[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    AWARDS RECOGNIZE COLORADO'S LEADERSHIP IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION

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                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 8, 2003

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call the attention of 
the House to recent recognition of Colorado's leadership in preserving 
significant parts of our state's colorful past.
  As reported by the Denver Post, that recognition came in the form of 
awards by the National Trust for Historic Preservation related to four 
Colorado sites--the 1878 Central City Opera House and historic 
district, 1886 Beaumont Hotel in Ouray, the 1905 Kit Carson Carousel in 
Stratton and the 13th-century Ute Indian Porcupine House at the Ute 
Mountain Tribal Park in Towaoc.
  I agree with Mr. Richard Moe, the President of the National Trust, 
who said, ``That Colorado was voted a total of four awards is a real 
tribute to its preservation effort and to the Colorado Historical 
Fund.''
  I am proud of our state's record of support for historic 
preservation, and particularly proud to represent Central City, one of 
the award winners.
  For the information of our colleagues, here is the full story from 
the Denver Post:

  Colorado Wins Four Preservation Awards--Honors Recognize Statewide 
                       Efforts on Historic Sites

                        (By J. Sebastian Sinisi)

       Colorado gained a national preservation spotlight at this 
     week's National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in 
     downtown Denver when four state sites received 2003 
     preservation awards.
       The 1886 Beaumont Hotel in Ouray, the 1878 Central City 
     Opera House and historic district, the 1905 Kit Carson 
     Carousel in Stratton and the 13th-century Ute Indian 
     Porcupine House at the Ute Mountain Tribal Park in Towaoc 
     were the recipients.
       ``These awards are very carefully considered,'' said 
     Washington, D.C.-based National Trust president Richard Moe, 
     who noted that more than 100 sites were nominated this year.
       ``That Colorado was voted a total of four awards is a real 
     tribute to its preservation effort and to the Colorado 
     Historical Fund,'' he said.
       No other state has garnered four awards in the same year in 
     the 25-year history of the preservation awards, said National 
     Trust senior vice president Peter Brink before an awards 
     ceremony Thursday evening.
       Since 1993, the Colorado Historical Fund has distributed 
     nearly $130 million in gambling tax revenues to 2,400 
     preservation projects throughout the state.
       One of Colorado's National Trust preservation awards lauded 
     a $4 million restoration of the Beaumont Hotel--neglected and 
     vandalized for 31 years--on Main Street in Ouray. The 
     renovation includes two restaurants and six commercial 
     spaces.
       The award for that project was shared by owners Dan and 
     Mary King, High Peak Resources Inc. and the Andrews and 
     Anderson Architects firm.
       A total of 21 awards nationwide were presented at the 
     ceremony at the 1929 Paramount Theatre.
       Other Colorado awards went to the stabilized and restored 
     Porcupine House, one of hundreds of endangered Anasazi-era 
     ruins and dwellings inhabited roughly from A.D. 700 until the 
     Indians mysteriously left about 1350.
       In Stratton, the nearly 100-year-old carousel was restored 
     to its original grandeur after a $2.5 million and 25-year 
     effort in a county with less than 8,000 residents.
       The Trustee Emeritus Award for excellence in the 
     stewardship of historic sites went to the Central City Opera 
     House Association.
       Launched in 1929 to preserve the miner-built edifice that 
     had fallen into disrepair, the association started opera 
     productions in 1932. In subsequent years, the association 
     bought and restored 30 buildings, including the four-story 
     Teller House hotel, as part of the Central City National 
     Landmark District.
       The Teller's ``face on the barroom floor,'' painted in 
     1936, is one of the state's more popular tourist attractions.
       Through funding distributed by the Colorado Historical 
     Fund, ``Colorado has been a model state not only in the West, 
     but nationwide, for bringing together public and private 
     preservation efforts,'' said Moe.

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