the help of a State Historical Fund mini-grant. The building hosted a Weekend Workshop in 2019 to set the stage for rehabilitation, but the owner partnership dissolved. Other creative enterprises and shops have opened, and a new restaurant and brewpub have contributed to revitalizing the historic commercial district. The main momentum now comes from the successful SHF-funded roof and soffit repairs to the Saguache Hotel on the district's south end. A second grant has been received for masonry and window repairs and is being administered by CPI’s Preservation Services.

Threat Demolition by neglect, weather exposure

Closest Town to Resource: San Luis

Significance: The Feminilas Building is located in the Culebra Valley south and east of San Luis, Colorado, and was built around 1920 as the only known building separately owned and operated by the women’s auxiliary of the SPMDTU Hispanic men’s labor organization (Society for the Mutual Protection of United Workers). The small adobe building is in badly deteriorating condition. Still, it can be saved and used as a small community and interpretive center to highlight the role of women’s auxiliaries in supporting the SPMDTU and maintaining local Hispano cultures and traditions. The Feminilas played an integral role in aiding the afflicted and bereaved in the area, similar to the Penitentes, a traditional men’s group associated with the Catholic Church.

The Feminilas Building was constructed in the territorial adobe style popular in the region, with vigas and latillas with earthen overburden and a gabled wood framed roof. The building is undesignated, suffers from weather exposure and deterioration, and is in danger of collapse. Its condition reflects a lack of resources and underappreciation of the contributions and significance of underrepresented groups in the region. Preserving the Feminilas Building would help keep the unique lifeways, language, and culture of the Culebra Valley and the traditional contributions of Hispanic women alive. CPI will work with the property owners, local stakeholders, and advocates to stabilize, rehabilitate, and return the building to a useful life in the community.

Site Needs: Adaptive reuse plan, National Register listing.