During the early 1900s it was common for wealthy Coloradoans to build elaborate summer homes in the foothills for entertaining and leisure activities. The Boettcher Mansion, located just south of Golden, was among the list of fine vacation homes built in the lower elevations of the Front Range. Following a Tudor style, Charles Boettcher called his vacation home Lorraine Lodge. The home was constructed of stone and timber, where much of the building material was gathered from nearby meadows and forests, an area now known as Lookout Mountain Nature Preserve.
   Boettcher's Tudor Revival home was clad in a half-timber and stucco exterior, accentuated with heavy wooden doors. Mansion details include clipped gables, overhanging eaves, sleeping porches and exposed beams and rafters.
   Charles Boettcher, a prominent Denver entrepreneur, was one of Colorado’s well known citizens. He ran several businesses and lived in various towns and cities in Colorado, including Boulder, Leadville and Denver. His cement business, the Portland Cement Company, is what probably first brought Boettcher to Lookout Mountain. It was his donation of cement that helped the construction of the Lariat Loop Mountain Gateway Historic Byway, making the mountain a popular tourist destination.
   In 1968, Charles Boettcher’s granddaughter, Charline Breeden, donated the home and 110 acres to Jefferson County. Now called the Boettcher Mansion, the lodge is used for weddings and meetings. Providing a place of recreation and education for the general public, the mansion shares the preserve grounds with the Lookout Mountain Nature Center.

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