National Register of Historic Places

Fruita Museum

Fruita, Mesa County, Colorado
Listed
October 9, 1996
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
96001080

About this property

The Fruita Museum, at 432 E. Aspen in Fruita, Colorado, is a Rustic-style building which was built in 1938-39 as a Works Progress Administration project to serve as a museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. In 2018, the building serves as home of the Fruita Area Chamber of Commerce and as a visitor center. It is a one-story small building, with main room approximately 26 by 21 feet (7.9 m × 6.4 m) in plan, and with a 12 by 12 feet (3.7 m × 3.7 m) wing at its southwest corner. It was built slowly:In an April, 1996 interview, Paul Peacock, a member of the crew that worked on the building, recalled the arrival of "rocks from south of the river and the Utah desert west of Fruita." Some people donated "favorite rocks that they had gathered up from trips." Peacock described some work days as including nothing but hunting for and hauling materials to the site. Some of the larger rocks had to be held in place until the cement started to set. The work was often slow and tedious, resulting in the nickname of the "Rock-a-Day Building." It was used by the Fruita Times starting in 1945. It served as the Fruita Library from 1948 to 1996, becoming a branch of the Mesa County Library in 1952. Dinosaur Journey Museum, currently Fruita's most notable museum Media related to Fruita Museum at Wikimedia Commons

Location

432 E. Aspen
Fruita, Mesa County, Colorado
39.14966, -108.72978

Categories

ARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Fruita Bridge
Industrial
0.9 mi
Phillips, Harry and Lilly, House
Industrial
1.6 mi
Saddlehorn Comfort Station
Industrial
3.2 mi
Colorado National Monument Visitor Center Complex
Listed
3.3 mi
Saddlehorn Caretaker's House and Garage
Industrial
3.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Fruita Museum listed on the National Register?

Fruita Museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1996.

What type of historic resource is Fruita Museum?

Fruita Museum is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Fruita Museum?

The period of significance for Fruita Museum is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Fruita Museum?

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