Exquisite Makeover

Restoration project aims to put ‘top hat’ back on storied building

BY ERIN SPILLANE

Lucien L. Nunn, who figures elsewhere in this issue as well, was a man of large ideas. The first person in the world to use the then-new format of alternating-current electricity in a commercial setting, which he achieved in 1891, Nunn built a stately home on Columbia Avenue and installed what was reputed to be the biggest bathtub in town. Nunn founded the First National Bank of Telluride, then the county’s only bank. He was also behind the construction of an imposing building on the northwest corner of North Fir Street and Colorado Avenue to house his new bank. Nowadays called the Nugget Building, the edifice was originally referred to as the First National Bank Building. In keeping with Nunn’s outsized way of doing things, the majestic building included a striking tower on its southeast corner, a square turret topped with a pyramidal roof that rose high above Main Street.

According to the building’s entry in the Colorado Cultural Research Survey, Nunn purchased the land for $1,800 and hired prominent Denver architect James Murdoch, who came up with the distinctive Richardsonian Romanesque design. Constructed from native red sandstone and completed in 1892, the structure housed the Telluride Power Company and a jewelry and sewing machine store, as well as the First National Bank of Telluride, successor of the San Miguel Valley Bank, notorious as the first bank Butch Cassidy ever robbed.

1892

Sometime during the Nugget Building’s long history, most likely due to structural deterioration, Nunn’s tower was dismantled, until now. Katrine and Bill Formby, a couple who split their time between Telluride and Austin and who have owned the building since 1999, have embarked on a construction project that, when complete, will see a tower, finials and a balustrade — identical to the originals — once more atop the Main Street edifice. The complex plan, which involves local firms Finbro Construction, Sante Architects and Pekkala Engineering, began in autumn 2019. Completion is expected by December.

The current work is just the latest in a 20-yearlong series of improvements by the Formbys to stabilize the building structurally and restore it to its former grandeur. “By 1999 when the Formbys purchased the building, the condition of the building had radically deteriorated,” explains Amy Cook, the Formbys’ niece and long-time property manager. “Shotcrete had been applied to stabilize the sandstone and the beautiful glass storefronts on Colorado Avenue were replaced with pink and blue plywood. Restoration began and in 2000 the building received the coveted federal Save America’s Treasures grant, one of only 47 issued nationwide. Two Colorado Historical Society grants followed, which helped add to the Formbys’ personal investment for this restoration project. Upon completion, [they] will have personally spent over $4 million.”

According to Cook, the balustrade, tower and finials are “the final missing pieces to finish the restoration of the exterior of the building and return it to its former glory. The building is one of the most important anchors of downtown Telluride, and it is a strongly contributing resource within the Telluride National Historic Landmark District. Katrine and Bill have always felt that the building deserved to be restored and needed its ‘top hat’ put back on.”

Says Katrine Formby, “When we purchased the building in 1999, it felt more like the building chose us than that we chose the building. We fell in love with Telluride 30 years ago and the challenge of restoring a beautiful piece of Telluride’s history was a project we thought would be worthwhile for Telluride, as well as for ourselves personally.”

Adds Cook, “The building has such an amazing history. We believe it deserves to be grand again. It is a labor of love from the Formbys to the Town of Telluride.”

‘THE CHALLENGE OF RESTORING A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF TELLURIDE’S HISTORY WAS A PROJECT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE WORTHWHILE.’

Katrine Formby

Iconic building. Left: The First National Bank Building (now known as the Nugget Building) c. 1910. Above: A check dated May 1910 from a First National Bank account had a sketch of the building, with the original tower, printed on it. Above right: A rendering by Sante Architects of the tower. Right: The Nugget Building mid-restoration decorated for the holidays. Photos and images courtesy of Katrine and Bill Formby. Photo right by Melissa Plantz telluride.com | 855.421.4360 41