Hercus House

The Hercus House is a historic Late Victorian era home in, that houses the studios and offices of KFBM-TV and KMYB-TV. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

History
The Hercus House was built for the Scottish-born businessman Wyatt Hercus in 1891. Hercus was born in, in 1829, made his home in  in 1865 and was a well-known and respected businessman. Hercus' family resided in the house until 1960. When Hercus' heirs were no longer able to maintain the house, they sold much of the furnishings and rented it out as a vacation home. The condition of the building declined during its rental use, until the Dowden Oil Company purchased the building in 1969 for only $300. Over the next two years, the mansion was restored and renovated for use by KFBM-TV, a television station the Dowden Oil Company was planning to start. The restoration and renovation process cost $1.2 million. The first floor of the building was preserved and restored largely in its original form. A new 13,000-square-foot (1,200 m2) addition on the back of the building housed the station's studios. Henry Dowden, company founder, was originally skeptical of KFBM-TV being able to succeed, so the new addition was designed so the property could be easily converted into a country inn, complete with a recreation room and billiard room, in case the station lost money and was forced to shut down. As it turned out, the rooms, nicknamed "Rumpus Alley", would see very little use except for the occasional employee party, but remain in the building to this day.

In April 1977, the Hercus House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.