Ponderosa Lodge | |
Location | 6145 Shoup, La Foret, Colorado |
---|---|
Coordinates | 39°0′33″N104°43′0″W / 39.00917°N 104.71667°W Coordinates: 39°0′33″N104°43′0″W / 39.00917°N 104.71667°W |
Built | 1928 |
Architect | Jules Jacques Benois Benedict |
Architectural style | Colorado Alpine, Rustic |
NRHP reference # | 08000829 |
CSRHP # | 5EP.5887 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 2008 [1] |
Designated CSRHP | August 29, 2008 [2] |
Ponderosa Lodge at La Foret Conference and Retreat Center is a historic lodge in Black Forest, Colorado. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing [4] and is on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties. [2]
The lodge was built in 1928 as Alice Bemis Taylor's summer retreat. [2]
Designed by Jules Jacques Benoit Benedict, the summer home was similar to other mountain homes that he designed, using "native construction material", including ponderosa pine from Pikes Peak's western slope, and displaying "the finest craftsmanship." One of Benedict's signature elements is the grand staircase in the main hall. He also designed an "elaborate fireplace", with custom iron work. Ponderosa Lodge is one of the properties submitted as multiple submission of Benedict's work for the Colorado Register of Historic Properties. [2]
Ponderosa Lodge is one of two historic properties located in the La Foret Conference and Retreat Center. The Taylor Memorial Chapel is also on the National Register of Historic Places. The center is located on 400 acres of meadows and Ponderosa pines. [5]
The center had originally been a 500-acre summer estate of Alice Bemis Taylor, a philanthropist and an important Colorado Springs family. Mrs. Taylor held artist-in-residence programs on the estate she called La Foret. The Taylor Memorial Chapel was built one year after the lodge as a memorial to her husband, Frederick Morgan Pike Taylor. Alice Taylor died in 1942 and the property was deeded to the Colorado Congregational Church by the Bemis Taylor Foundation. The center is now open to United Church of Christ members, other denominations and organizations. [6] La Foret now has a number of cabins, a dining hall, sports fields and courts, and outdoor theater seating. [3]
Ponderosa Lodge and other buildings at La Foret Conference and Retreat Center were spared from the Black Forest fire (June, 2013), at least partly due to mitigation efforts. [7]
The retreat center created the "Black Forest Strong" organization to serve as a resource to the recuperating Black Forest community. The seven point plan includes grief counseling, serving as a community resource center, providing aid to victims and organizing events. In addition, the plan includes preservation, reseeding efforts, and mitigation training and services. [8] [9]
Benedict College is a four-year historically black, liberal arts college located in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded into a full four-year college offering a variety of majors in the liberal arts field.
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Fort Garland (1858–1883), Colorado, United States, was designed to house two companies of soldiers to protect settlers in the San Luis Valley, then in the Territory of New Mexico. It was named for General John Garland, commander of the Military District of New Mexico.
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Jules Jacques Benois Benedict was one of the most prominent architects in Colorado history, whose works include a number of well-known landmarks and buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pike's Stockade, located near Sanford, Colorado, on the Conejos River, about 45 miles southwest of Fort Garland, was built in 1807. Here, the American flag was raised on Spanish soil by Zebulon Pike.
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The Moraine Park Museum and Amphitheater, also known as the Moraine Park Lodge and the Moraine Park Visitor Center, are located in Moraine Park, a glaciated meadow between two moraines in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The Massanetta Springs Historic District is a retreat in Rockingham County, Virginia, administered by the Presbyterian Synod of Virginia, and chiefly associated with the Massanetta Springs Summer Bible Conference Encampment. The district includes the Hotel (1910), Hudson Auditorium (1922) and Camp Massanetta (1955–56). A Methodist camp existed at the site, originally known as Taylor's Springs, from 1816.
Judson Moss Bemis House, also known as Hearthstone Inn, is a historic Queen Anne house in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Black Forest School or Old Log School of Black Forest is a historic school in Black Forest, Colorado. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing and is one of the schools on a multiple submission of "Rural School Buildings in Colorado" for the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.
Monument Valley Park is a historic, recreational park in Colorado Springs, Colorado through which Monument Creek flows. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing and is on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.
US Post Office and Federal Courthouse-Colorado Springs Main, also known as the Colorado Springs Post Office and Federal Courthouse, is a historic federal building that serves as a post office and courthouse. It is located at 210 East Pikes Peak Avenue in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Renaissance Revival - Beaux-Arts style building is a National Register of Historic Places listing and is on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.
Colorado Springs Day Nursery is a school in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Alice Bemis Taylor was a philanthropist and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Taylor Memorial Chapel at La Foret Conference and Retreat Center is a historic chapel in Black Forest, Colorado. It is a National Register of Historic Places listing.
La Foret is an unincorporated populated place in El Paso County. It is located near Shoup Road and Colorado State Highway 83 towards Interstate 25. Residents of La Foret generally work and shop in nearby Colorado Springs or Black Forest. Activities in La Foret are primarily centered on the presence of the La Foret Conference and Retreat Center which is located there. The famous Ponderosa Lodge that was built in 1928 by Jules Jacques Benois Benedict and appears on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties is located in La Foret and is now part of the La Foret Conference and Retreat Center.
Old North End Historic District of Colorado Springs, Colorado is located north of Colorado College between Monument Valley Park, an alley between Weber and Nevada Streets, and Uintah and Lilac Streets. It was called North End Historic District until September 2015 when the district boundaries were expanded and the neighborhood was renamed.