Louviers Village Club
Douglas County
Constructed in 1917 by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the club served as a social and recreational center for the company town of Louviers. Du Pont endeavored to establish a sense of community for its employees. The Craftsman-style club contained an assembly hall, a “women’s talk room,” a grocery store and a post office.
Louviers Village Club (2007 photograph.)
It also boasted a two-lane maple-floored bowling alley with hand-loaded pin setters, thought to be the oldest continuously-used bowling alley in Colorado. Du Pont ran the club until 1963, when it leased the facility to the town. The plant closed in the mid-1980s, and the club now belongs to the county.
Douglas County was unable to contemplate comprehensive rehabilitation of the building until receiving four State Historical Fund grants totaling almost $500,000, which made this project possible. During the last five years, preservation contractors restored the main meeting room, repaired and replaced windows, removed a non-historic drop ceiling, restored exterior woodwork and masonry, restored the bowling alley and added ADA-compliant access to the building. The club building again hosts public and private events while continuing to foster a sense of community. For more information see the Project Snapshot.