I’m a local born and raised in Avon and here are my concerns about the Hahnewald barn relocation project. The criteria for nomination to the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties is “the association of the property with events that have made a significant contribution to history; the connection of the property with persons significant in history; the apparent distinctive characteristics of a type, period, method of construction, or artisan; the geographic importance of the property; and the possibility of important discoveries related to prehistory or history.”
The town of Avon went through the process of nominating a historic property in 2006 with the Nottingham Power Plant. The site was found to be of historic value due to these reasons from the listing: “The 1928 Nottingham Power Plant is one of the few surviving remnants of the pioneer agricultural hamlet of Avon dating before the area’s post-1970 transformation into a heavily developed ski resort destination. The facility served as the source of electrical power for both the Nottingham family ranch and the adjacent Avon Depot of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The property exhibits the potential to reveal important information relative to the design, construction and use of the power plant and thus aid in the understanding of the role of such facilities in the local generation of electricity.”
Why has the town of Avon forgone a formal nomination process? In recent history, the town has gone through this process with the Nottingham Power Plant, so it can’t plead ignorance to the process.
Ultimately and unfortunately it seems like the town is going to go forward in this process of moving the Hahnewald barn with public money, in spite of protest from the taxpayers funding this. The town is also ignoring the formal application/nomination process through the state register of historic places. At the end of the day, it’s disheartening to see our representatives disregard public opposition to the project. And finally, why does the town feel like it is more qualified and capable of preserving/ identifying our town history than the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties?
Eric Gallagher
Avon
