House with the Eye

127 W. 4th St. Leadville, CO 80461

Open Daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day 10am to 4pm

What would Leadville’s charming Victorian homes have looked like inside during the boom days? The House with the Eye provides a glimpse.

Built in 1879, the House with the Eye was originally the personal residence of Eugene Robitaille, a Canadian architect, builder, and carpenter. The house itself is an architectural gem, and its contents display the day-to-day life, virtues, and vices of the upper middle-class Leadville in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Inside, you can see a horse-drawn hearse from the 1890s, a 1925 electric player piano, a prohibition-era whiskey still, used hangman’s nooses, the original 1960s museum guest register bearing actress Debbie Reynolds’ signature, and lots more.

The House with the Eye was opened as a museum for the first time in 1964 by Leadvillites Mary and George Cassidy, and it remained in operation until her death ca. 1987. The museum then was vacant for 24 years. In August of 2011, the museum was restored and reopened by Mary Cassidy’s daughter, Barbara Bost, and Neil Reynolds, a local pipe-smoking judge, attorney, and Leadville history nut. We hope you enjoy this tour through Leadville history!

HOURS

Open for tours daily Memorial Day through Labor Day