Historic Ouray Real Estate

Written by the Ouray County Watch

Sep 03, 2009 | 90 views | 0 | 1 | |

The Tanner/Viets house, built in 1901 in the Dutch Colonial Revival style, was owned by Frank and Ida Tanner. Frank was Mayor of Ouray from 1905-1907 and was director of the Bank of Ouray. This and other historic buildings are featured in the Ouray County Historical Museum’s newest exhibit: “Ouray’s Historic Homes,” on display now through Nov. 21 during regular museum hours. (Photo by Doris Gregory)
slideshow OURAY – The Ouray County Historical Museum’s newest exhibit originated as one of the OCHS Evening of History programs put together by Ouray resident Carolyne Kelly earlier this summer. Kelly’s program, “Ouray’s Historic Homes” received such an enthusiastic response that museum curator, Don Paulson, decided to wrap up the summer season with a special exhibit based on her presentation.

The exhibit features 12 homes built between 1877 and 1902 that represent several architectural styles: Pioneer Log, Folk Victorian, Late Victorian, Victorian/Italianate, Victorian/Queen Anne, Edwardian or Dutch Colonial.

“No one architectural style exists in Ouray,” explained Kelly. “Most of the homes in the Ouray National Historic District were built between 1876 and 1915, during the heyday of mining. These buildings are heavily influenced by architecture of the Victorian era which generally overlapped with Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837–1901.”

According to Kelly, the 12 homes selected for the focus of the exhibit were chosen for specific reasons: Kelly wanted to display a representative sampling of architectural styles, and some of the houses’ owners had interesting backgrounds and interconnected family histories.

The quality of available old photographs and the consideration of available exhibit space also dictated her selection.

The “Ouray’s Historic Homes” exhibit is located on the second floor of the Ouray County Historical Museum, which is housed in a beautiful 122-year-old stone building at the top of 6th Avenue in Ouray. The exhibit will run through Nov. 21. Museum hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. and Sunday, noon-4:30 p.m. Call the museum at 325-4576 for more information, or go online to ouraycountyhistoricalsociety.org.