Gianella Building

Constructed: 1912

Threat: Demolition by neglect; vacant Closest Town to Resource: Aguilar

Significance: Aguilar is one of Colorado’s oldest towns. Nestled at the foot of the Spanish Peaks, it was first settled by Spaniards who called it the “New Spain.” Numerous coalmine company towns developed with the coming of the Aguilar branch of the Colorado & Southern Railroad and the opening of the Peerless Coalmine. Aguilar became a melting pot of nationalities with three newspapers, a bank, schools, churches, stores, theaters, saloons, and hotels serving 2,500 residents and coal camps by 1923. The Gianella Building was reportedly designed by Antonio Lo Presto and built of native sandstone by Italian stonemasons. Completed in 1912, It was named after Luigi Gianella, the owner and bank director. The building housed the only bank in the history of Aguilar. The Aguilar State Bank operated from 1912 to 1927 and was robbed twice. During Prohibition, a large liquor vat made of concrete was built in the basement, where it remains today.

The Gianella Building, when listed, was in danger of being disassembled for the stone, which a new owner had planned to use in building a new house. The roof is missing, and the interior walls require stabilization. The building was listed on the State Register of Historic Places in 2005. The site is currently managed by an out-of-state owner and is missing a roof and the second floor.

Site Needs: Preservation-minded buyer, new-use plan

Update: CPI has met with the out-of-state property owner to urge a sale. A developer was interested in retaining the exterior walls and carrying out adaptive re-use of the interior but has seemingly delayed or abandoned the plans and is no longer in communication with CPI.

Fort Lyon Officer’s Housing

Listed: 2013

Constructed: 1868

Threat: Demolition by neglect; vacant

Closest Town to Resource: Las Animas

Significance: Fort Lyon is located along the Historic Santa Fe Trail and was completed by the Army in 1867, with the period of significance extending to 1956. Old Fort Lyon was notable as the staging post used by Colonel John Chivington in 1864. He led an attack by the Third Colorado Cavalry and other forces on friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho camps, which became known as the Sand Creek Massacre. The historic district is a 327-acre parcel, and the character-defining features of the historic district as a whole are the: Main Entrance, Parade Ground, Officer’s Row, Medical and Administrative Buildings (on the Parade Ground), Residential Areas, Utility Area, Wastewater Treatment Area, Recreational Facilities, West Farm, Road System, Agricultural and Irrigation Components.

The history of Fort Lyon can be separated into three periods beginning with the Army Period (18681888), when the Fort was laid out in the tradition of a late nineteenth-century western military fort. Next was the Navy Period (1907-1922) when the Fort was used as a tuberculosis treatment facility, then the Early VA Period (1922-1956), when the Fort was maintained as a tuberculosis treatment facility and later changed to be a residential care facility for veterans with neuro-psychiatric needs. The Colorado Department of Corrections has vacated the entire facility. The Fort’s future was uncertain until the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) took over the facility as transitional housing and treatment for the chronically homeless. The success of this endeavor is uncertain and has created some controversy in the community. The officer housing buildings retain asbestos and are not occupied, but there is a master plan to convert them to resident living quarters.

Site Needs: Asbestos removal, community support, funding.

Update: A Master Plan has been developed for the Fort, and Officer’s Housing is currently used for resident housing.