THE PULPIT: Grace's decrepit building poised for a facelift

Every building needs a nip and tuck now and then.

But the historic McWilliams House, on the campus of Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church downtown, could use an entire facelift.

The beauty of the 110-year-old Victorian at 601 N. Tejon St. has been marred by wood rot, leading to the unsightly placement of two beams to support an impressive two-story porch.

But the building may be on its way to getting its surgery. This month, the church received city approval to rezone the McWilliams House to the Historic Overlay Zone, making it eligible to apply for a grant from the Colorado State Historical Society.

If the state approves the grant — a decision to be made Feb. 1 — Grace will put up 40 percent, or $114,000, and the state will put up 60 percent, or $171,000, for repairs, said Mark Stritzel, the McWilliams House project manager.

Only the exterior will be renovated, since the interior is in good shape.

“It really is a glorious edifice, not only for the church but for the community,” Stritzel said.

The house was built in 1899 as a  residence for the Bernard brothers, who had a half-interest in the Elkton Mine and struck it rich when gold was discovered there, according to the Architectural Inventory Form filed with the city. Construction of the house cost $40,000, an astronomical sum in those days.

The architectural style is Queen Anne and features asymmetrical roofs, large decorative porches and projecting gables. It was designed by Augustus Smith, the architect of the old Colorado Springs courthouse that is now the Pioneers Museum downtown.

“It’s largely unaltered from its date of construction and exhibits well-proportioned detailing,” said city planner Timothy Scanlon. “It’s a highly significant piece of architecture in the city.”

The building had a series of owners and was once turned into an apartment complexes. In the 1960s, it was donated to Grace Church, according to the Architectural Inventory Form.

Grace loaned the building to local outreach ministries, such as the Ecumenical Social Ministries, which provides social services for the needy.

Priests also used the house for spiritual meetings with Colorado College students, said Spot Holmes, the 88-year-old historian of Grace Church.

Soon after the Rev. Don Armstrong became rector of Grace in 1987, the building was renamed the McWilliams House, in honor of influential vestry member Unk McWilliams. Under Armstrong, the house was used as office space for church priests and continued to be used as a meeting spot for religious nonprofits.

The McWilliams House will continue to be used to serve the church and religious nonprofit groups regardless of the grant outcome, Grace leaders say.

“It is a very important part of Grace Church campus,” Holmes said. “A lot of good work has been done in that building.”

To read more about the McWilliams House, go to my blog, The Pulpit, at www.thepulpit.freedomblogging.com.

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Contact Barna at 636-0367.