Brook Forest Inn
Jefferson County
The Brook Forest Inn is an important example of a successful tourist resort and local entertainment venue. Attracting both locals and vacationers from across the state and country, the Inn provided a mountain getaway for individuals, families, and parties. Since its opening in 1919 and through the height of its popularity in the 1940s and 1950s, the Brook Forest Inn played a vital role in resort tourism along the Front Range and specifically in Evergreen. With the exception of brief periods, the Brook Forest Inn has continuously operated as an Inn and restaurant since 1919. Additionally, the Brook Forest Inn is architecturally significant as a good example of a combination of the Swiss Chalet and Tudor Revival styles along with some Rustic style features.
The Brook Forest Inn (5JF.2802) in Evergreen is an example of the Swiss Chalet style.
The Inn exemplifies the Swiss Chalet style with its two-and-a-half stories, low-pitched gabled roofs, wide eaves supported by triangular brackets, stone first story, wide balconies, large multi-pane windows, decorative carvings, square cut ornamental shingles, ornamental bargeboard, and exposed purlin ends each containing a hand carved cross. When the Inn opened in 1919 it expressed a Rustic style with its vertical and horizontal log constructed walls, decorative log balustrades and gable ends, and stone foundation. Although expanded and renovated into the Swiss Chalet style in the 1920s, some of the 1919 Rustic features are extant. By 1927, a one-story Tudor Revival inspired addition with a castellated parapet completed one story Tudor Revival inspired addition with a castellated parapet completed the Inn, bringing it to its current appearance.