Laserfiche WebLink
In 1948, the Boulder County Assessor had photos taken of houses in Louisville and information <br />was filled out on a card for each house, with follow up visits when modifications were being <br />made that would change the tax assessment. Here are the photo of the house and a sketch of <br />the layout from that card. However, it appears from the card that the photo, instead of dating <br />from 1948, instead dates from 1950, 1951 or 1955, which are all dates indicated on the card as <br />being when the Assessor returned to make additional notes on the card. A notation says to <br />"send old pic" (presumably the one that had been taken in 1948) to Maggie Africh, who was the <br />new owner starting in 1954. The card indicates that the blue pencil markings for the existing <br />layout were done in 1948 and the red pencil markings, showing an addition on the south side of <br />the original building, were added at the time of one of the County Assessor's return visits in the <br />1950s. <br />After Milo's death in 1954, Maggie Sparks Vinson Africh bought the property. It was then <br />purchased by Harold and Rosemary Bennett in 1981 before being purchased by the current <br />owner and applicant in 2000. <br />Previous Demolition Requests <br />In 2007, the property owner (and current applicant) applied for a demolition permit for the <br />structure along with three other structures. At that time, a subcommittee of the HPC found that <br />"the three homes and garage in question were unlikely to qualify for landmarking and therefore, <br />the Subcommittee agreed to release the demolition permit." No further information is available <br />on the subcommittee's reasoning. The demolition was never completed and the HPC review <br />expired with the building permit application. In 2009, a Planned Urban Development (PUD) was <br />approved for the surrounding area, including Lot 3 on which the subject structure sits, and <br />included the following notation: "Existing single story framed house. To be demolished upon <br />completion of townhomes on lot four." This demolition requirement was lifted by City Council <br />Resolution 15, Series 2013 at the request of the applicant. This PUD amendment also <br />increased the allowed density of the development by one additional dwelling unit. <br />ARCHITECTURAL INTEGRITY: <br />The easternmost structure at 555 County Road is a one-story, wood -frame house with a <br />rectangular floor plan and a projecting front porch. In the "Stories in Places" Louisville residential <br />context, it is listed as a National structure, a nineteenth-century form of folk housing present in <br />the city. It appears to exhibit characteristics of different National forms, including gable -front and <br />hall -and -parlor. With multiple doors on the house shown in the 1948 Assessors Card photo, it is <br />possible that the structure combined multiple forms or added door locations and orientations <br />over time. <br />The structure retains a high level of integrity given that the exterior and footprint appear to be <br />largely changed since the 1948 Assessors Card and 1950s edits (see Historical Background <br />section above for more information on the dates of the Assessors Card notations). The <br />southeast elevation appears to remain largely, if not completely, unchanged, as does the <br />footprint of the house. Based on street -view images of the house, it appears that the applicant <br />removed the majority of the siding sometime after June of 2021 without a demolition permit or <br />demolition review. The removed siding has exposed what appear to be larger openings on the <br />north side of the house, suggesting that the structure has undergone changes to window (or <br />door) size/location since its construction. However, the Assessors Card shows that the southern <br />windows from circa 1948 remain in place and that the front -facing elevation also remains <br />largely, if not completely, unchanged. The building permit file shows a permit for construction in <br />1967 for a "patio" and roof repair for hail damage in 2010. No other changes are reflected in the <br />building permit file. <br />10 <br />