Add the Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast in Antonito to Colorado’s Most Endangered Places List, says Colorado Preservation Inc.

The nonprofit, which is guided by the mission to “help Coloradans save the historic places that matter to them,” added the bed and breakfast, where the opening scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed in 1988, to its list of endangered places, along with three other locations across Colorado.

“Colorado Preservation is excited to work with the current owner and other partners to spotlight the rich cinematic history tied to Colorado, particularly through this iconic site,” the organization said Thursday in announcing the four new additions to its Colorado’s Most Endangered Places List.

“The Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast offers a unique opportunity to celebrate the intersection of movie history and heritage preservation. By leveraging this significance, CPI hopes to help secure funding for restoration efforts, ensuring the home’s historic charm and cultural relevance endure for generations.”

Built in 1888, the house was originally the Carroll family home and one of the first houses constructed in Antonito. The Carrolls moved to the area to support local miners and ran a business selling horses and mules. Over the years, the house had remained privately owned before it was converted into a bed and breakfast.

Sabra Young, a disabled veteran, became the innkeeper at Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast in 2016 before purchasing the property in 2017. It’s sought out as a place to stay for tourists who come in to ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, and Young said it’s also now become popular with fans of the Indiana Jones movies who will drive into Antonito just to stay at the bed and breakfast.

“The cool thing is last year and part of the year before, I actually have become a destination,” Young said.

The designation by Colorado Preservation Inc. will help her address critical issues with the foundation of the property as well as replace the windows of the home and restucco the house to protect the adobe underneath the plaster exterior.

“The wind in the Valley with the dust and moisture gets in the cracks and destroys the adobe,” Young said.

Also added to Colorado’s Most Endangered Places List were Knearl Block and Opera House in Morgan County, the Newman Block in Prowers County where locals of Amache would interact with Japanese-Americans held in an internment camp during WWII, and Red Cliff Town Hall in Eagle County.

The announcement of the four additions to the list was made by the Endangered Places Director Katie Peterson and CBS Colorado Meteorologist Dave Aguilera at the Most Endangered Places luncheon, during the Saving Places Conference, at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.

Peterson is a 2019 Adams State graduate and through her work at Colorado Preservation Inc. has been able to shine a spotlight on the history of the San Luis Valley through the preservation of endangered structures.

“Colorado’s Most Endangered Places list includes places as large as the Colorado State Capitol in Denver or as small as the Feminilas Building in El Rito,” Peterson said. “It includes everything from city blocks to churches, apple orchards and small local, family-owned establishments. Every place has a story to tell, and our purpose is to relay those histories to the public and preserve them for future generations. With the addition of these four resources, we have highlighted 144 historic resources throughout Colorado, with 57 successfully saved and only nine lost.”

Being on the list means the owner of the bed and breakfast will get Colorado Preservation’s expertise on planning, applying for restoration grants, permitting, and finding other partners to help with preservation of the Victorian building that sits on Front Street in Antonito.

Through the years, Colorado Preservation Inc. has listed various sites in the San Luis Valley on its endangered places. Those have included R&R Market in San Luis, which is currently under renovation and is expected to reopen this year; the Lafayette Head complex in the town of Conejos which has been undergoing restoration through the work of its owner, acclaimed architect Ron Rael; the McIntire Ranch and Mansion in Conejos County; and several adobe potato cellars around the Valley.