Historic Routt County has been awarded $250,000 from the History Colorado State Historical Fund toward the restoration of the Maxwell-Squire building in downtown Steamboat Springs. 

In late January, a vehicle crashed into the building, located on the corner of Lincoln Ave and 9th Street, after a driver experienced a medical emergency. 

Lyon’s Drug, the ground-floor business, took the brunt of the damage and was closed for six days following the crash, reopening while still under repair. The corner of the sidewalk in front of the building has been closed since.

The next phase of the restoration process will begin later this summer and is estimated to take six-to-eight months. The goal is for repairs to bring the building back to the intentions of the original design. 

The work will include restoring windows, repairing brickwork and repainting; along with replacing light fixtures and restoring exterior woodwork. 

Mountain Architecture Design Group and Hewitt Design Studio have partnered to maintain historic preservation services during the repairing process. 

The sidewalk will open as soon as possible, but the front door to Lyon’s Drug will remain closed for the time being. 

“We are thrilled that History Colorado recognizes the significance of the Maxwell Squire building. The two-story structure, built in 1908, has played an important role in the commercial and economic development of Steamboat Springs. To this day, it houses our town’s longest continually operating drugstore,” said Kristen Rockford, executive director of Historic Routt County, in a news release.  

“It was one of the last buildings in town to use native sandstone and bricks pressed by the Henry Trogler kiln near Fish Creek,” she continued. “It is a marvel to think about the plate glass windows being brought here by wagon, before the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railroad arrived.”

For more, visit HistoricRouttCounty.org.