Historic Georgetown, Inc.

Georgetown Victorian House Tour
Homes and historic sites in the
Georgetown-Silver Plume National Historic Landmark District

August 23 and 24, 2008,
from 10am-4pm on Saturday & 10am-3pm on Sunday

Tickets are $20.00 adults, $15.00 for seniors and children.

Catch a glimpse of Victorian life in an early mining town of the Rocky Mountains as private home owners and museums open the doors to the general public and share their stories and homes with you. Experience the classic architectural styles associated with Georgetown and relive some of the most interesting anecdotes of the 19th century. Homes on the tour include:

Church House, 921 Rose Street, 1876-77
John Adams Church commissioned Colorado architect Robert Roeschlaub to design this house. Roeschlaub was Colorado's first trained architect, was the first president of Denver's chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and holds architect's license number one in Colorado. His stunning creation here is an outstanding example of Gothic Revival architecture with its steep, central, front gable, topped by an ornamental finial. Long, narrow, double-hung windows accentuate the vertical nature of the house. Once owned by Historic Georgetown, the Church House is now a private residence. In the 1980s the owners put on a rear addition that blends exceptionally well with the original house.

Cornish House, 613 4th Street, 1892
Thomas Cornish built this one-of-a-kind home in 1892. This elaborate residence combines a mansard roof with Italianate and Gothic Revival detailing. It is one of the last homes in Georgetown to display such exuberance in Victorian architectural styles. The Colorado Miner noted in January 1893 that "Mr. Cornish has been foremost in supplying his residence with all the modern improvements" which included "hot and cold water, gas, electricity, sewerage, and heating appliances." Futhermore, "two handsome verandas and the finest…Iron Fence work ever done in our town" highlight the property. The house is on the site of an early log school house, which was torn down to erect this handsome home.

Randall House, 612 2nd Street, 1875/1884
Abram Randall came to Georgetown in the mid-1860s. He and his sons constructed the Randall house in two major phases: one in 1875 and the next in 1884. The terraced levels of the lawn were historically used for vegetable gardens, perennial flower gardens and landscaped lawns and were a showplace in Georgetown. This home with Queen Anne elements illustrates a prominent two story tower in an ell formation with a pyramidal roof featuring flared eaves and cresting. Decorative windows in the tower are highlighted by a carved sunburst. This residence retains much of its original architectural character.

Nelson House, 808 Rose Street, 1881
Albert Nelson, owner of the Parlor Saloon on Alpine Street, built this lovely brick home which was later to become the Catholic Rectory in the early 20th century. Interestingly, this home has a "twin" in town. A mirror image of this home, the Beighley House, sits at 907 Main Street and was built in 1882. This vernacular gabled-ell brick house has tall, narrow windows and a bull's-eye window in the front gable peak. The windows each have a segmental arched top outlined in brick. This is one of only a few brick dwellings in Georgetown. This home is a contributing structure within the Landmark District and is representative of late 19th century residential architecture in Georgetown.

Taylor-Buechner-Griffin House, 606 2nd Street, ca. 1869
This charming cottage, built by the Taylor brothers who also built three others in the neighborhood, is a typical vernacular wood-frame, front-gable house. The house was later purchased by Heneage Griffin, a successful investor in Georgetown real estate and mining. He was one of the wealthiest residents of Georgetown, and as such, incorporated a large safe into one of the rooms in his dwelling, which lead to a near-disaster in 1888. Two strangers arrived in Georgetown with the intent of cracking the vault of Mr. Griffin in 1881. The Colorado Miner revealed that two men "were captured last Wednesday night between eleven and twelve o'clock in the residence of Mr. H.M. Griffin on Second Street." Their dark plan was foiled and the vault never cracked, and the safe remains intact today.

Curtis-Tison House, 920 Rose Street, 1870s
This home was first listed in the Clear Creek County Assessors office as being owned by Mrs. Margaret M. Curtis and then being sold to a Mrs. Mary J. Tison. Since life for men in this Rocky Mountain mining town was quite hard and often tragically short, homes were frequently listed under the ownership of women since they typically outlived their husbands in the hopes of avoiding any legal troubles. This house is a fine example of the Gothic Revival style in Georgetown and features side and front gables with long, narrow, plain windows. After the flood of 1995, this Victorian jewel was raised along with the nearby creek bank to avoid any future damage by rising creek waters.

Stowell House, 300 Argentine Street, 1869
This lovely restored home is characterized by the typical ell plan but features a combination roof comprised of a hip roof with side gables. The front porch has a ½ hip roof with heavy square posts and a low balustrade with turned balusters. The three-sided bay window is a handsome characteristic as well as the arched window on the second level. It is a fine example of mid to late 19th-century residential architecture in Georgetown.

The Tour also includes three museums:

The Hamill House Museum, 305 Argentine Street, 1867/1879
The Hotel de Paris Museum, 409 Sixth Street, 1870/1882/1890
The Bowman-White House Museum, 901 Rose Street, 1892
The Johnson Log Cabin, 901 Rose Street, 9th Street, 1860s
The Tucker-Rutherford Cabin, 9th Street, 1870s
The Georgetown Energy Museum, 600 Main Street, 1900
The Georgetown Masonic Temple, 604-608 6th Street, 1892

Special Events Online Payment Form

For tour tickets, please use the online payment form above or call or email Historic Georgetown at
(303) 569-2840, preservation@historicgeorgetown.org

Tickets will also be available at the following locations:
The Georgetown Gateway Visitor, 1491 Argentine Street
The Georgetown Community Center, 613 Sixth Street
The Hamill House Museum, 305 Argentine Street
The Hotel de Paris Museum, 409 6th Street