LOCAL
4 | Thursday, August 20, 2009
STEAMBOAT TODAY
Little Toots structure historic Rustic building was 1 of Steamboat’s earliest tourist shelters Tom Ross
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
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Steamboat Springs was a nice place to visit in 1919, but guest accommodations were deemed somewhat lacking. An unfavorable review by the Automobile Blue Book Publishing Co., and its mention in the Aug. 22, 1919, edition of the Routt County Sentinel, provided impetus for the construction of the Community House. On Aug. 6, 2009, the modest log structure became the newest addition to the Steamboat Springs Register of Historic Places. “Constructed by Ernest Campbell, the building is one of the best surviving examples of his early work in the rustic style,” city historic preservation coordinator Lauren Schaffer wrote in a report on the building. “True to the rustic style, the builder utilized local materials and decorative elements to create an indigenous building in harmony with its small-town mountain setting.” It’s understandable if Steam-
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
A community house built in 1921 is the newest addition to the Steamboat Springs Register of Historic Places. The hut is located in Little Toots Park.
boat residents don’t recognize the Community House as the nondescript building in Little Toots Park. No longer is it known by its original name, and it has been relegated to storing equipment for the city Parks, Open Space and Recreational Services Department. But there was a day when the building boasted handcrafted architectural details and played a role in some of the earliest ves-
tiges of tourism in the Yampa Valley. More recently, it has served as a serving line for community picnics and pancake breakfasts. After the automobile company dissed Steamboat’s guest accommodations, the Steamboat Town Company — the entity that eventually founded Steamboat Springs — gifted See Historic, page 16