According to the Outbound
Collective’s description on hiking Mt. Falcon in Colorado,
“If you’re looking for a little more adventure, or
just wanting to extend your hike, then add on a trip to the Summer White House…This
short trail (0.3 miles, 185 ft gain) will take you to a proposed site for a
Summer White House. John Walker’s dream of building a magnificent summer
retreat for the Commander-In-Chief never materialized, but the cornerstone
remains as a reminder of his grand vision.”
John Brisben Walker was born in 1847 and served in the
Chinese army, ran for congress and made and lost several fortunes in iron and
real estate. In 1879, he came to Colorado to try agriculture and made a fortune
by introducing alfalfa farming. He also developed real estate and an amusement
park in Denver. He moved back east in the late 1880s to manufacture cars and
stage America’s first auto race.
Walker had dreams of many projects in the early 1900s
including Cosmopolitan magazine. He bought the failing magazine, improved it and
sold it to Hearst Corporation in 1905 for a profit. Returning to Colorado in
the early 1900s, he pioneered changes in farming and developed parts of Denver.
He opened a casino, developed Red Rocks Park, and built Mount Morrison’s cog
railway.
In 1909, Walker and his wife began building a mansion on
Mount Falcon. Walker also proposed a
“castle in the clouds.” This was the proposed summer home for the
Presidents. The cornerstone made of
Colorado yule marble was laid on July 4, 1914. The castle was to model European
ones so that the President could enjoy the summer months here. It was supposed
to have five floors built into a steep cliff and have 22 rooms, designed by
Denver architect J.B. Benedict. Funding was a huge issue for this project
though. Walker persuaded school children to donate dimes to the project and the
foundation was laid.
After his idea for the summer White House took form, his
life took a turn for the worse. His wife died in 1916 and beautiful home was
destroyed by fire two years later. Stone ruins are all that remains there.
Fundraising for the summer White House failed as World War 1 approached.
Walker’s fortune was depleted, and tax debts increased so much that a lot of
his property was sold, foreclosed, or condemned. So, he left Colorado to live
with his son in Brooklyn where he died in 1931.
Activities for the Classroom:
·
Research The White House. When was it built? What
President was in office when it was first built? How many rooms are in it? Name
3 interesting facts about it.
·
Research Roosevelt’s Little White House. Where
is it? When was it built? How many rooms were in it? Why was it called the
Little White House? When was it used?
·
If you were to build another White House, where
would you build it? Why? How many rooms would it have? What would be special
about it?
Original photo by Pat Hensley
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