oUR HISTORY

Text announcement stating the new K.P. building is now completed.
A black and white historical photo showing a large crowd of people gathered outside a building with an arched doorway. Many individuals are wearing hats, and there is a vintage automobile in the center of the crowd. The scene appears to be from the early 20th century.

On October 19, 1909 the Montrose Free Press proudly reported that the fraternal organization and secret society Knights of Pythias (Cascade Lodge #33) had successfully completed their magnificent new “KP Building” at the corner of South 1st Street and South Cascade Avenue in downtown Montrose.

Montrose, Colorado is about 175 miles southwest of Denver and was founded in 1882 with the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.

The KP Building sits in the heart of historic downtown, adjacent to the Fox Theater and near other landmarks like the old City Hall and the Montrose County Courthouse. It remains a symbol of early civic pride.

“CHARACTERIZED BY AN ELEGANCE OF ARCHITECTURAL LINES AND BY AN ARTISTIC FINISH THAT IS SCARCELY EVER DUPLICATED IN CITIES FAR LARGER THAN MONTROSE…EVIDENTLY BUILT FOR THE FUTURE…A BUILDING WHICH WILL BE A CREDIT TO THE CITY OF MONTROSE.”

Text describing the architecture, interior, parlor, kitchen, and public toilet of the Pythlas building, highlighting its elegance, interior features, and amenities.
Black and white photograph of Justus H. Rathbone, founder of the Order of Knights of Pythias, showing a man with a mustache and sideburns, wearing a formal suit with a bow tie, and a medal or decoration on his left chest.
Historical black and white photograph of a large group of men, including military personnel, walking outdoors during the Gunison tunnel opening event. The landscape features mountains in the background.

THE RENOVATION

A vintage brick building with a Safeway grocery store on the ground level, parked cars in front, and an individual walking on the sidewalk.
Corner of a two-story building with signage for furniture store on the facade and a large digital billboard displaying 'BUDGETLINE'.

After a building fire and years of sitting vacant, the Rathbone Team made a bold commitment to bring the KP Building back as a community gathering space and viable place of business within Montrose’s downtown core and civic center.

A multi-year complex remediation, stabilization, and complete renovation of the KP Building followed in 2022, and The Rathbone Hotel and Parlor Bar opened its doors to the public on July 3, 2024.

Empty large room with high wooden ceiling, exposed beams, and multiple windows along the walls, under construction or renovation.

RESTORATION RECOGNITION

In 2025, the Rathbone Hotel proudly accepted two significant historic preservation awards.

We were honored to learn the KP Building met the extensive criteria to be added to the National Register of Historic Places and the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, recognizing this property’s contribution to the heritage of downtown Montrose, the State of Colorado, and America's historic architectural resources.

From the very beginning the Rathbone Team aimed to preserve the building’s deep history while making it again the “credit to the City of Montrose” the Montrose Free Press envisioned 116 years ago.

History Colorado Stephen H. Hart Award for Historic Preservation: People’s Choice

Given out annually, the Stephen H. Hart Awards are Colorado’s highest recognition for historic preservation project work being done in the Centennial State every day.  Each project contributes to the field of preservation because of their innovative approaches, in-depth research, and/or use of proper techniques that honor the historic significance of the buildings and the civic aspirations as of the citizens who built them.

Rathbone Hotel | People's Choice Award | Stephen H. Hart Awards 2025

Colorado Preservation, Inc. Citizens State Bank Honor Award 

State Honor Awards annually recognizes individuals, organizations, public agencies, and businesses from across the state, whose work demonstrates excellence in historic preservation.  Past winners include the Grand Imperial Hotel (Silverton), Redstone Castle (Carbondale), Wheeler Opera House (Aspen) and the Pitkin County Courthouse (Aspen).

2025 DCA - Colorado Preservation, Inc.

A two-story brick building with large windows, some illuminated from inside, in an urban street scene during dusk. The building has a sign reading 'K P Building' on top, and storefronts with outdoor seating, trees, parked cars, and pedestrians.
A metal plaque indicating the site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior, held in front of a historic building on a city street with trees.
Group of five people standing outdoors in front of a mountain landscape with farmland, smiling for the camera. One person is holding a brochure or magazine. The group appears to be at an event or gathering.

THE PRIOR TENANTS OF
33 S. CasCADE AVE.

The first floor of the Knights of Pythias Building has housed many businesses over the years, beginning with Fred Price & Co., a storage commission and secondhand store from March 1916 to October 1917. It was followed by Baker-Reinhardt Motor Company (Nov 1917–Jan 1918), then Swain-Van Derbur Motor Company (Jan 1918–Oct 1921), which became Van Derbur Motor Company by August 1919. Bennett, Schaler, Finch, and Loper operated a General Service Garage from Nov 1921 to Feb 1922. In 1922, Piggly Wiggly Market was on the ground floor of the Masonic Temple on Main Street and may have later occupied the KP Building until Safeway took over in 1944, staying until 1947. Mash Appliance was there in the early 1950s, followed by Hupp Furniture (1955–1958), C & R Furniture (1960), Gibson Furniture (1963), and Flairmont Furniture (1964–1968 and possibly longer). Budgetline Furniture occupied the space from 1994 until a fire in 2012.

Black and white photo of the corner of a brick building with decorative elements, viewed from below, against a plain sky background.

HISTORY, REIMAGINED

Close-up view of a brick building with the words 'K P BUILDING' engraved on a stone plaque.
Silhouette of a worker with a hammer working on a brick wall, with another worker wearing a hat in the background, inside a building under construction.
Two construction workers wearing hard hats work inside a brick building with boarded-up, arched windows. One worker stands on a platform, the other on the floor, and both are looking at the structure. Dim leafless tree branches are visible in the for
Close-up of gray bricks with engraved text, arranged in a pattern.
Black and white photo of two people standing and talking inside a room, viewed through a narrow opening or window with blurred edges.
A person applying mortar to a brick fireplace opening, with a trowel in hand, in black and white.
Close-up of a person's hands holding a handful of irregularly shaped rocks.

FRIENDSHIP, HISTORY & A PLACE TO BELONG

THE KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS BELIEVED FRIENDSHIP WAS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF LIFE, AND WE CARRY THAT SPIRIT FORWARD.

HONOR THE PAST,
ENJOY THE PRESENT,
MAKE A NEW FRIEND IN AN OLD PLACE,
AND STAY A WHILE. CHEERS.