With its boarded windows and gaping porch roof, the sadly weathered Woodward House could soon face the wrecking ball.
The red brick and sandstone building, which was designed in 1889 by Frank Edbrooke, who also designed the Brown Palace Hotel, has been vacant for 31 years.
Plans to put the state-owned building to use have been stymied by the amount it would cost to renovate — presently $6 million and rising, said Kris Christensen, principal research assistant, center of preservation research at the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Colorado, Denver. “About this time last year the State Historic Fund and the state of Colorado came to the conclusion that the cost for rehabilitation was too expensive.”
The center had hoped to restore the building and use it as an urban field school and research site for preservation methods and materials.
The structure, built for Benjamin F. Woodward, superintendent of the telegraph system of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. But the soft sandstone facade is badly eroded and the interior has been badly damaged by weather and vermin, Christensen said.
The building was never properly maintained after its last occupant, the state archives, moved out, she said.
Edbrooke was once Denver’s premier architect, designing commercial, residential and institutional buildings. He worked on the state Capitol, and among other structures, designed the Brown Palace, the Denver Dry Goods store, and the Ouray County Courthouse, all of which are on the National Register.
Numerous other buildings he designed, including the Metropole Hotel, which once stood at 18th Street and Broadway, have been demolished.
“We have got many examples of his work and at this point it makes sense for the state of Colorado to demolish the building,” said Julie Postlethwait, spokeswoman for the department of personnel and administration, which is responsible for maintaining state buildings.
The Denver Fire Department is concerned that the building could pose a hazard to public safety and is expected to inspect it soon, Postlethwait said.
The department will decide whether to go ahead with the demolition in consultation with the Colorado Historical Society and the state Legislature, which would have to fund the demolition.
If the Historical Society disagreed on a department recommendation to take down the building, the governor would have the final say, Postlethwait said.
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at (303)954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
