Resource Number: 20Historic Building Name: Verner Z. Reed Memorial LibraryCurrent Building Name: Minuteman Press/Verner Z. Reed Hose Co. No. 6Address: 502 S. Tejon St.Architectural Style: Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Classical RevivalYear Built: 1926Click for more information
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This building results from the philanthropic contribution of Mary Dean Reed as a memorial for her late husband, Verner Z. Reed. This 1926 small scale Classical Revival building was designed by local architect Thomas Hetherington and was established as a private library with a club house for the Verner Z. Reed Hose Company #6, which continues to occupy the basement, functioning as a social organization with the main purpose of perpetuating the memory and works of Verner Zevola Reed.
Verner Z. Reed arrived in Colorado Springs in the 1880's at a young age, and engaged in real estate development and sales. He participated in the Cripple Creek Mining District, but is most famous for brokering the sale of W. S. Stratton's Independence mine in 1899, earning a commission of $1 million. He moved to Denver a few years later, and expanded into the oil extraction business in Wyoming.
Mary Dean Reed was involved in the women's rights movement and was described as a prominent Denver social leader and philanthropist. State Register eligible.
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