HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/05/2021 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 129, 2021, DESIGNATAgenda Item 12
Item # 12 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY October 5, 2021
City Council
STAFF
Jim Bertolini, Historic Preservation Planner
Claire Havelda, Legal
SUBJECT
First Reading of Ordinance No. 129, 2021, Designating the Portner Property, 201 South Loomis Avenue, Fort
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 landmark designation for the property at 201 South Loomis Avenue. In
cooperation with the property owner, staff and the Historic Preservation Commission have determined the
property to be eligible for designation under Standard 3, Design/Construction for the property's significance as
a strong example of Free Classic Queen Anne architecture in the Loomis Addition. The ow ner is requesting
designation, which will protect the property's exterior and access to financial incentives for historic property
owners.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
The Portner property at 201 South Loomis Avenue is significant under Standard 3, Design/Construction for the
property's significance as a strong example of Free Classic Queen Anne architecture in the Loomis Addition. A
2017 survey report for the Loomis Addition, and the site form produced for this property established the
importance of the Portner House to the neighborhood’s architectural history. Constructed in 1907, the Portner
House reflects the Front Gable sub-type of the Queen Anne style, defined by the full-width, front-gabled roof
form. Within the Loomis Addition, it is a significant reflection of the later use of Victorian -era architectural
detailing in home construction common in western farming communities like Fort Collins. The property retains
strong integrity of materials and workmanship because it has most of its original historic fabric, including siding
and windows. Integrity of design is retained because there have been no changes to the overall appearance of
the house. Because the property retains integrity of materials, design, and workmanship, it evokes the period
in which it was built and retains integrity of both association and feeling.
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
Designation as a Fort Collins Landmark qualifies property owners for certain finan cial incentives 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
Agenda Item 12
Item # 12 Page 2
At its August 18, 2021, regular meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission adopted a motion on a vote of
5-0 (2 vacancies, 1 recusal, 1 absence) to recommend Council designate the Portner Property as a Fort
Collins Landmark under City Code Chapter 14, based on the property’s significance under Standard 3
Design/Construction, and its historic integrity under all seven aspects.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
Specific to this nomination request, public outreach was limited to interaction with the property owner.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Location Map (PDF)
2. Historic Preservation Commission Resolution 3, 2021 (PDF)
3. Nomination Form (PDF)
ATTACHMENT 1
RESOLUTION 3, 2021
OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION
RECOMMENDING LANDMARK DESIGNATION OF THE
PORTNER PROPERTY
201 SOUTH LOOMIS AVENUE, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO
AS A FORT COLLINS LANDMARK PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF
THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
WHEREAS, it is a matter of public policy that the protection, enhancement and perpetuation
of sites, structures, objects, and districts of historic, architectural, archeological, or geographic
significance, located within the city, are a public necessity and are required in the interest of the
prosperity, civic pride and general welfare of the people; and
WHEREAS, it is the opinion of the City Council that the economic, cultural and aesthetic
standing of this City cannot be maintained or enhanced by disregarding the historic,
architectural, archeological and geographical heritage of the City and by ignoring the destruction
or defacement of such cultural assets; and
WHEREAS, the PORTNER PROPERTY, located at 201 SOUTH LOOMIS AVENUE in
Fort Collins (the “Property”) is eligible for Landmark designation for the property’s sufficient
degree of integrity of location, design, setting, feeling and association, as described in City Code
Section 14-22(b); and for its significance to Fort Collins under STANDARD 3, contained in City
Code Section 14-22(a): DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION as a significant example of Queen Anne-style
architecture in the Loomis Addition; and
WHEREAS, the Historic Preservation Commission has determined that the Property meets
the criteria of a landmark as set forth in Section l4-22 of the code and is eligible for designation
as a Fort Collins Landmark; and
WHEREAS, the owner of the Property has consented to such landmark designation.
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Historic Preservation Commission of the City of
Fort Collins as follows:
Section 1. That the foregoing recitals are incorporated herein by the Historic Preservation
Commission as findings of fact:
1. That the designation of this property will advance the City of Fort Collins’ Policies and
Purposes for Historic Preservation; and
2. That the property is significant under Standard 3, Design/Construction, as this property is
a significant example of Queen Anne-style architecture in the Loomis Addition; and
ATTACHMENT 2
City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Commission
Resolution No. 3, 2021
2
3. That the property retains a strong preponderance of integrity in all seven aspects:
Location, Materials, Workmanship, Design, Setting, Feeling, and Association; and
4. That the owner’s desire to protect this historic property and its resources will be furthered
by the property’s status as a Fort Collins Landmark and the accompanying protections and
review mechanisms such designation confers; and
Section 2. That the Property located in the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado,
described as follows, to wit:
The East 120 feet of Lot 1, Block 279, Loomis Addition, Fort Collins
ALSO KNOWN BY STREET AND NUMBER AS 201 SOUTH LOOMIS AVENUE
CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO
be designated as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with Chapter l4 of the Code of the City
of Fort Collins.
Section 3. That the criteria contained in Chapter 14, Article IV of the City Code will serve as the
standards by which alterations, additions and other changes to buildings and structures located
upon the above described property will be reviewed.
Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission of the City
of Fort Collins held this 18th day of August, A.D. 2021.
X
.XUW.QLHULP
9LFHChair
ATTEST:
_______________________
Secretary/Staff
Kurt
Knierim
Digitally signed
by Kurt Knierim
Date: 2021.08.22
15:54:14 -06'00'
Jim Bertolini
Digitally signed by Jim
Bertolini
Date: 2021.08.20 16:32:06
-06'00'
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: 201 South Loomis Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521
Legal Description: Single Dwelling
Property Name (historic and/or common): Portner Property
OWNER INFORMATION
Name: Charles and M. Gayle Wernsman
Company/Organization (if applicable): N/A
Phone: (970) 402-5291
Email:
Mailing Address: 201 South Loomis Avenue, 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: Kathryn Wernsman Belden
Address: 16875 Hoot Owl Court, Parker, CO 80134
Phone: (970) 402-5289
Email: ktearoses@aol.com
Relationship to Owner: Daughter
DATE: September 26, 2020
TYPE OF DESIGNATION and BOUNDARIES
Individual Landmark Property Landmark District
Explanation of Boundaries:
ATTACHMENT 3
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
2
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 East 120 feet of Lot 1, Block 279 of the Loomis Addition.
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.
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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.
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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.
The building is Significant under Standard 3, Design/Construction as a unique and
significant example of Queen Anne-style architecture in the Loomis Addition. A 2017
survey report for the Loomis Addition, and the accompanying site form produced for this
property established the importance of the Portner House to the neighborhood’s
architectural history.1 Constructed in c.1907, the Portner House reflects the Front Gable
sub-type of the Queen Anne style, defined by the full-width, front-gabled roof form.
Within the Loomis Addition, it is a significant reflection of the later use of Victorian-era
architectural detailing in home construction common in western farming communities
like Fort Collins. The property retains strong integrity of materials and workmanship
1 2017 Site Form for property 5LR.7713; Mary Humstone, Loomis Addition Survey Report, vol. II, produced for the
City of Fort Collins, Colorado, (November 2017), p45.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
3
because it has almost all of its original historic fabric, including siding and windows.
Integrity of design is retained because there have been no changes to the overall
appearance of the house. Because the property retains integrity of materials, design, and
workmanship, it evokes the time period in which it was built and retains integrity of both
association and feeling.
Standard 4: Information Potential
This property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history.
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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: c.1907, 1925, 1945
Although a specific construction date is not known for this property, the estimated
construction date is 1907 based on newspaper records referring to the property in that
year, and the absence of the property from city directories prior to 1908. Significant
alterations include an attached garage on the rear added in 1925, and the modification of
the porch to its current configuration in 1945. Porch modifications were common in the
mid/late-1940s as owners of existing residences addressed maintenance and structural
issues for secondary features after the Second World War.
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.
Property is located in its original location within the Loomis Addition.
Standard 2: Design is the combination of elements that create the form, plan space,
structure and style of a resource.
The property retains its key, character-defining elements of the Free Classic Queen Anne
style, including its front- and intersecting-gable roof form with Classical eave returns, a
red brick chimney along the roof ridge, wood lapboard siding, symmetrical wood sash
windows on all elevations, and a partial-width front porch with Doric columns. A frame
garage was also attached to the rear in 1925, which remains today. From Sanborn maps
in 1925, 1943, and photographs from 1948 and 1968, it appears the porch was modified,
formerly wrapping along the north elevation on Oak Street. In 1945, the porch was
rebuilt into its current configuration. Although smaller and a character-defining feature,
the porch, and the property overall, retain sufficient integrity of design to convey the
significance of the home as an important example of Queen Anne architecture.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
4
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 residences and blocks surrounding the Portner Property are well-preserved, mostly
consisting of other late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century residences. The street
retains mature trees along its edge, mostly consisting of elms (Ulmus sp.) planted in the
early 1900s as part of the national “City Beautiful” movement. Other mature shade trees
remain on the property along with the historic sidewalk alignment and setback from the
street.
Standard 4: Materials are the physical elements that form a resource.
The property retains strong integrity of materials to its original construction, including
wood lapboard siding, a stone foundation sourced at a local quarry, wood windows, and
most of its decorative wood finishes. While the porch was rebuilt and reduced in size in
1945, it retains predominantly wood materials consistent with the Queen Anne style.
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 retains strong integrity of workmanship, with original wood lapboard, wood
sash windows, and a stone foundation. The porch, though replaced in 1945, reflects the
workmanship of the early-twentieth century, being of nearly identical construction and
materials as most original porches that accompanied houses of this style in the 1900s. It
retains strong exterior integrity to the craftsmanship common in the first decade of the
twentieth century.
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 as an early twentieth century residence
built within the Loomis Addition. Based on the integrity of the building itself, and the
overall property and neighborhood setting, it easily conveys the feeling of a residence
built during the late-Victorian era.
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 to late Victorian building traditions
and styles. The high degree of integrity of materials, workmanship, design, and setting,
together help bolster the clear connection the property has with the cultural and
architectural traditions of early twentieth century Fort Collins.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
5
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Portner Property at 201 S. Loomis is eligible for City Landmark designation as a significant
and distinct example of Free Classic Queen Anne architecture in the Loomis Addition of Fort
Collins. Constructed in c.1907, the Portner House reflects the Front Gable sub-type of the Queen
Anne style, defined by the full-width, front-gabled roof form. Within the Loomis Addition, it is a
significant reflection of the later use of Victorian-era architectural detailing in home construction
common in western farming communities like Fort Collins.
Loomis Addition
The Portner Property is part of the Loomis Addition, one of several new subdivisions added to
Fort Collins during the city’s first major period of growth between the 1880s and the 1920s. As
the location became an important hub for agricultural industry throughout the region, this
attracted more people to the town, making the original 1873 Avery plat too small to
accommodate Fort Collins’ growing population. With the Poudre River limiting the town’s growth
to the north and east, westward expansion along Mountain and Laporte Avenues became the
fastest direction for new home construction. The Capital Hill, West Side, and Loomis Additions
were among the first of these new residential neighborhoods, all platted in the 1880s and
steadily developed over the next forty years.
The Loomis Addition represents the first true streetcar suburb in Fort Collins, and owes much of
its development to the expansion of transit in Fort Collins in the early twentieth century. When
platted in 1887, the Loomis Addition already straddled Mountain Avenue, intended to be the
main east-west thoroughfare through the city that connected downtown Fort Collins with the
newly-established Grandview Cemetery. The neighborhood’s location along what remained an
arterial street for Fort Collins into the early-1900s made it an attractive location for middle class
home construction, and further encouraged adoption of new transit technologies to help connect
neighborhoods along Mountain Avenue to downtown. After receiving a license to operate in the
city, the Denver and Interurban Railroad established a two line streetcar system in Fort Collins in
1907, with one route extending down Mountain Avenue to the west from downtown, and the
other extending south down College Avenue from downtown.
About the same time as the streetcar line was finished and operational on Mountain Avenue, the
Loomis Addition experienced its first major boom in construction.
Queen Anne Architecture
During the first three decades of Fort Collins’ development, Victorian-era architecture dominated
its built environment, both commercial and residential. Homes adopted the various expressions
of Victorian architecture, typically defined by irregular building massing, use of multiple building
materials and shapes, and ornate detailing of features like porches, window surrounds, gable
ends, and eave lines.
Victorian architecture is so-named based on its inspiration from the material culture of Great
Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria I (1837-1901). The characteristics of Victorian-era
architecture, including the Queen Anne style, were expressions of two key developments within
building construction in the latter half of the nineteenth century. First, the development of
balloon framing, defined by vertical 2”x4” exterior wall framing extending from the floor to the
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
6
roof, replaced older heavy timber framing, which allowed for greater flexibility in building form.
Whereas previously, homes had to be constructed in boxy, simple forms, balloon framing allowed
buildings to have irregular massing and shapes. Second, mass production as Great Britain, France,
and the United States industrialized allowed for the manufacture of more ornately detailed
building features that could add to the diversity of form and material facilitated by balloon
framing.
As a result, Victorian-era homes are typically quite ornate and rarely symmetrical in overall
floorplan or massing. Most of the styles within the Victorian architectural movement evoked
references to Medieval and Renaissance era architecture, including the Queen Anne which took
many of its inspirations from the original Queen Anne style popularized by English Baroque
architects during the reign of Queen Anne from 1702 to 1714, and from Georgian architectural
styles popular during the eighteenth century in England and the British colonies in America. Both
styles took heavy inspiration from the Classical era, although the Baroque movement was much
more ostentatious while the Georgian movement constrained design to more direct reflections of
Classical architecture.2
The Portner Property at 201 S. Loomis is a unique reflection of the Queen Anne style, specifically
the Front Gable sub-type, which resembles the Georgian influences of the eighteenth century
more strongly than other sub-types of American Queen Anne architecture. While most Queen
Anne-style buildings often incorporated decorative shingling, verge-boards, and irregular
massing, the Portner house is a strikingly symmetrical property, with dominant second-story
gables with Classical eave returns defining each elevation, and a simple hipped-roof porch with
Doric columns covering the northern two-thirds of the east façade. Door and window patterns
are less symmetrical, although their overall distribution still fits the organized pattern of the
home’s massing. Based on images of the property from 1948 and 1968, the building appears
little changed in its character-defining features since 1945. Key changes remain compatible with
the historic character and significance of the property, such as the addition of the attached
garage onto the rear of the house in 1925, reconstruction of the porch from a wrap-around to its
current configuration in 1945, and the addition of wood railings on the front porch to match the
balustrade.3
Historical Background
The property on which the Portner House would be built changed hands several times over the
course of the 1890s and early-1900s – a common phenomenon for properties in growing
agricultural towns in the United States during that period. The abstract title shows over eight
different title transfers between 1887 when Abner Loomis first platted the subdivision to 1905
when Jacob M. Portner acquired the property and constructed the existing home. It appears the
Portners did not live in the home at first, renting it to several tenants before they moved in in
1909.
The first known resident of the house was A.F. Corthon, who arrived in Fort Collins in October of
1907 and moved into this house.4
2 Virginia McAlester, A Field Guide to American Houses, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013), 314-315.
3 Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Local History Archives, “Larimer County Assessor images,” 201SL48 for 1948
https://fchc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/ph/id/7703, 201SLO68 for 1968,
https://fchc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/ph/id/7704, accessed November 2, 2020.
4 Fort Collins Courier, October 16, 1907, p13
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
7
In August of 1908, Dr. William and Ella Nickerson rented the property. William and Ella were both
born in Delaware; he in October, 1844 and she in February, 1845. They were married in 1871 and
moved to Baltimore where he joined the U.S. Navy to become a surgeon. They spent most of
their lives in Baltimore until William retired and they moved to Denver. In 1900 they were
boarders at an apartment at 1811 Grant Street in Denver, which has since been demolished.5
William developed acute gastritis in the weeks prior to moving to Fort Collins. He was deceased
August 19,1908, two weeks after moving into the house.6
After Ella Nickerson vacated the property, it was rented by R.E. Postin and family.7 Mrs. Postin
hosted a meeting of the M.Y.O.B. club at the property in October of 1908.8
By 1909, Jacob and Anna Portner made the property their residence. Jacob and Anna were both
born in Ohio; he in 1854 and she in 1855. They were married in 1877. The couple first moved
west to Hiawatha, Kansas, and had three children (A. Guy, Hattie, and Lottie). After they moved
to Fort Collins, Jacob worked as a laborer at the Colorado Agricultural & Mechanical College
(Colorado A&M, later Colorado State University), working at the College’s farm which was on the
east end of town at the time, near the present-day University Acres neighborhood.9 He later
worked for the G W Sugar company and the City Parks Department. It appears Jacob retired prior
to 1936.10 Anna passed away on January 3, 1937. Jacob passed away four years later on April 29,
1941. They share a grave in Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins.11
The Portner’s son, A. Guy, was married prior to 1911 and had one child (Ralph). Guy was
deceased April 4, 1924 due to an accident at the Oscar Tittman packing plant where he worked.12
The oldest Portner daughter, Hattie, married Dell Skinner prior to 1919. The Skinners relocated to
Scottsbluff, Nebraska.13
The Portner’s youngest daughter, Lottie, married Orrin Haldeman on December 25, 1912 and had
four children (Donald, William, Helen, and Chester).14 Orrin Haldeman was born in Hiawatha,
Kansas and relocated to Fort Collins around 1900. He was a Forman at the Great Western Sugar
Company.15 After their marriage, the Haldemans would remain at the property with the
Portners.16 Chester Haldeman was listed as unemployed and living at the home with his family as
of 1940.17 Lottie Haldeman was deceased January 20, 1937.18 Upon the death of Jacob Portner in
1941, Orrin Haldeman purchased the property. Orrin Haldeman was deceased on January 11,
1945.
5 “Ella Nickerson” and “William M Nickerson,” 1900 Census, Ancestry.com, accessed October 16, 2020.
6 “Dr. Nickerson, Retired Naval Surgeon, Dies Here,” Fort Collins Express, August 26, 1908.
7 “News Notes,” Fort Collins Express, September 9, 1908, p5.
8 “Society Notes,” Weekly Courier, October 7, 1908, p4.
9 City Directories 1909-1910 (no occupation listed), 1913-1914 “laborer at C.A.C.,” 1919 “lab G W Sugar CO.,” 1922
(no occupation listed), 1933 “emp Park Dept,” occupation comes from 1910 census record.
10 City Directory 1936 and 1938 (no occupation listed), 1940 “Retired”.
11 “Jacob M. Portner,” and “Ann Portner,” Find A Grave via Ancestry.com, accessed October 16, 2020.
12 “Guy Porter Dies of Burns,” Fort Collins Express, April 4, 1924, p1.
13 Fort Collins Express, July 6, 1919, p3.
14 Fort Collins Express, December 26, 1912, p5.
15 City Directories 1938 “formn GWSugarCo”, 1940 “Foreman Great Western Sugar Co.”
16 “Jacob M. Portner,” “Anna H. Portner,” “A Guy Portner,” “Hattie G. Portner,” and “Lottie M. Portner,” 1900, 1910,
1920, and 1930 Census, Ancestry.com, accessed October 16, 2020.
17 City Directory 1940 “Unemployed laborer”.
18 Fort Collins Express-Courier, January 11, 1945, p8.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
8
On December 17, 1938, Helen Haldeman married Donald Kerns in a secret double wedding.19 In
1943, Chester Haldeman was a technical sergeant at the Roswell Army Air forces school.20
William Haldeman was drafted June, 1945.21
While the Portners and Haldemans were in residence, there were many newspaper mentions for
rooms for rent and other things over the years. Professor U. G. Gordon rented rooms in 1915.22 A
1921 advertisement for car repairs references the property.23 In 1923, “modern unfurnished
rooms” are advertised for rent.24 Mr. and Mrs. George Painter were tenants from 192625 to at
least 1931.26 A 1931 advertisement for Richman Brothers suits references the property.27 The
property again advertised rooms for rent in 1932 28 and 1934.29 Professor U. G. Gordon is noted
as living at the property for the second time in 1935 30 although the 1915 mention may be a
printing error. In 1939, an advertisement was placed for a housekeeper at the property.31 Richard
Kerns rented rooms in 1943.32
In 1945 Howard A. Durham and Hazel I. (Griffis) Durham purchased and moved into the house
from their previous home at 400 S. Howes in Fort Collins. Both Howard and Hazel were born in
Nebraska in 1893 and were married there in 1919. In 1938, they moved from Lincoln, where
Howard was a chemistry teacher at the University of Nebraska, to Fort Collins. Howard became
an assistant professor of chemistry at Colorado A&M.33 Hazel worked as a case worker for the
Department of Welfare, Larimer County.34 She is noted in the local papers as frequently hosting
female community members at the property including the Woman’s Society of Chrisitan Service
of the First Methodist church, literature clubs, sewing circles, the Kappa Delta Mothers club, a
teen-age study group, bridal events, and the Phi Kappa Tau Wives and Mothers Club. Howard and
Hazel had five children (A. Grace, Rose, Francis, Virginia, and Charlotte.)35 In 1958 the couple
relocated to Carlinville, Illinois for Howard to be a visiting professor of chemistry at Blackburn
College. They kept the property while they were away.36 By 1963, they moved to a home at 920
Woodward Avenue in Fort Collins. Hazel passed away in 1967, and Howard in 1976; both are
buried in Grandview Cemetery.
Francis Durham attended Colorado A&M and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan with a
bachelor’s degree in physics. He was drafted in 1945 and was an Aviation Radio Technician for
the Navy until 1946. He married Beverly Ball in 1949 and had two children (Deborah and David).
They relocated to Long Beach, California.
19 Fort Collins Express-Courier, March 21, 1939, p3.
20 Fort Collins Express-Courier, February 22, 1943, p2.
21 Fort Collins Coloradoan, July 1, 1945, p6.
22 “50 Years Ago-1915,’ Fort Collins Coloradoan, June 22, 1965, p.3
23 Fort Collins Courier, April 18, 1921, p7.
24 “For Rent,” Fort Collins Courier, June 26, 1923, p7.
25 Fort Collins Express, August 16, 1926, p3.
26 Fort Collins Express-Courier, July 19, 1931, p15.
27 Fort Collins Express-Courier, April 1, 1931, p5.
28 Fort Collins Express-Courier, July 7, 1932, p11.
29 Fort Collins Express-Courier, August 12, 1934, p11.
30 Fort Collins Express-Courier, June 25, 1935, p2.
31 Fort Collins Express-Courier, May 12, 1939, p6.
32 Fort Collins Express-Courier, March 16, 1943, p2.
33 City Directory 1952 “asst prof-Chemistry Colo A&M”
34 City Directories 1954 “case wkr Larimer Co Welfare Dept.”, 1956 “casewkr Larimer Co Dept Pub Welfare.”
35 “Howard Durham” and “Hazel Durham,” 1930 and 1940 Census, Ancestry.com, accessed October 16, 2020
36 “Mrs. Durham Injured In Collision of Autos,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, October 30, 1959, p2.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
9
Grace Durham graduated from Colorado A&M and was a Home Economics High-school teacher in
Monte Vista. In. 1945 she married Dr. Carl N. Hittle, a First Lieutenant. They relocated to Ithaca,
New York, Costa Rica, and then Illinois. They had four children (Douglas, David, Donald, and
Kenneth). Kenneth was deceased March, 1955.
Virginia Durham is noted as hosting a Yuletide party at the property in 1946.37 In 1950 she
graduated from Colorado A&M as a science major and was a member of Delta Delta sorority. In
1949 she was crowned the “Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” at a dance. After the event, “the fraternity
men serenaded her at her home.”38 She became engaged to Gerald Jones in 1947 39 but that
appears to have been called off since she married John Popish August 26, 1950. Leading up to the
wedding, there was a trousseau tea 40 and a day of luncheon41 at the property. John Popish
would become a Lieutenant in the Air Force and Virginia a high school English teacher. They had
three children and relocated to Salinas, California in 1957.
Rosemary Durham is noted as hosting a meeting of the Methodist Church Planning Committee at
the property in 1947.42 She graduated from Colorado A&M and was a Kappa Delta sorority
scholarship recipient. She did post-graduate work at Denver University and taught in Denver
schools. She relocated to Los Alamos, New Mexico and then Merced, California where she was a
kindergarten teacher. In California she met Ted Sczbecki, a junior high school teacher. They were
married in Fort Collins on December 27, 1951. The day of the wedding there was a rehearsal
luncheon at the property.43 They relocated to Brentwood, California and had three children.
Charlotte Durham attended Colorado A&M and was a member of Kappa Delta sorority. She is
noted as hosting a breakfast for 55 Colorado A&M juniors at the property in 1950.44 She married
Don Schumacher August 24, 1952. A few days prior to the wedding, there was a trousseau tea45
and the day of the wedding there was a luncheon at the property.46 They had two children
(James and Teresa). Don Schumacher would become a Lieutenant for the Army and they
relocated to Lawton, Oklahoma. In 1953, Don left to serve overseas while Charlotte and James
stayed with the Durhams.
While the Durhams were in residence, there were newspaper mentions of several “for-sale”
items as well as vehicle accidents involving Howard and Hazel Durham.
It appears the Durhams sold the property to Bud and Lois Ryan by 1959.47 Bud worked as a
salesman for a radio station,48 an insurance agent with Farmer’s Insurance Group,49 and a realtor
with Stevens Realty 50 and Larimer County Realty.51 The couple had two children.
37 “Annual Dinner,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, December 24, 1946, p10.
38 “Girl is Crowned Frat ‘Sweetheart”’, Fort Collins Coloradoan, February 6, 1949, p7.
39 “Miss Durham Is Betrothed”, Fort Collins Coloradoan, September 5, 1947, p9.
40 “Tea Planned for Virginia Durham,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, August 22, 1950, p6.
41 “Society, Clubs,” “Wedding Set At St. Luke’s,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, August 28, 1950, p3.
42 “Heitmeyer to Speak at Methodist Church,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, June 13, 1947, p9.
43 “Party Fetes Miss Dunham,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, December 26, 1951, p5.
44 Fort Collins Coloradoan, March 19, 1950, p15.
45 “Mrs. Durham Plans Party for Daughter,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, August 19, 1952, p6.
46 “Durham-Schumacher Vows Said at Methodist Church,” Fort Collins Coloradoan, August 25, 1952, p5.
47 Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 4, 1959, p2.
48 City Directory 1960 “radio slsman KZIX Radio Sta.”
49 City Directory 1962 “AGENT FARMERS INSURANCE GROUP.”
50 City Directory 1963 “real est & ins Stevens Rity & agt Farmers Ins Group.”
51 City Directory 1964 “agt Farmers Ins & slsmn Larimer Cty Realty.”
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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The Ryans advertised the house for sale from October of 1964 to September of 1966 when it was
purchased by Gustav and Ida Brommelmeier, who converted it to a rental property. Renters
included Phillip Buchanan in 1968,52 Debbie Drobnitch in 1969,53 and Ray Cravner in 1970.54
In 1969, Gary and Terry Eastman purchased 55 the property but the Brommelmeiers maintained a
financial interest until 1983. The city directory lists the property as “Student Housing” from 1971-
1972.
Charles Wernsman and Gayle (Dollerschell) Wernsman purchased the property from the
Eastmans October, 1981. Charles was born in 1948 in Sterling, Colorado. Gayle was born in Fort
Morgan, Colorado in 1952. They were married August, 1971 in Fleming, Colorado. They made
Fort Collins their home, eventually purchasing a house at 1833 Homer Drive. Charles worked as a
sales representative at Colorado Garden Supply and later at the Ace Hardware in Eaton,
Colorado. Gayle was a professional Interior Designer as well as teaching the subject at Colorado
State University and Front Range Community College. She assisted with the restoration of the
wallpaper at Fort Collins’ Avery House. During the 1980’s, Gayle and Charlie owned a store called
“Holidays” in Fort Collins’ historic Commercial Bank and Trust Co. building. Both Charles and
Gayle received their Bachelors Degrees from Colorado State University (CSU). Gayle would also go
on to receive her Masters and Doctorate degrees from CSU. Their only child (Kathryn) was born in
1984. From 1990-1994, Gayle and Kathryn relocated to Indiana, Pennsylvania where Gayle taught
Interior Design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In the meantime, Charlie remained at the
property. In 2000, the house was featured as “The Portner House” on the Fort Collins Historic
Homes Tour. Gayle was deceased January, 2021.
Kathryn Wernsman received her bachelor’s degree from CSU in 2006. She relocated to Parker,
Colorado when she married Sean Belden in October of 2018.
The Wernsmans continued the traditions of the house, hosting many social events throughout
the years. They still own the property today.
ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION
Construction Date: ca. 1907
Architect/Builder: Unknown
Building Materials: Wood Frame Siding, Stone Foundation, Brick, Composition Shingle
Architectural Style & Type: Late Victorian 2 story rectangular plan
Description:
The Portner Property is a strong example of Free Classic Queen Anne architecture located at the
southwest corner of West Oak Street and South Loomis Avenue in the Loomis Addition of Fort
Collins. Its character-defining features include its front-gabled, two-story roof form with
intersecting side gables and eave returns, a small brick chimney along the roof ridge, wood
lapboard siding, wood one-over-one sash windows of varying sizes, many of which retain their
wood storm covers, a stone perimeter wall foundation, an oriel window on the east façade, an
52 “Hospital Admissions/ Dismissals”, Fort Collins, Coloradoan, January 31, 1968, p13.
53 Fort Colloins Coloradoan, October 24, 1969, p9.
54 City Directory 1970
55 Deed of Trust August 15, 1969.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
11
attached rear garage built in 1925, and a Classically-styled porch on the east façade modified in
1945.
The roof is dominated by its four gables on each elevation, and includes Classical eave returns,
wood frieze boards, and subtle beaded cornices. The roof is clad with asphalt composition
shingles. Rear additions for both a porch and garage are shed roofs, with the front porch being a
shed configuration with the south end closed in a hip.
The east façade is dominated by the partial width porch with a hipped/shed roof, Doric-style
columns, a wooden balustrade with wood railings extending along the wood steps, and wood
skirting below the deck. The windows and front door on the first and second floors are generally
symmetrical, with windows being 1-over-1 double-hung wood windows. There is a carved wood
front door, as well as an oculus window south of the porch next to the entry.
The south elevation has very little ornamentation and includes three single 1-over-1 double-hung
windows and one set of smaller, paired double-hung windows toward the rear.
The north elevation facing Oak Street has one set of paired double-hung windows on the first
floor near the rear, similar to the south elevation, and two single double-hung windows, one near
the front and one in the upper floor gable. The attached garage on the west end of the house
opens onto Oak Street and has hinged wood garage doors. A concrete drive extends over the
sidewalk and has a curb cut onto Oak Street.
Construction History:
• March 14, 1925 Permit to Frame Garage
• June 18, 1945 Permit to Rebuild Porch
• September 2, 1954 Permit to Reshingle
• April 23, 1991 Permit for Plumbing
• December 1, 1998 Permit to Replace Roof
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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REFERENCE LIST or SOURCES of INFORMATION
City of Fort Collins, City Clerk. Public Records Database. https://citydocs.fcgov.com/
City of Fort Collins, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery – Local History Archives.
https://history.fcgov.com/
City Directories
Larimer County Assessor Photographs (1948, 1968)
City Permit records
City of Fort Collins, Historic Preservation Services. Loomis Addition Historic Context & Survey
Report. (Fort Collins, 2015), by Humstone, et al.
Fort Collins Coloradoan, online archives. www.coloradoan.com.
Fort Collins Courier, ColoradoHistoricNewspapers.org, and, www.coloradoan.com.
Fort Collins Express, ColoradoHistoricNewspapers.org, and, www.coloradoan.com.
Larimer County Tax Assessor Records.
McAlester, Virginia. A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013.
U.S. Census Bureau, Census Records, accessed through Ancestry.com.
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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MAPS and PHOTOGRAPHS
Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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Landmark Name: Portner Property Date: August 18, 2021
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1948
1968
-1-
ORDINANCE NO. 129, 2021
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
DESIGNATING THE PORTNER PROPERTY, 201 SOUTH LOOMIS AVENUE, 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 August 18, 2021, the Historic Preservation
Commission (the “Commission”) determined that the Portner Property, 201 South Loomis
Avenue, 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 3,
Design/Construction as a significant example of Free Classic Queen Anne architecture in the
Loomis Addition in Fort Collins, contained in City Code Section 14-22(a)(1) and 14-22(a)(3)
and strong integrity under all seven 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.
-2-
Section 2. That the Property located in the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County,
Colorado, described as follows, to wit:
EAST 120 FEET OF LOT 1, BLOCK 279 OF THE LOOMIS ADDITION;
ALSO KNOWN BY STREET AND NUMBER AS 201 SOUTH LOOMIS AVENUE,
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.
Section 4. That in compliance with Section 14-26 of the City Code, the City shall,
within fifteen days of the effective date of this Ordnance, record among the real estate records of
the County Clerk and Recorder a certified copy of this Ordinance designating the property.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 5th day of
October, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 19th of October, A.D. 2021.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Interim City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 19th of October, A.D. 2021.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Interim City Clerk