Morreale House

Beautiful Morreale House on the Colorado College campus was most notably occupied by the Vanderhoof family starting around 1919, according to Helen Anderson's Historic Homes of Colorado Springs and Vicinity. It was originally built for a mining broker named George Lindley in 1892; Lindley soon sold it to Herbert Johnson, who was in dry goods. I have found that many of our beautiful old homes, built for robber barons, railroad magnates, speculators and the like, were only lived in by their original owners for a few years before being sold. I wonder why that is? Why go to all the trouble and expense of building a custom designed mansion, only to sell it a couple of years after moving in? This is such a puzzle to me. Anyway, Johnson sold it to Dr. Vanderhoof in 1919, and in the 1940s it changed hands again. I imagine it went through the usual merry-go-round of owners and renters over the ensuing years, until it was bought by a retired chaplain named Morreale in 1960. Finally, after his death, CC acquired it in 2000 and now it's used as an administrative building. It is and always has been in beautiful condition. This style of architecture is called Queen Anne, and as far as I know, it's our only Queen Anne with masonry rather than shingles. Morreale House is on the National Register of Historic Places. I've always thought that it was a singularly beautiful home. I especially love the cupola. To see a picture of what it looked like years ago, click HERE.