Design and Merchandising Central City Buildings

The St. James United Methodist Church building is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 123 Eureka Street. Cornish stonemason M.H. Root designed it in the Gothic Revival style. Constructed in 1859, St. James United Methodist Church is the oldest Protestant congregation in Colorado and the oldest continually used Protestant church in Colorado.

Groundbreaking Black pioneer Clara Brown worked tirelessly to originally house St. James United Methodist Church. The church contains gorgeous stained glass windows and a functional pipe organ from 1899 that is listed on the National Registry of Historic Organs. In 2022, St. James will celebrate 164 years of continuous worship

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Washington Hall is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 117 Eureka Street. William Cozens, a trained carpenter and the first sheriff of Gilpin County, designed and hand-built it in the Mining Character style. Constructed in 1861, Washington Hall was the first courthouse and jail in Gilpin County and boasts a history of unique occupants.

Washington Hall has served as a courthouse, jail, recorder’s office, meeting place for the public and for the City Council, office for the City Clerk, temporary church for St. James United Methodist parishioners, and even a fire station. Now, the Gilpin County Arts Association runs it as an art gallery and event space.

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The Masonic Lodge/Weekly Register Call/Ermel’s Emporium building is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 111 Eureka Street. D.C. Collier constructed the first and second floors in 19th-century Commercial style with elements of Romanesque Revival. Originally constructed from 1861 to 1862 with a third-floor addition in 1864 completed by the Freemasons, the Masonic Lodge/Weekly Register Call/Ermel’s Emporium building has a unique history of occupants.

Floor one holds Ermel’s Emporium, a volunteer-led thrift shop run through St. James United Methodist Church. Floor two holds Colorado’s oldest continually published newspaper, the Weekly Register Call. The original machinery is still in place, giving this floor a sense of being frozen in time. Floor three holds Central Lodge No. 6, the second-oldest Masonic Lodge still operating in Colorado.

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The Central City Opera House is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 124 Eureka Street. Robert S. Roeschlaub, the first licensed architect in Colorado and founder of the Colorado Building Code, designed it in Romanesque Revival style. Constructed in 1878, the Central City Opera House is the first and oldest opera house in Colorado. It opened on March 4, 1878, making Central City the cultural hub of Colorado until the opening of the Grand Tabor Opera House in Denver in 1881.

Peter McFarlane took over the decaying Central City Opera House in 1890 for a few more years until it closed again in 1927. Luckily, in 1931, Anne Evans, founder of the Denver Art Museum, and Ida Kruse McFarlane, Peter McFarlane’s daughter-in-law and distinguished English professor at the University of Denver, founded the Central City Opera House Association and brought the arts back to Central City. The Opera House now hosts the annual summer Opera Festival and brings in thousands of people to experience old-time opera.

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Original Architecture Drawings

The Coeur d’Alene Gold Mine, located at 110 Academy Hill, overlooks the historic downtown of Central City. Catherine and John Cameron and B.W. Cochran owned the original patent. Constructed in 1884 and enlarged in 1885, the Coeur d’Alene Gold Mine overlooks Central City from a hill and is a constant reminder of the town’s mining heritage.

The mine was active until 1942 when the U.S. government banned mining to enlist more men on the front lines of World War II. It never reopened as a mine, but it has served as a museum in the Gilpin Historical Society since 1993.

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The Gilpin County Courthouse is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 203 Eureka Street. Built by William J. Lamont and Manfred W. Ballard in Italianate style, it was modeled after the Otero County Courthouse designed by architect firm Baerrenson Bros. & Son.

Constructed from 1899 to 1900, the Gilpin County Courthouse operates today as the seat of Gilpin County’s government. It also houses unique historic memorabilia from the area, including old jail cells that remain in the basement.

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Thomas House is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 209 Eureka Street. Archibald J. Van Deren built it in a mix of Greek Revival and Gabled Ill styles. Constructed in 1867, Thomas House, now a museum, is uniquely frozen in time.

Marcia and Benjamin Thomas owned the house from 1897 to 1944 and passed it down through the family until 1987, when the family sold it and converted it into a museum. Luckily, the family honored history, so the home and most of its contents are original. Walking through Thomas House is truly like walking through a time capsule.

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The Teller House is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 110 Eureka Street. Henry and Willard Teller, brothers, lawyers, and politicians who found their way to Central City during Colorado’s Gold Rush, designed it in Romanesque Revival style. Constructed from 1871 to 1872, the Teller House was the most luxurious hotel west of the Mississippi.

Once having welcomed President Ulysses S. Grant by laying silver bars from his wagon to the front door, the Teller House is home to the infamous The Face on the Barroom Floor painting, inspired by Hugh Antonie D’Arcy’s 1887 poem “The Face upon the Floor.” It also housed the First National Bank, and busy miners used it as a hub. Now owned by the Central City Opera House Association, the Teller House operates as a museum, bar, and restaurant. It is a must-see on a visit to Central City.

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Original Architecture Drawings

The Gilpin History Museum is located in the historic downtown of Central City at 228 E. High Street. Newton D. Owen, a local carpenter, designed it in 19th-century Commercial style with elements of Romanesque Revival. Constructed in 1869, the Gilpin History Museum was one of the first two permanent schoolhouses built in Colorado.

Originally hosting all grade levels, Clarke Grade School opened in 1900. The building then became Central City High School. After combining with the other high schools in Gilpin County, it became Gilpin County Union High School in 1912 and remained so until its closing in 1966. In 1971, this old schoolhouse opened its doors once again—this time as the Gilpin History Museum.

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