Breckenridge Information Center

Breckenridge Information Center

The Breckenridge Welcome Center, located at 203 S. Main St. at the Blue River Plaza, provides guests staying in Breckenridge lodging with all the information they need for their Breckenridge vacation.

The Welcome Center includes an information desk and center with a few souvenirs, and a historic museum within the 4,000-square-foot facility. Knowledgeable people give guests in Breckenridge vacation rentals tips on dining, shopping and activities in town.

The actual building used to be called the Bailey Building, a historic structure dating back to the 1880s. When the town purchased the property, it didn’t realize it would discover an 1880s log cabin within the building.

The previous owner simply built a wine and cheese shop around the existing 1880s hand-hewn log cabin he had bought in 1971, rather than tearing it down. The original cabin is unusual because it’s a two-story structure. When the town began remodeling, workers found an earring with the date of 1925 printed on the back of it.

Now the cabin is fully exposed and renovated, with preservation of the same floorboards that miners once walked upon. Visitors experience an interpretive museum with displays on Breckenridge life in the 1880s.

The Welcome Center includes multimedia displays portraying the town’s history, from Native American settlers to present day. It also educates guests about Cucumber Gulch, a preserved wetlands area near many of the newer and most prestigious Breckenridge vacation rentals. The wetlands are home to moose, elk, deer, beaver, nearly 50 species of birds and the endangered boreal toad.

The Welcome Center also sells a VHS video series called “The Golden Stories of Breckenridge.” The documentaries feature prominent local historians and descendents of early Breckenridge families talking about various aspects of Breckenridge history.

For example, “The Depression Years” interviews three residents who lived in Breckenridge during the 1930s and ’40s as they talk about the railroad, dredge boats, schools and recreation. “The High Line” showcases the narrow gauge railroad, which was one of the most impressive projects in railroad history because it stretched up over Boreas Pass. It was in use from 1882 to 1937. “Rest in Peace” reviews the Valley Brook Cemetery, opened in 1882 and still in use today.

The latest film, “Peaks on the Past,” highlights the first Breckenridge gold strike in 1859 and pioneer stories.

If you’re staying in Breckenridge lodging and want more information on the Breckenridge Welcome Center, visit www.townofbreckenridge.com.