Cañon City in Fremont County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Raynolds-McGee Block (1883)
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McClure/Strathmore Hotel (1874)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2025
1. Raynolds-McGee Block (1883) / McClure/Strathmore Hotel (1874) Marker
Raynolds-McGee Block (1883)
Construction of this two-story Gothic Revival building was completed in 1883. Frederick A. Raynolds owned the east half which housed the Fremont County Bank. William B. McGee owned the west half, occupied by the Handy & McGee Mercantile Company. The bank remained in the building until 1921. Handy & McGee's was one of a series of grocery stores to occupy the west half of the building until the 1930s.
In 1925, lightning struck the tower's flagpole. A year later the tower, considered old fashioned, was removed. In 1982, the owner had the tower replicated and replaced. A 2001 Colorado State Historical Fund grant paid for additional building restoration.
McClure / Strathmore Hotel (1874)
Originally named the McClure House, this three-story hotel took two years to build. It opened in October 1874 and featured a dining room and 66 rooms. The building also housed the Fremont County Bank on the first floor and a few businesses in the basement.
A group of English investors purchased the building in 1900 and renamed it the Strathmore. They installed an elevator along with steam heat. The hotel earned a reputation as one of the finest establishments in southern Colorado.
By the 1980s, the building began showing its age and was no longer used
this page online
[other photo captions]
• Raynolds-McGee Block; ca. 1883
• McClure Hotel, ca. 1875
For more information please visit the Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center at 612 Royal Gorge Blvd.
Erected by Cañon City Rotary Club.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), and the Rotary International series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1874.
Location. 38° 26.391′ N, 105° 14.511′ W. Marker is in Cañon City, Colorado, in Fremont County. It is at the intersection of South 4th Street and Main Street, on the right when traveling north on South 4th Street. The marker is beside the sidewalk near the southeast corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Canon City CO 81212, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s Arkansas River Valley and in Pikes Peak Region. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Comanchería and also the Republic of Texas.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Raynolds Bank (a few steps from this marker); 405 Main Street (within shouting distance of this marker); First People, Explorers & Settlers
Courtesy Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center
2. Marker detail: Interior of bank; ca. 1883
Regarding Raynolds-McGee Block (1883) / McClure/Strathmore Hotel (1874). The McClure House/Strathmore Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places - № 79000609.
From the National Register Nomination prepared by Theodore B. James, 8/25/1978:
The McClure House, also known as the Strathmore Hotel, is significant for its role in commerce in Cañon City. Architecturally, the structure is significant because it is a vestige of the vernacular architecture of the territorial period. The builder of the hotel was William H. McClure, civic leader and developer in early Cañon City. It is not certain who designed the hotel, but it was probably McClure himself. In any event he began construction in 1872, the work went slowly, and it was not until 1874 that amidst greatfanfare he opened for business. Most people regarded the hotel as very elaborate and comfortable for its time and place. The good service and elaborate interior made it a mecca for important people traveling through Cañon City. Yet the McClure was more than a hotel, for it served as a social hub and housed a bank and other business establishments.Courtesy Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center3. Marker detail: Lobby of the Strathmore; ca. 1910Twenty years after McClure built the hotel, it was sold to a syndicate headed by the Earl of Strathmore, hence its new name “The Strathmore.” Under this management, the building continued to enjoy its reputation for excellence, but as time passed the winds of change carried the hotel into a long period of decline.
From an architectural perspective, the hotel reflects the vernacular style of building in early-day Colorado. McClure began construction a scant thirteen years after the gold rush, a time when professional architects were virtually unknown in the Territory. Yet even so, the characteristic features of Victorian architecture can be seen in the tall narrow windows, radiating voussoirs, stone lugsills, and cornicework.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . . Raynolds Bank Building (Society of Architectural Historians).
(By Thomas J. Noel) Excerpt:(Submitted on August 16, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)This two-story business block, Gothic Revival in style with an arresting corner tower, is clad in rough pink Castle Rock rhyolite trimmed with smooth local “prison stone.” A splendid corner entrance pediment is supported by granite pillars and topped by a second-story turret crowned with the slender, 20-foot-tall spire, a reconstruction of the original. Besides the bank of Frederick A. Raynolds, the edifice originally housed the McGee Mercantile before becoming the aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1962.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 20254. Raynolds-McGee Block (1883) / McClure/Strathmore Hotel (1874) MarkerLooking west across South 4th Street; the Raynolds-McGee Block is in the left background. Main Street is on the right.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2025
5. Raynolds-McGee Block (1883) / McClure/Strathmore Hotel (1874) Marker
Looking northwest across Main Street; the McClure/Strathmore Hotel is in the background.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2025
6. Raynolds-McGee Block
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 24, 2025
7. McClure/Strathmore Hotel
From the National Register Nomination: Located at the corner of 4th and Main Streets in Cañon City, the Strathmore Hotel is a single, tripartite structure built roughly in the shape of an "L". The three parts are the main section, a three-story building standing at the corner; the back section, an attached two-story structure with a mansard roof, situated along 4th Street; and the west section, a two-story structure attached to the main section on Main Street. The building material is brick set in courses of stretcher bond. The main or north facade has eighteen bays, the east facade eleven bays. The roof is flat.
The secondary features are not elaborate but reflect the origin of the structure which dates from the mid-1870s. The windows on the second and third stories are tall, narrow, two-sashed and double-hung. Those along the north facade have decorative treatment consisting of radiating voussoirs with keystone on the second story, and a flat arch with keystone on the third story. Most windows have lugsills. The openings at the street level have all been altered but still have colored glass in the transoms. At the roof line both the main and west sections have an attractive decorative treatment in their corbelling and cornicework. The structure has two unobtrusive chimneys visible only from the back. The main door sits at an angle on the corner of 4th and Main Streets.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 14, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 121 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 16, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
