Walk two blocks on Lincoln Avenue and you will pass two buildings that tell opposite stories about what "historic" means in downtown Steamboat.
At 840 Lincoln, the Maxwell-Squire Building, home to Lyons Corner Drug and continuing a pharmacy tradition inside the building that traces back to the original Chamberlain Gray Drug Store, was added to the Steamboat Springs Register of Historic Places last month, on July 20, 2026. That listing means the building is now legally safeguarded from demolition, and it still holds Steamboat's oldest operating soda fountain. At 928 Lincoln, the Lorenz Building, a red brick landmark the Lorenz family has owned since 1958 and believed to be the first brick commercial building constructed in Steamboat Springs, has been listed for sale since January 2026 at $2.595 million. It is arguably more historically significant than Maxwell-Squire. It carries no demolition protection at all.
If you are shopping downtown, or you own a building here and are thinking about selling, that gap matters more than the price per square foot. It is the difference between buying a piece of Steamboat's history and buying a legally protected one.
The word "historic" is doing two different jobs downtown
Most buyers hear "historic district" and assume it means one consistent thing: old, protected, can't be torn down. In Steamboat's Downtown Historic District, those three ideas split apart.
The district itself runs roughly six blocks along Lincoln Avenue between Fifth and 11th streets, made up of 52 total resources, 36 of which count as "contributing" to the district's historic character. Three buildings are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That national and state-level recognition is honorary. It documents significance. It does not stop an owner from tearing a building down.
The only thing that does is a separate, voluntary step: getting the property listed on the city's own local register. Steamboat's historic preservation planner, Caitlin Berube-Smith, laid out the contrast plainly when asked about the Lorenz Building's sale:
"The Lorenz Building is a 'contributing building' to the National Historic District. In comparison, the Chief Theater is a 'non-contributing building' to the National Historic District, but the Chief Theater is on our local Steamboat Springs Register of Historic Places, which protects it from demolition."
Read that again slowly. A building the National Register says doesn't even count toward the historic character of the district has stronger legal protection than one the National Register specifically credits as contributing to it. The label that sounds official does less work than the one most buyers have never heard of.
Only four buildings actually carry this protection
Here is the mechanism that explains it. The National and State registers are inventories. The Steamboat Springs Register is regulatory, but it is opt-in. An owner has to request the listing. Once listed, the city's rule is straightforward: the property cannot be demolished. Nothing forces an owner of a contributing, nationally recognized building to take that extra step, and most haven't.
With Maxwell-Squire's addition this July, the planner's office confirmed it is now one of four structures in the entire Downtown National Register District that are actually safeguarded from demolition. Four, out of 52 resources spanning six blocks.
| National Register "contributing" status | Local Steamboat Springs Register | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get it | City survey and designation, no owner action required | Owner must apply and request listing |
| What it recognizes | Historic or architectural significance | Same, plus a local commitment to preserve |
| Stops demolition? | No | Yes |
| Example | Lorenz Building, 928 Lincoln Ave | Maxwell-Squire Building, 840 Lincoln Ave |
If you're evaluating a downtown property and the listing sheet mentions "historic district" or "contributing structure," that phrase alone tells you almost nothing about whether the building can be redeveloped or replaced. You have to ask the second question: is it also on the city's own register.
The review you can't opt out of, and the rule you technically can
There's a second layer that catches people even when demolition isn't on the table. Any building or structure over 50 years old, or any sign over 25, can be classified by the city as an "Eligible Resource" based on historical, architectural, or geographic significance. That classification triggers a mandatory historic preservation review for any planning application or building permit, under Section 111 of the city's Community Development Code. This applies whether or not the building has ever been placed on any register.
So a downtown building can sit completely off every historic list and still force a buyer into an extra review step the moment they pull a permit for a new roofline or a storefront change. Given that roughly 40 percent of buildings in the district were built between 1900 and 1920, in the years surrounding the railroad's arrival, age alone puts a large share of Lincoln Avenue's building stock into this category by default.
Here's the part that surprises people on the other side of that review: compliance with the staff's feedback is voluntary. The review itself is mandatory. What you do with the guidance afterward is, per the city's own description of the process, up to the owner. That is a narrower obligation than most buyers assume when they hear "historic review," and it's worth confirming directly with the Historic Preservation Planner's office rather than assuming the worst case going in.
What rehabbing one of these buildings can actually pay for
The flip side of all this scrutiny is that formal designation opens up real money. Properties on the Steamboat Springs, State, or National registers can qualify for a federal tax credit of up to 20 percent for income-producing buildings, a 35 percent Colorado state credit for owner-occupied residences, and a 35 percent state credit for income-producing properties undergoing qualified rehabilitation. The city has also offered up to $25,000 in Certified Local Government grant funding toward preservation planning and survey work.
These aren't abstract numbers. In one documented Steamboat rehabilitation project, a homeowner received a $10,000 state tax credit for restoration work on their house. For a building the size of Maxwell-Squire or Lorenz, a well-documented project touching a storefront, windows, or a roofline could see meaningfully more.
That's the case for pursuing local designation even when it isn't required: it converts a maintenance cost into a partially subsidized one, at the price of that mandatory design review on future exterior work.
Before you write an offer on Lincoln Avenue
- Ask whether the building is a "contributing" or "non-contributing" resource in the National Register district. This tells you almost nothing about demolition rights, but it's the number most listing sheets lead with.
- Ask separately, explicitly, whether the property is listed on the Steamboat Springs Register of Historic Places. This is the only status that actually blocks a future teardown.
- Confirm the building's age against the Routt County Assessor's property records. If it's 50 years or older, assume Eligible Resource status applies until the city's Historic Preservation Planner tells you otherwise.
- If your plans include exterior changes, storefront work, or a roofline alteration, build a conversation with the Planning Department into your timeline before you finalize a design or a contractor bid.
- If you're buying with rehabilitation in mind, ask about state and federal tax credit eligibility before you assume renovation costs at face value. The math changes considerably if the credits apply.
FAQ
Does historic review control what I can do inside the building? The standards and the mandatory review process are built around exterior changes, additions, and alterations that affect how the building reads from the street. Interior renovations generally sit outside that review.
If my building isn't on any register, am I in the clear? Not necessarily. Because Eligible Resource status is based on age and significance rather than a formal listing, a building the city has never surveyed can still trigger mandatory review the moment you file a permit. It's worth a call to the Historic Preservation Planner before you assume otherwise.
Do I have to follow the city's recommendations from a historic review? The review itself is required for Eligible Resources. Acting on the feedback is described by the city as voluntary. Those are two different obligations, and conflating them is one of the more common misunderstandings buyers bring into a downtown purchase.
Why does an older, more architecturally significant building like the Lorenz have less protection than a newer one? Because national and state recognition documents history. It doesn't regulate it. Only a property's own local register listing does that, and listing has always required the owner to ask for it.
Downtown Steamboat rewards buyers and sellers who read past the label. If you're weighing a Lincoln Avenue property, whether it's a storefront, a mixed-use building, or a home inside the district boundary, the Shelley Stanford Team can walk the specific designation history with you before you write an offer or price a listing. Contact us to talk through what a particular building's status actually means for your plans.
