Historic Colorado Violin Makers
- Mackenzie Miller
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
At first glance, Denver’s rugged "Wild West" roots seem at odds with the delicate art of violin making. Yet, despite its relative geographic isolation, Colorado has a storied history of world-class lutherie that grew right alongside the silver and gold rushes!
During the mid-19th century, "high culture" was the ultimate status symbol for the nouveau riche. To prove their mining towns were more than just lawless outposts, wealthy citizens built opulent theaters and opera houses. This movement birthed iconic venues like the Central City Opera House and Elitch Gardens (which was so prestigious it was known as the "Cradle of Drama" for stars like Vincent Price and Grace Kelly). Where the music went, the craftsmen followed. Here are the stories of a few of the pioneering luthiers who brought the art of the violin making to the Rockies!
F.O. Stanley
While Freelan Oscar Stanley (1849–1940) is perhaps best known as the co-inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile and the builder of the Stanley Hotel (of REDRUM fame) he was also a violin maker!
Originally from Maine, Stanley moved to Estes Park seeking a climate cure for tuberculosis in the early 1900s, and finding the cure effective, built the Stanley Hotel as a health retreat.
He reportedly sourced high-quality spruce from Rocky Mountain National Park. Stanley created a distinctive Stradivari-derived model and, in his later years, even experimented with assembly-line methods to make fine violins more affordable.
Last February, we were thrilled to be able to do a presentation on violin making at the Stanley Home and Museum in Estes: if you haven’t had a chance to visit, it’s well worth the trip! You can learn more HERE.
Evan is, himself, the proud owner of a violin by Freelan Stanley’s nephew and protégée Carlton Stanley. We don’t know exactly where it traveled before it came into his possession, but since then, it has gone on tour with DeVotchKa, and Nadya played it for a run of Tom Hagerman’s Awakening Beauty!
George W. Fisk
George W. Fisk (1838–1926), widely celebrated as the "Stradivarius of the West," was a master luthier based in Greeley, Colorado. Originally a pattern maker from Vermont and a musician during the American Civil War, Fisk settled permanently in Union Colony (now Greeley) in 1876 (the year Colorado became a state!).
A self-taught craftsman, he produced approximately 163 violins, transitioning from early Guarneri models to copies of a 1710 Stradivari. His instruments gained international renown after the Hungarian violinist Edouard “Ede” Reményi proclaimed Fisk to be the “best violin maker in the world”. Known for their "liquid sweetness", Fisk’s violins remain remarkable examples of late 19th-century Western American craftsmanship.
Thomas Owen Smith
Born in England, and immigrating to Colorado some time in the 1880s, Thomas Owen Smith (known by all three names) is my (Nadya) Great-Great Grandfather!
I grew up on stories of my grandfather’s childhood in 1920s Denver: stealing produce from neighbors' gardens, hiding cigarette breath from his mother (who once famously chased an armed robber down with a fork!), and falling asleep to the dulcet tones of his dad playing either “Ede Remenyi’s Klotz”, or a violin by his own grandfather Thomas Owen Smith.
Despite hearing these stories a million times, I only recently connected the dots that Thomas kept a violin shop in the heart of Denver, and I was thrilled to find his original business card, which lists an address just a few blocks east of the Daniels & Fischer Tower— the very building that houses Denver Violins!
Thomas was a true jack-of-all-trades; he built houses across Denver, Central City, and Louisville, helped gild the Colorado State Capitol, and dedicated his life to the craft of building and repairing bowed string instruments. What an honor to continue his legacy through my work at Denver Violins :-)
The Tradition Continues...
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