Husted House

Built in 1884, Husted House sits on the corner of 30th and Kiowa, deep on the west side. I first fell in love with this wonderful old home when I was in college and my best friend Janet lived a couple of blocks away. I didn't know then that it was a particularly historic home or that it had a name, I just thought it was one of the most beautiful houses in town, and I still do.

A couple of years ago, Pat gave me a book that I'd been pining for:  Historic Homes of Colorado Springs and Vicinity by Helen M. Anderson (yes I'm that big of a local history nerd), and it has a chapter on Husted House. From it I learned that Calvin Husted was an influential resident of Colorado City (now called Old Colorado City, after being incorporated into Colorado Springs in 1917). He made his fortune in lumber and became quite an important local citizen over time, serving as a county commissioner for a decade. Many of the homes in that part of town were built with lumber purchased from Mr. Husted. The book also tells me that the mantelpieces in Husted House were hand carved by none other than Winfield Scott Stratton, who was a carpenter before he struck it rich in a Cripple Creek mine and became a respected and beloved local philanthropist (more about Mr. Stratton in THIS post). Fascinating!

Husted House has changed hands a few times over the years. For a while it was a bed and breakfast. I believe it was pale yellow when I was in college, then someone painted it pink (yikes). Now it's half canary yellow and half pink. I think it's been in a bit of a holding pattern like this for a while now, with the paint job partially finished and scaffolding parked in front. I don't know if someone's painting it yellow again or what color they're going for. I do hope that whenever they finish, the house will be as beautiful as ever. It deserves lots of love. I always dreamed of living in it. Whoever owns it now had better take good care of it! That's my dream Victorian!