Interlaken Resort, Pike-San Isabel National Forest
Colorado
Interlaken Resort, San Isabel National Forest, Colorado
Credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust, in conjunction with Colorado Preservation, Inc. and the Forest Service, has for several summers organized a group of volunteers to assist in a hands-on preservation project at the Interlaken Resort in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest near Leadville, Colorado. The resort was established in 1879. Between 1883 and 1890, Leadville miner James V. Dexter commissioned the construction of a sixteen-horse stable, servants' quarters, a dance pavilion, and numerous landscape improvements, transforming Interlaken from a small hotel to one of Colorado's premier mountain resorts of the early twentieth century. The two-story Dexter Cabin was constructed in 1895 as the personal dwelling of Dexter and his family. The resort has not been used since the 1950s and is now being rehabilitated for public use. Through the efforts of National Trust volunteers, nearly 250 hours of volunteer labor donated has been donated to the project.
Volunteers at Dexter Cabin in 2006.
Credit: National Trust for Historic Preservation
In addition, in order to be used again, plans must be made for providing power, water, and sewer to the buildings at Interlaken. The National Trust provided a $5,000 grant for the Interlaken Resort Sustainable Operations Plan. This plan will identify how to bring utilities to the site in an economical and environmentally friendly way and will include consideration of wind and solar power. Solving this problem moves Interlaken closer to a time when it might again be available for overnight guests and demonstrates that historic buildings owned by the Forest Service, that might otherwise be lost to demolition or neglect, can be put back into productive service.
Resources
Forest Service Restoration of Dexter Cabin: June - August 2006
A fact sheet on Dexter Cabin and collaborative efforts by the U.S. Forest Service and National Trust for Historic Preservation to restore this historic building in Colorado's Pike-San Isabel National Forest.
