At its Oct. 1 session, the Woodland Park City Council enacted an ordinance giving historic landmark status to 116 W. Lake Avenue, a property widely known as the Griffith Cabin.
The cabin sits just north of Memorial Park, and records held by the Teller County Assessor's Office place its construction at 1899. Allie Griffith bought it in 1926, using it as a weekend and vacation retreat. A separate garage went up on the property sometime in the early-to-mid 1940s.
A city staff report highlighted the structure's architectural character, noting that "the house is significant as a rustic style building blends in with its surroundings where the vegetation has remained native and natural," and that the structure retains original features including "the exposed rafter tails, decorative vertical slab log siding with horizontal slab log siding banding."
Before the full council acted, the Historical Preservation Committee had already weighed in at a Sept. 1 public hearing, finding the property eligible for landmark designation.
Several other items moved through the council the same evening. Members gave the Woodland Park Police Department the go-ahead to operate its newly acquired utility terrain vehicle on city streets while carrying out official functions such as patrol, search and rescue, and crowd control. The council also voted to establish the Woodland Park Youth Advisory Council, adopting its bylaws and setting it up as a formal body meant to channel young residents' perspectives to city government.
Before adjourning, the council adopted a proclamation marking October as Arts Month in the Pikes Peak Region, aligning the local recognition with the national observance. Local artist and gallery owner Gayle Gross then briefed attendees on art programming in the area, noting that a downtown art walk is scheduled to continue through Nov. 14.
Whether the Griffith Cabin's new designation will trigger specific preservation obligations for the property owner has not yet been reported.