Indiana Jones Slept Here: Four Additions to Colorado's Most Endangered Places List

While Colorado is full of natural wonders, many manmade structures tell the story of this state...although many are being silenced as they fall prey to time and gravity. Colorado's Most Endangered Places program was created thirty years ago to save these historic structures.

The latest additions to the Most Endangered Places lineup were announced at the Saving Places Conference on January 31 in Colorado Springs. This year's lineup: a small home in Antonito with ties to Indiana Jones, the Knearl Block and Opera House in Brush, the Newman Block in Granada, and the old town hall in Red Cliff .

“Colorado’s Most Endangered Places list includes places as large as the Colorado State Capitol in Denver or as small as the Feminilas Building in El Rito,” Endangered Places Director Katie Peterson announced at the conference. “It includes everything from city blocks to churches, apple orchards and small local, family-owned establishments. Every place has a story to tell, and our purpose is to relay those histories to the public and preserve them for future generations. With the addition of these four resources, we have highlighted 144 historic resources throughout Colorado, with 57 successfully saved and only nine lost.”

The new additions to the Most Endangered Places list;

Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast
Antonito
In 1988, the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed in Antonito, with the action centered on the historic Cumbres & Toltec Railroad and a little house at 502 Front Street, now known as the Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast. Built in 1888, what became Indiana Jones' boyhood residence was one of the first houses constructed in Antonito; the Carroll family moved to the area to support local miners and ran a business selling horses and mules. Over the years, the house remained privately owned, with the current owner acquiring it in 2017 and transforming it into a bed and breakfast. Guests can stay in one of three upstairs bedrooms and explore a museum on the main floor dedicated to Indiana Jones and the rich local history of Antonito and the San Luis Valley. Below that floor, though, the foundation of the home is failing, and the building is beginning to sag and shift.
       Knearl Block and Opera House
Brush
Since its construction in 1902, the Knearl Block has held everything from a hat-making factory to a hotel, restaurant, bank, bar and telephone exchange. Named after William H. “Billy” Knearl, a prominent businessman and leader in early Brush history, this Main Street building’s architecture reflects the grandeur of its era. Originally a bustling hub of commerce and culture, the Knearl Block housed a mercantile store on its first floor, while the second floor became home to the famed Opera House. Today, the Knearl Block and Opera House is privately owned and operates as the Corral Sports Bar & Grill, but time has rendered the upper story unusable and the south wall is beginning to detach. However, the current owner continues to be dedicated to preserving the building and keeping it a vibrant community hub; it recently celebrated its addition to the State Register of Historic Places.

Newman Block
Granada
During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order #9066, which authorized the U.S. military to forcibly remove all citizens of Japanese descent and place them in internment centers. Amache, located in southeastern Colorado near Granada, was one of ten internment locations that held Japanese Americans during the war. In 1942, pharmacist Ed Newman bought what became the Newman Block, moved his pharmacy into the space, added a soda fountain, and opened a newsstand. As Japanese Americans at Amache sought work outside the camp, Newman employed many at his store; he also sponsored sports teams inside Amache. Next door to Newman’s Drug Store is a smaller blue building that housed the Granada Fish Market, opened in 1943 after internee Frank Masa Tsuchiya was released; the Granada Pioneer newspaper published short articles thanking Tsuchiya for his generous contributions, such as Christmas trees and poultry.

Red Cliff Old Town Hall and Firehouse
Red Cliff
Constructed around 1887, the Red Cliff Old Town Hall and Firehouse serve as a testament to the early mining days in the Battle Mountain Mining District in what today is the White River Forest. After fires in 1882 and 1883 that destroyed most of the town, residents realized the need for a better system to help fight fires and constructed an underground pipe system with water from nearby Willow Creek flowind to four hydrants along the main streets. The Town Hall and Firehouse became a community gathering place for alost ninety years; today it's empty. A Historic Structure Assessment completed in 2023 identifies the necessary steps needed to stabilize the building to begin the process of turning it into a museum that spotlights the history of Red Cliff and the Battle Mountain Mining District, Summit and Eagle Counties, and ultimately the early development of the mountain region of Colorado.

By being added to the Colorado’s Most Endangered Places, historic structures — and the people and organizations trying to save them — have access to information and services that will help the process. At this year's conference, the 28th, two places on the Most Endangered List were moved from ALERT to PROGRESS: Costilla County Mission Churches and Kit Carson Museum Complex.

I know firsthand how important this program is to saving all that is wonderful (and sometimes weird) about this state; I'm on the board of Friends of the Genoa Tower, the nonprofit working to save the World's Wonder View Tower in Genoa, which was named one of Colorado's Most Endangered Places in 2017.

Find more information at coloradopreservation.org