Crested Butte Society
724 Elk Avenue at the Depot
Crested Butte, CO 81224
(970) 349-1184
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About The Crested Butte Society, Inc.
In 1967, a group of Crested Butte locals, concerned about the state of disrepair of one of the town’s historic buildings, banded together to fund the restoration of the cupola bell tower and repair the roof of the 1883 Old Rock Schoolhouse. The Society leased the Schoolhouse from the school district for several years for use as a museum, and for artists’ workshop spaces.
Eventually the school district took the building back. After a major renovation, it now serves as the town library. But the Society sunk its teeth into other projects—supporting the arts and local artists. In 1973, the Society became a non-profit organization 501 (3) (c) and was gifted the old Railroad Depot, remodeled by Mr. And Mrs. Ralph Clark, Jr., for use as its home. In 2005, the Society transferred ownership of the Depot to the town of Crested Butte.
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This is What We Do
The mission of the Crested Butte Society, Inc. is to support and celebrate the arts and community life in Crested Butte. We do this by:
- Presenting the annual Festival of the Arts
- Granting funds to support local arts organizations, individual artists, and arts in the school.
Directors are Patricia Dawson, President; Pat Crow, Treasurer; Marla Covey, Laura Martineau, Cathy Steinberger, and Annie Starr. Sandra Cortner is our administrator and the Director of the Festival of the Arts which we have been presenting for the past 32 years.
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We Support the Arts
Each year we accept applications from local organizations and artists seeking financial assistance. The profits from the annual Festival of the Arts are used to fund our grants. We have made grants to a wide variety of projects. Among them are the Crested Butte Mountain Theatre, Reelfest, Dansummer, the Alpenglow concerts (which originally were held in our back yard), the Center for the Arts, Creative Arts for Children Institute, the Mountain Express bus painting project, Crested Butte Music Festival, Crested Butte Academy, Paragon Gallery, Piper Gallery, poetry publications, Vinotok, Crested Butte Community School Enrichment Program, KBUT radio and numerous individual artists… and that’s just in the past couple of years. We have also sponsored lectures, art performances, concerts, and classes.
About the Depot
The Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1883 in the late Victorian, Queen Anne style of architecture by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, it sits in its original location at 716 Elk Avenue, Crested Butte’s main street, with a commanding view of the surrounding mountains including the 12,162 foot high Crested Butte Mountain. A boardwalk used to link the Depot to the business district of this small mining town in the old days.
The narrow gauge railroad tracks that originally paralleled the building on its east side were removed in 1955 when the coal mines closed and the town’s major source of income departed.
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The Depot is a Community Gathering Place
A major community resource, the Depot is rented out for parties, weddings, art classes, community events; was used as classrooms for the grade school, and housed the community library. In 1974, although the 3411 square foot building received new plumbing, new paint, repairs, a new oak floor in the baggage room and even a new shed, it remains much the same as it had for most of its early life. The north end of the Depot is leased by the High Country Citizens Alliance, a non-profit, environmental group. Sandra Cortner has her Festival of the Arts office near the front door.
Booking the Depot
The rental areas include a large ‘baggage room’ separated from the smaller cozy ‘parlor’ by two bathrooms. A full kitchen completes the Depot. Out back where the tracks used to be is a grassy yard and stage like deck accessed by a ramp. An upstairs apartment, which formerly housed the stationmaster, today is occupied by Gary and Kirsten Dotzler, caretakers of the building. If you wish to rent the building, you may obtain more rental and pricing information and make reservations by calling them at 970-349-6314.
The Future of the Depot
Last remodeled in 1974, the Depot is in need of major repairs and rehabilitation. Like many old buildings in Crested Butte, its drafty foundation is of rocks. The historic landmark needs a new roof, insulation, plumbing and electricity brought up to current codes, compliance with the Americans for Disability Act (ADA), insulated windows, and new siding and trim; the old wood is literally rotting off the building.
This 110 year-old historic Depot is basically a sound building with its charming gables and overhangs, interior wainscoting, and massive sliding baggage room doors with their original brass hinges.
It just needs a fix for the 21st Century. The Town of Crested Butte will undertake renovation probably within the next two years.
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