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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/07/2021 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 109, 2021, DESIGNAT Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 7, 2021 City Council STAFF Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner Claire Havelda, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 109, 2021, Designating the Thomas Property, 308 Cherry Street, For t Collins, Colorado, as a Fort Collins Landmark Pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This item is a quasi-judicial matter and if it is considered on the discussion agenda, it will be considered in accordance with Section 1(f) of the Council’s Rules of Meeting Procedures adopted in Resolution 2019 -064. The purpose of this item is to request City Landmark designation for the property at 308 Cherry Street. In cooperation with the property owner, City staff and the Historic Preservation Commission have determined the property to be eligible for designation under Standard 1, Events/Trends for the property's association with Black/African American history in Fort Collins. The owner is requesting designation, which wi ll provide protection of the property's exterior and access to financial incentives for historic property owners. If designated, this would be the first property in Fort Collins to be recognized and protected for association with Black/African American history. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The Thomas Property at 308 Cherry Street is significant under Standard 1, Events/Trends as a significant reflection of Black/African American life in Fort Collins, and the experiences of Virgil Thomas. Virgil Thomas was the first Black graduate of Fort Collins High School and an accomplished local athlete in football, softball, and boxing. This property, built in 1904, served as the Thomas family home from approximately 1933 to 1940, coinciding with Virgil Thomas’ attendance at Fort Collins High School between 1937 and 1940. Most Black families who lived in Fort Collins before 1950 lived in the blocks immediately west and north of Washington Park at Mason and Maple Streets. The Thomas’ were typical of these pioneering African American families, working in service industries and participating in civic life, while facing a community at the same time tolerant of, but discriminatory against, people of color. This residence was the home of the family during Virgil Thomas’ attendance at Fort Collins High School, becoming the first Black graduate of that institution, and during his time as the starting pitcher for the Fort Collins Mutual Reserves softball club. Virgil Thomas left Fort Collins to attend Wilberforce College in Ohio in 1940 and his parents moved down the street to 316 Cherry later that year. The overall number of residences reflecting the first chapter of Black life in Fort Collins was lim ited, and only a few remain today. The house at 308 Cherry is a significant surviving example of a property that reflects the early Black life and experiences in Fort Collins, including Black residents like Virgil G. Thomas. If designated, this property would be the first property associated with Black/African American history in Fort Collins to be designated and protected as a City Landmark. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS Agenda Item 11 Item # 11 Page 2 Designation as a Fort Collins Landmark qualifies property owners for certain financial inc entives funded by the City, and allows private property owners to leverage State tax incentives for repairs and modifications that meet national preservation standards. These include a 0% interest revolving loan program and Design Assistance mini-grant program through the City and the Colorado State Historic Tax Credits. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION At its June 16, 2021, regular meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) adopted a motion by a vote of 7-0 (1 vacancy, 1 absence) to recommend Council designate the Thomas Property as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with City Code Chapter 14, based on the property’s significance under Standard 1, Events/Trends, and its historic integrity under five critical aspects. PUBLIC OUTREACH Specific to this nomination request, public outreach was limited to interaction with the property owner, and invitations to participate in the nomination process to both the Black/African American Cultural Center at Colorado State University, and to Fort Collins High School. This nomination request from the owner resulted directly from Historic Preservation Services outreach to property owners of significant properties in Fort Collins related to African American history in January of 2021. During that month, Historic Preservation released a website and walking tour providing an introductory narrative about Black/African American history in the City and identifying known properties with significance to that story. Outreach to property owners of those places was part of a collaboration among several City divisions including Neighborhood Services, and CSU’s Black/African American Cultural Center which coordinates the community’s commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month. ATTACHMENTS 1. Location Map (PDF) 2. Historic Preservation Commission Resolution 2, 2021 (PDF) 3. Landmark Nomination (PDF) ATTACHMENT 1 ATTACHMENT 2 Historic Preservation Services Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970.416.4250 preservation@fcgov.com fcgov.com/historicpreservation 1 Fort Collins Landmark Designation LOCATION INFORMATION Address: 308 Cherry Street Legal Description: Beginning 100 Ft West of Southeast Corner, BLK 44, FTC, Thence North 190 Ft; Thence West 50 Ft; Thence South 190 Ft; Thence East 50 Ft to the place of beginning. Property Name (historic and/or common): The Thomas Property; The Thomas, Virgil Gordon, Property OWNER INFORMATION Name: Kim Medina Company/Organization (if applicable): 308 Cherry Street, LLC Phone: 970-388-3332 Email: kimbakermedina@gmail.com Mailing Address: 308 Cherry Street, Fort Collins, CO 80521 CLASSIFICATION Category Ownership Status Present Use Existing Designation Building Public Occupied Commercial Nat’l Register Structure Private Unoccupied Educational State Register Site Religious Object Residential District Entertainment Government Other FORM PREPARED BY Name and Title: Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner Address: 281 N. College Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521 Phone: 970-416-4250 Email: jbertolini@fcgov.com Relationship to Owner: N/A, requested by owner ATTACHMENT 3 Landmark Name: Thomas House 2 DATE: March 17, 2021 TYPE OF DESIGNATION and BOUNDARIES Individual Landmark Property Landmark District Explanation of Boundaries: The boundaries of the property being designated as a Fort Collins Landmark correspond to the legal description of the property, above. The property (hereinafter the “Property”) consists of the property consisting of Larimer County Assessor parcel 9711117006, also described as “BEG 100 FT W OF SE COR, BLK 44, FTC, TH N 190 FT; TH W 50 FT; TH S 190 FT; TH E 50 FT TO BEG AND ALSO PAR DESC AS BEG AT SE COR BLK 44, TH W 100 FT; TH N 190 FT; TH W 50 FT; TH N 27 3/12 FT M/L TO RAILROAD ROW; TH SERLY.” STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE and INTEGRITY Properties are eligible for designation if they possess both significance and integrity. Significance is the importance of a site, structure, object or district to the history, architecture, archeology, engineering or culture of our community, State or Nation. For designation as Fort Collins Landmarks or Fort Collins Landmark Districts properties must meet one (1) or more of the following standards set forth in Fort Collins Municipal Code Section 14-22(a): Standard 1: Events This property is associated with events that have made a recognizable contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the community, State or Nation. It is associated with either (or both) of these two (2) types of events: a) A specific event marking an important moment in Fort Collins prehistory or history; and/or b) A pattern of events or a historic trend that made a recognizable contribution to the development of the community, State or Nation. The Thomas Property at 308 Cherry Street is a significant reflection of Black/African American life in Fort Collins, and the experiences of Virgil Thomas in particular. Virgil Thomas was the first Black graduate of Fort Collins High School and an accomplished local athlete in football, softball, and boxing. This property, built in 1904, served as the Thomas family from approximately 1933 to 1940, coinciding with Virgil Thomas’ attendance at Fort Collins High School between 1937 and 1940. Most Black families who lived in Fort Collins prior to 1950 lived in the blocks immediately west and north of Washington Park at Mason and Maple Streets. The Thomas’ were typical of these pioneering African American families, working in service industries and participating in civic life as much as possible, while facing a community that was at the same time tolerant of, but discriminatory against, people of color. This residence was the home of the family during Virgil Thomas’ attendance at Fort Collins High School, becoming the first Black graduate of that institution, and during his time as the starting pitcher for the Fort Collins Mutual Reserves softball club. Virgil Thomas left Fort Collins to attend Wilberforce College in Ohio in 1940 and his parents moved down the street to 316 Cherry later that year. The Landmark Name: Thomas House 3 overall number of residences reflecting the first chapter of Black life in Fort Collins was limited, and only a few remain today. The house at 308 Cherry is a significant surviving example of a property that reflects the early Black life and experiences in Fort Collins, including Black residents like Virgil G. Thomas. Standard 2: Persons/Groups This property is associated with the lives of persons or groups of persons recognizable in the history of the community, State or Nation whose specific contributions to that history can be identified and documented. Click here to enter text. Standard 3: Design/Construction This property embodies the identifiable characteristics of a type, period or method of construction; represents the work of a craftsman or architect whose work is distinguishable from others by its characteristic style and quality; possesses high artistic values or design concepts; or is part of a recognizable and distinguishable group of properties. Click here to enter text. Standard 4: Information Potential This property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Click here to enter text. Period of Significance is the discrete chronological period (or periods) during which a historic property gained its significance. Additions or alterations to a property that have significance in their own right can warrant the extension of a Period of Significance. Period(s) of Significance: 1930-1940 This corresponds with the time period during which the Thomas family resided at the property and it was a residence for a Black family in Fort Collins. Integrity is the ability of a site, structure, object or district to be able to convey its significance. The integrity of a resource is based on the degree to which it retains all or some of seven (7) aspects or qualities set forth in Fort Collins Municipal Code Section 14-22(b): location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. All seven qualities do not need to be present for a site, structure, object or district to be eligible as long as the overall sense of past time and place is evident. Standard 1: Location is the place where the resource was constructed or the place where the historic or prehistoric event occurred. This property remains in its historic location. Standard 2: Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan space, structure and style of a resource. Landmark Name: Thomas House 4 The overall character of the property reflects a working class residence built in the early 1900s, with subsequent modifications common in that historic context. The building remains a single-story residence with minimal ornamentation; it retains its distinctive hipped-roof and boxy form, with functional additions clustered at the rear of the home. Key modifications to the design include modifications to the porch posts, and recladding of the building with steel siding. However, the overall footprint and design of the porch remain intact, and the siding is a common alteration to working class homes of this sort. The lot upon which the house sits is long and narrow, similar to most lots from this period, with the intention that the rear yard would serve as a garden space, or room for accessory structures such as a garage, sheds, or an accessory dwelling. While altered over time, the overall integrity of design of the property remains good. Standard 3: Setting is the physical environment of a resource. Setting refers to the character of the place; it involves how, not just where, the resource is situated and its relationship to the surrounding features and open space. The setting is generally intact, although modified, continuing to reflect the proximity of the neighborhood to industrial railroad uses during its historic period. Most neighboring properties are the same buildings that flanked the residence historically, although many have additions of varying sizes. The railroad right-of-way to the rear of the historic property remains although the tracks have been removed – this may become an active transportation corridor for pedestrians and cyclists in the foreseeable future. Many of the other African American homes that were in this immediate area prior to 1950 remain as well, including the McDaniels residence at 317 Cherry and the Hicks/Lyle Residence at 312 N. Meldrum Street. Some reminders of the intermixed industrial uses also survive, most notably through the intact Fort Collins Municipal Railway Trolley Barn at Howes & Cherry, a City Landmark. The primary detraction from the integrity of setting is across/south of Cherry Street to the west, a three-story mixed-use development at the southeast corner of Cherry and Meldrum Streets. Other nearby modern intrusions into this historically Black and Latinx area include new developments along Cherry at Howes, and redevelopments on the block to the south for new offices and townhomes. Nevertheless, the property at 308 Cherry retains good integrity of setting for a property in a transitional, quasi-industrial section of downtown. Standard 4: Materials are the physical elements that form a resource. The property retains some integrity of materials, although it is under this aspect that the property has lost the most integrity. What was presumably wood, either lapboard or dropboard, siding, has since been removed or covered. It was originally replaced with asbestos shingles installed by 1969, and now features steel siding, a common alteration for working class homes like this to reduce maintenance. While the loss of this much material, either visible or altogether, is not ideal, materials are not a critical aspect of integrity for the property to convey its significance as an important African American historical site during the 1930s. The existing steel siding is reasonably close to the historic wood lap/dropboard and do not detract significantly from the overall ability of the property to convey its history during the Thomas family’s residence. Furthermore, the property retains its historic windows and many of its interior historic materials including floors, finishes, and doors, providing a reasonable reflection of what the property looked like when the Thomas family made it their home. Landmark Name: Thomas House 5 Standard 5: Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. It is the evidence of artisans' labor and skill in constructing or altering a building, structure or site. The property has experienced some loss of historic workmanship since the 1930-1940 period of significance, mostly that the historic wood siding (lapboard or dropboard) that would likely have covered the building during the Thomas family tenure is no longer present, or at least not visible. However, the property retains the overall evidence of periodic modification and extension to the rear that is common on working class homes like these. Both the asbestos shingling and steel siding are extremely common modifications to working class homes of this type, and while they do not contribute to the evidence of workmanship reflective of the residence in the 1930s, the simple and functional steel siding is consistent with the general level of craftsmanship common to homes of this type and those elements of this residence that do remain reflective of the craftsmanship of that era, including the property’s original windows and interior finishes. The property retains good integrity of workmanship. Standard 6: Feeling is a resource’s expression of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular time. It results from the presence of physical features that, taken together, convey the resource's historic or prehistoric character. The property retains strong integrity of feeling, overall reflecting the working class character that would have defined this property, and the neighborhood, during the Thomas family’s tenure here. Despite the fact that some of the property’s material character was updated over time, those changes were consistent with the property’s original working class character and overall the property retains a strong visual connection to the aesthetic characteristics and sense of history that defined the property in the 1930s when the Thomases were here. Standard 7: Association is the direct link between an important event or person and a historic or prehistoric resource. A resource retains association if it is the place where the event or activity occurred and is sufficiently intact to convey that relationship to an observer. Like feeling, association requires the presence of physical features that convey a property's historic character. The property retains strong integrity of association with the Thomas family period through its integrity of overall design and setting, and the maintenance of character- defining features such as the building’s overall massing, to associate it with the 1930s in Fort Collins when the Thomas family lived here. It remains a simple, small-scale, working class property that is reflective of Black/African American life in Fort Collins in the first half of the twentieth century. Landmark Name: Thomas House 6 HISTORICAL INFORMATION The Thomas Residence at 308 Cherry Street is a significant, surviving reflection of Black/African American life in early Fort Collins. It is primarily significant as the high school home of Virgil Gordon Thomas, an important Black student athlete in the city who played football and softball and boxed for local clubs and student teams. While living here, Thomas became the first Black athlete at Fort Collins High School, and the first Black graduate of the same in the class of 1940. While available records do not indicate if Thomas or his parents specifically faced overt discrimination while he was a student and athlete, social, employment and housing discrimination against Black, Latinx, and Native residents of Fort Collins through the 1970s was endemic is well-documented. The Ku Klux Klan, the notorious white supremacist organization, was active in Fort Collins and Larimer County during the 1920s. Its strong presence here was reflective of larger, deep-seated views about race and racial segregation held by many residents of Fort Collins and Larimer County as a whole. While the Klan during this period was most active in demonstrating against Catholics (Italians in particular) and those of Asian descent (mostly Japanese and Chinese), Black Coloradoans faced similar violence and discrimination as Black Americans in the Jim Crow south. Klan activities in Fort Collins during the 1920s just prior to the Thomas family’s arrival in the city included rallies on North College Avenue and at the State Theater, just three blocks from their future residence at 308 Cherry Street. The Thomas family experience, and Virgil’s athletic accomplishments during a period of significant racial segregation in Fort Collins, are noteworthy and make the property significant to the history of the city. The Michaud Brothers constructed the residence at 308 Cherry Street in 1904 within a section of the city that became home for most of Fort Collins’ Black/African American residents that lived in the city prior to the 1940s. The homes along these blocks served as a transitional zone of housing that directly abutted the industrial and railroad corridor of the city along Mason Street. In many western American cities of the time, it was not uncommon for ethnic minorities like African Americans, Mexican Americans, or Chinese workers to be segregated into neighborhoods near industrial areas of the city. By the 1930s, the 300 block of Cherry Street, 300 block of Maple Street, and 200-300 blocks of North Meldrum Street included the homes of several permanent and temporary Black residents of Fort Collins, including the Thomas family at 308 Cherry Street between 1933 and 1940. Their son Virgil attended junior high and high school in Fort Collins, and was a standout player on both the Fort Collins Reserves private softball club and as a lineman on the Fort Collins High School Lambkins football team. Black/African Americans in Fort Collins and 308 Cherry Street Black/African American history has deep roots in the American West, but is often ignored due to neglect, assumptions on the part of researchers, lack of primary source evidence, or bias in local history. While western states like Colorado often provided the prospect of opportunity for Black families, the racism that plagued most of the nation remained a persistent barrier to equality. Black professionals and business owners grew in number across Colorado in the early 1900s, as did the middle class made up of barbers, waiters, and porters. Some members of Colorado’s white citizenry continuously challenged this progress. The Ku Klux Klan, America’s most notorious white supremacist organization, had strong membership in Colorado during the early 1900s and sponsored recruitment rallies and other public events from Denver to Fort Collins. This set the stage for Klan member Clarence Morley’s election as Governor of Colorado from 1925 to 1927, indicative of the entrenchment of the Klan during that period. White property owners and landlords frequently discriminated against Black residents well into the 1960s through restrictive racial covenants that prevented purchase of property in many neighborhoods, Landmark Name: Thomas House 7 and refusing to rent to Black tenants. The problem was compounded by “redlining,” a practice where lending institutions mapped neighborhoods based on perceived risk, a practice that in reality limited mortgage lending in Black and Latinx areas of cities. Both practices perpetuated racial segregation and the generational wealth gaps found today between Black and white Americans. Like many smaller western communities, Fort Collins was home to a small but vibrant Black community from its early days. Census and newspaper records mention several Black residents, mostly making a living as janitors, domestic workers, or porters for the railroads, hotels, and other businesses. The 1880 census documents fifteen Black residents in five households in and around downtown Fort Collins. By 1900, Fort Collins’ Black population remained small, with only sixteen residents noted in the census, including five households and three live-in servants. However, these numbers are artificially low, as many residents were missed in censes and directories because they were not in Fort Collins long enough or simply were not recognized in official records. For example, in its first few years of operation the Great Western Sugar plant appears to have employed Black laborers who lived just west of the factory. Researchers have not yet determined the location of the workers’ housing and they do not appear in city directories or census records. Despite its small size, the Black community in Fort Collins reflected the same optimism for growth and more permanent security that was found in the city as a whole. Society column entries in Denver’s Black newspapers show a social network along the Front Range that was interdependent, mobile, and growing. Fort Collins included several families who were part of that network and committed to expanding their collective presence in northern Colorado. The Clay family was among the most prominent, long-standing of these families in early Fort Collins, having arrived in the city by 1882. Charley Clay was well-known in the Fort Collins area by 1882 as a caterer and cook. Charles and his wife, Anna, had seven children. The Clay home at 317 Maple Street, believed to have been located along a mid-block alley west of Washington Park, was the center of Black social life in Larimer County during the early 1900s. Out of his home, Charley Clay ran the Colored Mission, which became the Zion Baptist Church, and ministered to Black families throughout the region. His son, Charles Clay, Jr., established a home just to the north at 321 Maple. Most of the large Clay family had dispersed to other communities or had passed away by the time the family patriarch was laid to rest in Grandview Cemetery in 1910. However, the Clays became the first Black family among many that chose the blocks around Washington Park along Meldrum, Maple, and Cherry Streets as their home. Black families like the Hicks, Lyles, McDaniels, Murrays, and Thomas’ moved into the area in the early 1900s. The house at 308 Cherry Street was constructed in 1904 during this time period. By this time, the Clays had moved into the property at 317 Maple Street, and soon after, other Black families like the McDaniels would move into the 300 block of Cherry Street. The area was a fast growing, working class area of town comprising the northwestern edge of the 1873 Avery Plat, as well as portions of the West Side Addition. Many of the residents in this area were people of color, either Black families concentrated around Washington Park, or Mexican Americans concentrated around Holy Family Catholic Church, a Spanish-speaking congregation. However, the neighborhood remained racially mixed during the first quarter of the 1900s, with many white residents, mostly tenants, circulating through as well. The first documented residents of 308 Cherry Street were Walter Harrison, a railroad engineer/fireman, and his wife Ethel, both white, who lived at the property between 1907 and 1909.1 In 1909, Aaron Leroy De Boldt, a white harnessmaker, began renting the house, appears to have purchased it between 1919 and 1922, 1 Note that a railroad fireman was not responsible for distinguishing fires but rather for shoveling coal into the steam engine of the locomotive. Landmark Name: Thomas House 8 and remained there through 1925. By 1927, Mrs. Mary Casey, widow of William Casey, bought the property and lived there briefly. By 1929, Geof B. Southcotte, a white pipefitter, and his wife Florence purchased the house and lived there briefly – the home was vacant in 1931. By 1933, John H. and Mamie Thomas are residents, renting the property from the owner through 1940.2 One of the key challenges faced by Black Americans who were newcomers to the West, or simply visiting, was identifying and negotiating the boundaries of informal and legalized segregation, economic discrimination, and racism. Some Black families, such as Charlie and Mamie Birdwhistle, helped navigate those boundaries by providing advocacy, worship, and safe places to lodge and visit. Without the establishment of the church, a central feature of the Black community, it was more difficult for the Black community to grow as residents often moved on to other communities on the west coast by the 1940s, or to Denver. At the same time, white supremacist organizations like the Klan continued activities in Fort Collins, including rallies at the America/STate Theater on North College Avenue, participation in Colorado Agricultural College events, and a cross-burning in City Park in 1925. With limited employment opportunities, few options for religious worship, and still-rampant racism, many families like the Lyles moved to urban areas by the 1940s for better jobs, larger church congregations, and safer neighborhoods. Some, like John and Mamie Thomas, chose to stay. Legal housing discrimination in Fort Collins lessened after the Second World War, as the Colorado legislature passed a series of Civil Rights reforms. These included a 1948 ban on racially restrictive housing covenants, a 1951 act prohibiting racial discrimination in public employment, and a fair housing law in 1959. Although these laws were passed, their lackluster enforcement and implementation remained a key civil rights issue into the 1970s. Later U.S. Supreme Court case outlawed private-sector employment discrimination in Colorado in 1963 and forced an end to segregation in Denver Public Schools in 1973. Activism by Black-led organizations like the NAACP and the Black Panthers continued to fight for expanded equality and equity. The Thomas Family The experiences of John and Mamie Thomas appear typical of many working class Black families in the United States. The history of both individuals is difficult to track in census records and city directories and staff has not been able to uncover extensive genealogical records as a result. Records show the couple had moved to Eaton, Colorado by 1910 from St. Louis, Missouri. John Thomas was born in Missouri in 1885 to parents that were from Kentucky. Mamie Earley was born in Liberty (Bedford), Bedford County, Virginia in 1887, a small hamlet in southwest Virginia. They met and were married in St. Louis on August 4, 1907.3 Shortly thereafter in 1910, they moved to the small farming town of Eaton, Colorado in Weld County. Census records suggest they moved around northeast Colorado between Eaton and Sterling. In 1920, a couple that appear to be the same John and Mamie Thomas were living at 417 Douglas Street in Sterling, where John was working in a local garage.4 It appears they returned to the Eaton area shortly thereafter, and that this is where their son, Virgil, was born on February 3, 2 Fort Collins City Directories, 1904-1933; the ownership vs. renter status refers to the presence of an “h” in the entry, typically used by the Polk city directory series to denote ownership, but its accuracy is suspect. For example, the 1933 directory shows the Thomas’ as owners of the 308 Cherry property although other records confirm they were tenants. 3 “John H. Thomas,” obit., Coloradoan, May 2, 1968, p3; “Liberty” was the historic name for what became the town of Bedford, Virginia, the county seat of Bedford County. 4 1920 Census, Sterling Ward 3, Logan County, Colorado; Roll: T625_167; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 191, accessed via Ancestry.com. Landmark Name: Thomas House 9 1922.5 The three remained in Eaton until 1930. When the census was taken that year, they were recorded as homeowners in a predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood outside of Eaton town limits to the east. They lived there with one other Black family that owned a home next door, Fred and Sarah Harper and their adopted daughter Ida May. At that time, John Thomas was working as a farm laborer, likely in one of the sugar beet farms that supplied Great Western Sugar.6 The Thomases moved to Fort Collins in 1930, first staying at the former Clay family residence at 321 Maple Street (now demolished). By 1933, they had moved to the home at 308 Cherry Street where they remained until about 1940. John and Mamie later moved down the street to 316 Cherry Street, a home they would eventually purchase from Ernest G. Steele in October of 1951.7 By 1940, Mamie Thomas is also listed as a cook at the Junior High School, employed through the federal Works Progress Administration, while John’s employment after 1930 is not listed. It is possible John continued to work as an agricultural laborer. They remained in their home at 316 Cherry Street until after John Thomas passed away in 1968.8 John and Mamie added Virgil to the title of the property in June of 1965, although it doesn’t appear that Virgil ever returned to Fort Collins after his parents passed away.9 His father John is buried in Grandview Cemetery.10 Virgil Gordon Thomas Virgil Thomas became a prominent young figure in Fort Collins primarily through his athletic accomplishments. While attending the Junior High (Lincoln Junior High, the former High School that was on the current location of the Lincoln Center), Virgil was the opening speaker for Good Will Day on May 18, 1936, giving a speech about the purpose of the event, a day intended to celebrate the contributions of immigrants to the United States.11 However, as he entered high school in 1937, his most prominent achievements were in athletics, specifically football, softball, and boxing. While his athletic advancements are worthy of note, they are significant to Fort Collins history because he was the first African American student to graduate from the high school, having such a prominent influence in a community that still operated under a version of Jim Crow rules that often kept Black families segregated in housing and employment. It is also important to note the important role athletics played during the 1930s and 1940s, not only in social life in Fort Collins, but to the civil rights activism in the United States. Baseball and softball were both popular club sports in Larimer County, with leagues in both sports being popular enough to justify the construction of public fields and formation of regional associations by the 1930s. Local lore recalls that the first baseball game in Fort Collins was played somewhere in present-day downtown in the summer of 1873 between a local team and a team 5 U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007; Calverton National Cemetery interment records, http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/suffolk/calverton/calverton-national-cemetery- records-th.htm, accessed April 1, 2021. 6 1930 Census: Precinct 11, Weld, Colorado; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0022; FHL microfilm: 2339986, accessed through Ancestry.com; While not confirmed, it seems likely that the neighborhood in which the Thomas’ lived was a small working class neighborhood north of the grain silos and railroad siding, now comprising of East Fourth and Fifth Streets, and Wall, Clark, and Linden Streets. 7 “Real Estate Transfers,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, October 15, 1951, p2. 8 1940 City Directory, p116, Local History Archive, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery; “John H. Thomas,” obituary, Fort Collins Coloradoan, May 2, 1968, p3. 9 “Real Estate Transfers,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, June 30, 1965, p9. 10 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49397960/john-h-thomas 11 “Good Will Day Assembly Held,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, May 18, 1936, p2. Landmark Name: Thomas House 10 organized in Greeley.12 While play remained either with amateur teams or with the College’s “Aggies,” Fort Collins gained a professional baseball team in 1909 with the creation of the what was eventually named the Fort Collins Lamb Feeders, formed in June of that year and winning the state championship.13 Nearly every city of size had a baseball club, even if operating in minor leagues.14 By 1930, Fort Collins formed a softball association as a junior league for young athletes, usually of high school or college age, sponsored by local businesses or organizations. By 1935, fourteen softball teams played in the greater Fort Collins area including three teams formed from area Civilian Conservation Corps camps, and the Mutual Reserve club that Virgil Thomas would play for just three years later.15 More than just a social pastime, athletics became an important avenue for people of color to both build their own sense of community, and to advocate for civil rights in their local and national communities. Nationally, athletes like Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Roberto Clemente broke racial barriers and competed alongside white athletes, demonstrating their prowess while advocating for equal rights. Some advocated directly through organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), while others used their wins as means of demonstrating equality. In Fort Collins, this was especially true for Mexican American players. Often facing discrimination in employment and housing, informal and private baseball clubs formed by Mexican-American farm workers in Tres Colonias or the Holy Family area formed teams like the Fort Collins Team under Fred Olivas in the 1920s, which later became the Legionaires, and the Fort Collins Rebels. They frequently played against white teams, and as time went on in the 1950s to 1970s, became more ethnically integrated.16 Currently available records do not document whether Virgil Thomas actively faced discrimination or pressed against discrimination during his time as a youth athlete in Fort Collins. However, the context of the time almost guarantees that he faced pressures and barriers that white athletes did not. At the same time Virgil was playing football, softball, and boxing for teams in Fort Collins, his Black neighbor, Mattie Lyle, filed her lawsuit against the State Theater for discrimination. Considering the mixed nature of race relations in Fort Collins at the time, with endemic discrimination against Black, Latinx, and Native residents, Virgil’s decision to press forward as an athlete, especially as one of the first Black athletes in the community, is highly significant. In the summer of July 1937, just before entering high school, Virgil became a pitcher for the local junior softball club, the Mutual Reserves. The Reserves were part of a much larger grouping of local softball and baseball clubs that had operated in Fort Collins since the sports caught on in the late-1800s. On July 26, 1937, as a new pitcher, Virgil pitched a two-hit game that protected the Reserves undefeated season and placed them in a position to win the Class B softball championship for the regional conference.17 Virgil became such a critical component of the Reserves lineup that for the 1939 season, when he had taken a job in Colorado Springs to continue paying tuition for school, the manager and teammates placed a column in the 12 “First Base Ball Game Played on Diamond in Fort Collins,” Fort Collins Weekly Express, August 13, 1914, p2. 13 Fort Collins Express, November 15, 1910. 14 “Personnel of Ball Team Fixed,” Fort Collins Express, June 30, 1909, p12. 15 “Junior Softball Planned” Fort Collins Express-Courier, May 17, 1936. 16 Lidia Romero, “Beet Fields to Baseball Fields,” and “Sport Allowed Racial Harmony to Step Up to the Plate,” Somos Familia, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Fall 1999), 120-123, accessed via FCMOD. 17 “Reserves Beat Class Rivals,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, July 27, 1937, p7. Landmark Name: Thomas House 11 Express-Courier pleading for a business owner to employ him locally for the summer to preserve their season outlook.18 Alongside softball, in 1938 Virgil began boxing for the Lambkins student club, taking fights over the summer before his Junior year. On May 31, 1939, he was on the fight card for a Veterans of Foreign War’s matchup at the State Armory on South College Avenue, going up against Red Nelson of Denver, the heavyweight champion of the Catholic Youth organization of the metro area.19 By his senior year, Virgil was noted by the Express-Courier as the best heavyweight boxer of the club under the coaching of Bill Hinkley. While Virgil wasn’t as accomplished a boxer as he was a pitcher or lineman, losing some of his notable fights with Denver area boxers, the community still took interest in his career during his four years at Fort Collins High School until the club ended intramural fights in early 1940 due to lack of interest.20 Most significant of Virgil Thomas’ athletic accomplishments were his time as an offensive lineman for the Fort Collins High School Lambkins football team, aided by his height (around six feet) and weight (about 200 pounds). In the fall of 1937, Virgil entered Fort Collins High School at Lake and Remington Streets as a freshman. His sophomore year (1938), he secured a position on the Lambkins football team.21 Virgil immediately demonstrated talent for the game, aided by his height and size, starting in the first two conference games that season as a left offensive tackle and kicker. The Express-Courier highlighted Thomas as one of the key players on the team, and named him the all-conference second choice at right tackle behind starter Bill Crompton.22 He continued playing in 1939 although he sprained his wrist in a game against West Denver early in the season and through the 1940 season.23 Thomas’ skills on the gridiron secured him an athletic scholarship to play football for Wilberforce College in Ohio, the oldest private historically Black college in the United States, founded in 1856 outside the town of Xenia.24 There he attended school and played football until February of 1943, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.25 During his service, he saw action as part of the 92nd Division, Fifth Army in Italy and rose to the rank of Corporal.26 After the war, Thomas moved to Brooklyn in New York City, where he married Laura Mae Smith and they had a child together. Virgil passed away on April 24, 1980 and is buried in Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island. His wife Laura Mae passed away on April 15, 2009, and is buried in Calverton with Virgil.27 Based on the size of the Black community in the 1930s and available records, it is likely that Virgil Thomas and his family had some relationship with the Lyles and Murrays just south of 18 “The Mutual Reserve,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, July 5, 1939, p5. 19 “Won Championship,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, May 29, 1939, p7. 20 “Lambkin Boxers Being Drilled by Bill Hinkley,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, January 16, 1940, p7; and “Jess Willard Enters Local Ring as Referee,” May 19, 1940, p3; and “Estes Park Plans New Grid Field,” February 22, 1940, p7. 21 “58 Lambkins at Grid Drill,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, September 6, 1938, p7. 22 “Lambkins Play Trojans,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, October 11, 1938, p5; “Held His Ground,” and, October 16, 1938, p7, and “First and Second,” November 16, 1938, p7. 23 “Pass Offense Practised by High School,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, September 27, 1939, p5. 24 “Wood Refuses C.U. Offer to Play Basketball,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, June 6, 1940, p7. 25 Fort Collins Express-Courier, February 9, 1943, p6. 26 “Mines Still Dangerous Soldier Tells Parents,” Fort Collins Express-Courier, June 26, 1945, p2. 27 “Surnames Th,” Calverton National Cemetery interment list, Interment.Net, http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/suffolk/calverton/calverton-national-cemetery-records-th.htm, accessed April 26, 2021. Landmark Name: Thomas House 12 them on Meldrum Street, and the Birdwhistles who lived on W. Oak Street. It is worth noting that during Virgil Thomas’ junior year at Fort Collins High School, Mattie Lyle sued the State Theater for discrimination in County court and won her case. Also at this time, John Mosley attended Colorado A&M, later becoming the first Black student to letter for the Aggies football team, playing with them until his graduation in 1943. Mosley lived on North Meldrum for a time during his attendance at the University, likely boarding with the Murrays at 238 N. Meldrum Street during Virgil’s senior year at high school. The overlap in residence serves as a reminder of two key likelihoods about Virgil Thomas: first, that he very likely faced discrimination in his day-to- day life, on the athletic fields when playing or boxing, and while attending school at Fort Collins High School; and second: that he benefited from living next to Black men and women in the community like Mattie Lyle and John Mosley who provided him with strong models for how to fight against that discrimination and live a full life. After the Thomas Family After John and Mamie Thomas moved down the street to 316 Cherry, the property remained a residence for predominantly working class families, including several Latinx households, indicative of larger trends where Mexican American families continued to live in the blocks around Holy Family Catholic Church. By the end of 1940, Floro and Grace Martinez lived at the property with their two children, Lee and Rosie, Floro being an employed through the federal Works Progress Administration.28 By 1948, Placid and Beatrice Hoernicke lived at the property, Placid being a farm laborer and later a trucker and construction worker.29 The Hoernicke family remained, although with different occupants between 1968 and 1983, the residents included Edna, an accounting clerk for the City Finance Department, Paul, a worker at the municipal dump, and Placido, a student a Colorado State University.30 By 1996, the owners were Early and Ray Joyce, but in that year, the Joyces sold the property to Manual and Amada Martinez.31 In 2013, the Martinez family sold the property to Ramon & Kim Medina and Robert and Susan Baker.32 Later that year, the Medinas purchased the Bakers’ interest in the property, and continue to own the property as a business office.33 ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION Construction Date: 1904 Architect/Builder: Michaud Brothers Building Materials: Wood – horizontal weatherboard; asbestos siding (shingles) metal siding Architectural Style: Hipped Roof Box Description: The Thomas House at 308 Cherry Street is a simple, Hipped-Roof Box on the 300 block of Cherry Street, a traditionally working class neighborhood developed over the early 1900s as part of the Fort Collins Avery Plat. Historically, this area was part of a transition zone between the railroad 28 1940 City Directory. 29 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966 City Directories 30 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 City Directories. 31 Warranty deed, Joyce to Martinez, 19960065447, Larimer County Recorder, September 9, 1996. 32 Warranty deed, Martinez to Medina/Baker, 20130013794, Larimer County Recorder, February 21, 2013. 33 Warranty deed, Baker to Medina, 20130079974, October 24, 2013, and Warranty deed, Medina to 308 Cherry Street, LLC, March 27, 2014, Larimer County Recorder. Landmark Name: Thomas House 13 industries immediately to the east and the quieter residential neighborhoods around Holy Family Catholic Church to the west. The entire area was punctuated by a railroad spur that connected to quarries northwest of town, running immediately north of 308 Cherry Street, but having been removed later. The Thomas House is defined by its simple, hipped-roof shape with simple siding and window configurations. The siding is metal, likely over top of asbestos shingles installed by 1969, which may be overtop of the original lapboard or dropboard. Windows are historic wood one-over-one windows with aluminum storm covers on the exterior. The south façade is symmetrical, with a centered entry under a small porch, flanked by two one-over-one windows. The door is modern, but centered in the elevation. The porch roof and rear brackets appear historic, but the porch posts and concrete stoop have been replaced since 1969. An Assessor image from that year shows a concrete pad with three concrete steps from the front sidewalk, and lathe-turned posts. A building permit from 1946 says that the porch was repaired in that year but it does not identify what work was undertaken – the porch as it appears in 1969 is typical of working class homes of the 1900s and may be original. Currently, the concrete pad has only a two-step stoop from the front sidewalk and the lathe-turned posts have been replaced with squared porch columns. The two historic side elevations are similar, having similar arrangements of two, symmetrically placed one-over-one wood windows with aluminum storm covers. The west elevation includes a smaller one-over-one wood window that may have been added for a bathroom light. The rear of the building includes a series of two additions, one historic and one non-historic. The historic addition is a small gable-roof extension of approximately twelve feet from the rear of the house, likely a kitchen addition, that is visible in the 1969 Assessor image. Historically, it had a rear entrance on the east elevation that has since been infilled and enclosed into a fixed window. There is also a horizontal, narrow fixed window on the east elevation that appears in the 1969 image that remains, but has been replaced with a modern unit. The west elevation of the historic addition has a single fixed window that appears to be a replacement. Modern paired entry doors are on the rear (north) elevation of the historic addition, opening onto a non-historic wood deck. On the northeast corner of the building is a non-historic shed-roof addition with a single slider window on the north elevation and single door on the east elevation. Wrapping the rear of this is a wood ramp to provide accessibility to the property. To the rear of the building are three non-historic sheds and a non-historic wood privacy fence. There is a concrete driveway and parking lot that wrap around the east and north sides of the house. The rear of the lot is empty except for a small wooden shed near the back of the lot at the former railroad right-of-way. The property’s permit history reveals the following alterations made since construction: 1904 – Construction of the four-room cottage 1946 – Reshingling 1946 – repair porch 1971 – rear enclosed porch (8’x8’) added 1980 – fencing built 1994 – reroof (asphalt shingle) 2013 – bathroom remodel 2013 – Modification to rear entry including ADA compliant ramp Landmark Name: Thomas House 14 2015 – front sign for attorney’s office added 2018 – roofing (asphalt shingle) As of the drafting of this nomination, a new two-story carriage house is slated for construction at the rear of the lot. Based on historical research and photographs, the rear of the lot does not appear to have been developed or been a significant aspect of the property during its historic period. It is not expected to have an adverse effect on the historic property due to its location at the extreme rear of the lot. Landmark Name: Thomas House 15 REFERENCE LIST or SOURCES of INFORMATION Calverton National Cemetery interment records, http://www.interment.net/data/us/ny/suffolk/calverton/calverton-national-cemetery-records-th.htm, accessed April 1, 2021. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection, https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/. Fort Collins Coloradoan, online archives. Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Local History Archives. - LC Recreation – Baseball/Softball Folder - Softball History 1930s folder - Thomas, Virgil, folder - City Directories - Fort Collins History Connection online archive Larimer County Recorder & Assessor records, https://records.larimer.org/LandmarkWeb/Home/Index U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007. Landmark Name: Thomas House 16 MAPS and PHOTOGRAPHS 17 18 South façade, looking north, January 21, 2021. West elevation, looking north, January 21, 2021. Landmark Name: Thomas House 19 East elevation, front portion of the building, looking southwest, January 21, 2021. East elevation, full side, looking southwest, January 21, 2021. Landmark Name: Thomas House 20 North elevation from the parking lot, looking south, January 21, 2021. West elevation and rear addition, looking southeast, January 21, 2021. Landmark Name: Thomas House 21 Non-historic shed along west property boundary just north of the parking lot, January 21, 2021. Rear yard space looking northwest to neighboring property and railroad right-of-way, January 21, 2021. Landmark Name: Thomas House 22 Interior front room, looking south at the front entry, showing level of interior preservation (windows, door and window surrounds, and floors), January 21, 2021. Interior southwest room, looking southwest at front west corner of building, showing level of interior preservation (windows and window surrounds), January 21, 2021. -1- ORDINANCE NO. 109, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS DESIGNATING THE THOMAS PROPERTY, 308 CHERRY STREET, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, AS A FORT COLLINS LANDMARK PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS, pursuant to City Code Section 14-1, the City Council has established a public policy encouraging the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of historic landmarks within the City; and WHEREAS, by resolution adopted on June 16, 2021, the Historic Preservation Commission (the “Commission”) determined that the Thomas Property, 308 Cherry Street, in Fort Collins, as more specifically described in the legal description below (the “Property”), is eligible for landmark designation pursuant to City Code Chapter 14, Article II, for the property’s significance to Fort Collins under Standard of Significance 1, Events/Trends for association with Black/African American History in Fort Collins, contained in City Code Section 14-22(a)(1) and 14-22(a)(3) and strong integrity under five critical standards of integrity under City Code Section 14-22(b)(1-7); and WHEREAS, the Commission further determined that designation of the Property will advance the policies and purposes set forth in City Code Sections 14 -1 and 14-2 in a manner and extent sufficient to justify designation; and WHEREAS, the Commission recommends that the City Council designate the Property as a Fort Collins landmark; and WHEREAS, the owner of the Property has consented to such landmark designation and desires to protect the Property; and WHEREAS, such landmark designation will preserve the Property’s significance to the community; and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the recommendation of the Commission and desires to follow such recommendation and designate the Property as a landmark; and WHEREAS, designation of the Property as a landmark is necessary for the prosperity, civic pride, and welfare of the public. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That the Property located in the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, described as follows, to wit: -2- BEGINNING 100 FT WEST OF THE SOUTHEAST CORNER, BLOCK 44, FORT COLLINS, THENCE NORTH 190 FT; THENCE WEST 50 FT; THENCE SOUTH 190 FT; THENCE EAST 50 FT TO BEGINNING AND ALSO PARCEL DESCRIBED AS BEGINNING AT SOUTHEAST CORNER BLOCK 44, THENCE WEST 100 FT; THENCE NORTH 190 FT; THENCE WEST 50 FT; THENCE NORTH 27 3/12 FT MORE OR LESS TO RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY; THENCE SOUTHEASTERLY; ALSO KNOWN BY STREET AND NUMBER AS 308 CHERRY STREET, CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO be designated as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with City Code Chapter 14. Section 3. That alterations, additions and other changes to the buildings and structures located upon the Property will be reviewed for compliance with City Code Chapter 14, Article IV, as currently enacted or hereafter amended. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 7th day of September, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 21st of September, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 21st of September, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ Interim City Clerk