History of The Old Church Shops
In Estes Park, Colorado
The Old Church Shops began life as the Community Church of the Rockies, which housed Estes Park's Presbyterian congregation. The first part, in the southeast corner of the current building, was constructed in 1909, entirely by congregation members. Some of the support structures intrigued engineers during the building's 1982 reconstruction. They said they "didn't know how it worked, but it was bomb-proof". The black and white photo below, courtesy of the Estes Area Historical Museum, shows the building with a crenellated tower. The main floor of the church was eight feet above Elkhorn Avenue, because there was no flood control at the time, and the town just let the spring water run down Elkhorn. The church was built to keep its important areas dry.
Circa 1909. Courtesy of Estes Park Historical Museum
Click on image for larger view.
In 1927, the church expanded, to the north. That section currently houses the Wild Rose Food & Spirits Co. The floor jogs about eight inches higher than the original floor. At that time, the tower was also rebuilt, to have a pointed bell steeple. The Community Church used that section for congregation seating, and the original church became altar, choir stall, etc. The roof line of the first two sections is approximately original, although a fake mansard ceiling inside concealed the height that became the third floor of the current building.
The 1954 addition went west, and was a completely different building joined to the original by two covered catwalks. Henry Dannels & Sons was the general contractor. Mr. Dannels son, Bernie, mayor of Estes Park from the mid-80's until 1994, and his son-in-law, Al Sager, both worked on the construction crews. That building was a community center, with an auditorium and stage, and classrooms, and was cement block construction. A photograph of the building in the late 1970's is shown below.
In late 1980, the Community Church decided to sell the building. The new church, on Brodie Avenue, has many advantages such as handicapped accessibility, its own parking, and a full glass wall framing the Rockies. The original church building was bought by Snowdance I, and converted in 1982 to a specialty shopping complex.
It opened for Memorial Day, 1982. On July 15, 1982, the Lawn Lake Flood swept down Elkhorn Avenue. Partly because of its original design and tight new front doors installed by general contractor Bill Burcaw, it sustained nearly no damage. A picture of the building during its post-re-construction, pre-urban re-newal days is shown below.
Click on the image for a larger view
One important result of the Lawn Lake Flood was the urban renewal, which began in 1984. Trees, planters, benches, and other pedestrian amenities transformed downtown Estes Park. The building as it is currently, is shown below.
(c) Jim Osterberg. Click on image for a larger view
The Old Church Shops is the result of a 1982 renovation of Community Church of the Rockies building, which housed Estes Park's Presbyterian congregation.
The Community Church sold its original building in downtown Estes Park to Snowdance I, a Colorado partnership, in order to build a brand new building on Brodie Avenue, slightly east of town.
The downtown building had been built in three different phases. The southeastern section, facing Elkhorn Avenue, was built in 1909. Connected to that was a northeastern portion, constructed in 1927. These two segments were of wood frame construction, enclosed in a single shell, and together, were the sanctuary. The third part, the western half, was built in 1954, of cement block construction, and included the classrooms and public meeting area. It was not connected to the eastern part except by catwalks over a four-foot open alleyway.
When Snowdance I began reconstruction, in January, 1982, it removed the roof of the eastern half, and almost all interior structures except the floors themselves, then re-connected everything inside a single building. The entire structure was re-supported with a network of massive timber posts and beams The result has five different floor levels, offset from east to west by half a floor each, coinciding with the original levels in the church.
The concept was that the inside should be reminiscent of a small town, with a collection of individual shops, each of which had its own distinctive frontage, clustered around a common area with fountain, seating spaces, etc. The building opened to the public for Memorial Day, 1982.
