Chapter 34.36
HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACTION PLAN
Sections:
34.36.020 Paleontological resources.
34.36.030 Goals, policies, implementation.
34.36.010 Findings.
The Redlands, like all of Mesa County, was Ute Indian territory until 1881 when the area was opened for immigrants. In that year, George Crawford, the founder of Grand Junction, first viewed the Grand Valley from a point above the Fifth Street Bridge on Orchard Mesa. It was from here that the junction of the Grand (Colorado) and the Gunnison Rivers was viewed and the location for a new townsite determined. The Redlands is located south and west of the confluence of the rivers.
Historic buildings and sites are scattered across the planning area. According to the “100-Year History of Mesa County,” the Redlands remained a desert rangeland until 1905 when the private Redlands Irrigation Company developed irrigation water from the Gunnison River and began promoting the area. The first peach orchards on the Redlands were established by 1907. In 1909, Henry L. Doherty, owner of the Interurban rail and streetcar lines, purchased large land holdings on the Redlands, and built a larger dam on the Gunnison River. As a result, a hydroelectric plant was added, and irrigation water was delivered to a wider area of the Redlands. The reorganized Redlands Company operated a home ranch, employee camps, and a canning kitchen until 1925 when ownership turned over to the shareholders and the nonprofit organization changed its name to its current title of Redlands Water and Power Company.
Several bridges have spanned the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers to reach the Redlands. The first bridge to the Redlands was built in 1895. In 1912, the Grand Avenue Bridge was constructed and was later replaced by a four-lane bridge. The old Black Bridge across the Gunnison River, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, connected the Redlands with the Orchard Mesa. It was closed to traffic in 1983 due to damage to its stone foundations caused by flood waters and was taken down in September of 1988 by Mesa County. The Goat’s Drawbridge, part of the Redlands Parkway, opened in 1984. The Fruita Bridge was completed in 1907 and served the main highway south of Fruita until the road was realigned and the Highway 340 bridge replaced the bridge in 1970. The bridge is on the national and State registers of historic places. The City of Fruita and the Colorado Riverfront Commission have plans to rehabilitate the historic Fruita Bridge as a pedestrian bridge and part of the Riverfront trail system. Colorado Preservation Inc., a nonprofit organization, included the Fruita Bridge on their Year 2002 State’s Most Endangered List.
The first Redlands school was built in 1916 and now houses the Church of the Nativity Episcopal. The building is located at 2157 Broadway across from the Redlands Middle School. The Redlands Community Center (previously know as the Redlands Women’s Club) was built in 1920 as the Grand Junction Country Club. It was turned into a community center when the club closed in 1929, and has served the Redlands ever since. A relatively rare example of the Mission Style in the Grand Junction area, the Club was designated on the State Register of Historic Properties in 1995.
The Colorado National Monument has several sites on the National Register of Historic Places including the Devils Kitchen Picnic Shelter, Rim Rock Drive Historic District, Saddlehorn Caretaker’s House and Garage, Saddlehorn Comfort Station, Saddlehorn Utility Area Historic District and Serpents Trail. The sites, structures and districts on the Monument are significant for their engineering and development of automobile access and tourism and/or their association with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Progress Administration (WPA) by whom they were constructed.
An early 1980s inventory of Mesa County sites and structures with potential for historic designation included several Redlands houses. While the inventory is dated, it still provides a good basis for a new inventory.
The City of Grand Junction established a Local Register of Historic Sites, Structures and Districts in 1994. To date, no properties on the Redlands have been included on the local register, but many are eligible for listing as noted in the inventory referenced above. The purpose of the local register is to protect and preserve Grand Junction’s heritage, which is exemplified in its historic resources.
(Res. 62-02, 6-26-02)
34.36.020 Paleontological resources.
See the environmental resources section of the Land Use/Growth Management Action Plan of this Plan, GJMC 34.20.120 and 34.20.140.
(Res. 62-02, 6-26-02)
34.36.030 Goals, policies, implementation.
(a) Goals.
(1) Protect and maintain the unique features and characteristics of the Redlands which are significant links to the past, present, and future.
(2) Establish and promote the historical pride and heritage of the Redlands.
(3) Complete an up-to-date inventory of historic structures and places as a means for listing properties on official historical registers (national, State and local).
(4) Pursue official designation, preservation, adaptive reuse, restoration, or relocation of eligible historic structures and places.
(b) Policies.
(1) New development should not remove or disrupt historic, traditional, or significant uses, structures, fences, or architectural elements insofar as practicable. Consultation with the Colorado Historical Society, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, City of Grand Junction Historic Preservation Board, Mesa County Historical Society, and the Museum of Western Colorado is valuable in this effort.
(c) Implementation.
(1) In cooperation with the Colorado Historical Society, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, City of Grand Junction Historic Preservation Board, Mesa County Historical Society, and the Museum of Western Colorado, the City of Grand Junction Community Development Department and Mesa County Planning Department shall: complete and make available an up-to-date, comprehensive inventory of historic structures and places (reconnaissance survey), then complete an intensive level survey of potentially eligible properties for designation as historic places/structures/districts.
(2) The City of Grand Junction Community Development Department and Mesa County Planning Department should provide technical assistance to parties interested in historic designation/preservation/interpretation.
(3) Adopt compatibility requirements for new development to protect the historic use of existing and adjacent properties.
(4) Adopt a resolution to establish a local Mesa County historic register system.
(Res. 62-02, 6-26-02)