Millionaire's Row

Block of Main Street between Chestnut
and Walnut gets pricey moniker

by Bryan Zug,
September 8, 1997

The building that currently houses the Trinidad Post Office at the northeast corner of Main and Chestnut Streets is the first structure on the block that was known as Millionaire's Row in the late 1800's.

Built in 1910, this neo-classic structure with its huge columns and classic pediment is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Post Office was built on the site where a large three story building once stood. The original structure began as a private home built of stone with many small windows, turrets and towers.

This predecessor to the Post Office, later served for many years as the home of the Trinidad Club--an exclusive, quiet, and formal men's club that originated back when the town offered all the amenities normally found in much larger cities.

On the lot next door, now occupied by the Post Office parking lot, stood a large three story mansard roofed home. The other buildings on the block still stand.

Trinidad's Post Office in 2002
Photo taken by Charlie of Adobe Gold Properties

The Chappel house on the northwest corner of Main and Walnut, currently a funeral home, and the Bloom and Baca houses across the street give a good picture of how the block looked in its heyday.

Together these structures became known as Millionaires Row. However they were not known as such because the families that lived in these homes were actual millionaires. It was more of a case that they were some of the most well off in the Trinidad Community at the time.

Sources:

 

 

"A Walk Through the History of Trinidad" written by Jerry Stokes on behalf of the Trinidad Historical Society. 1986. Trinidad, Colorado.