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Steamboat Springs — There probably is not a skier in Steamboat who has not noticed the Victorian house tucked between the typical log-accented ski-in, ski-out hotels and homes during the ride up the gondola.

And most have heard the stories to go with it. The story of a man who got half of the house in a divorce settlement and brought it from Kansas to Steamboat on the back of a truck.

Now, the public will get the chance to hear the story firsthand and inside the house.

The home's current owner, James Ecker, has decided to turn the Victorian house into a bed and breakfast. The home has been the subject of various construction projects -- renovations, additions and the like -- since its arrival in 1991.

The house sits under the Silver Bullet Gondola, off of Ski Trail Lane.

In January, Ecker submitted his plans for a bed and breakfast to the city planning department. In a commentary submitted with the plans, Ecker said there are many stories, some true and some false, about how the house got to Steamboat.

"The owner believes opening the house to the public as a bed and breakfast will allow people to experience the home firsthand and get the real story," the application reads.

Ecker is not the man who brought the house to Steamboat.

Legend has it that in the late 1800s, a judge in Lyons, Kan., got into a dispute with his wife, eventually deciding to divorce her. Not content with a legal separation, the judge cut their beautiful Victorian house in half -- literally -- and moved it 6 inches away.

Almost 100 years later, Larry Cole brought the judge's half of the house to Steamboat and began renovating it. Ecker later purchased it and continued the upgrades.

Marcus York, an architect for Steamboat Engineering and Design Inc., helped design the renovations to the house, including a caretaker's unit that has been added to it.

Marcus said the house came from Kansas in nine pieces. When the house transferred hands, Ecker made improvements to the house in an effort to turn it into a bed and breakfast.

"He wanted to expand it and wanted to make some more rooms," York said.

The owners or bed and breakfast manager could live in the caretaker's unit above the garage once it began taking guests.

The house has four guest rooms for rent. It also has a three-car garage, recreation room, a home theater, an elevator and hot tubs.

"We believe it will provide a unique experience for visitors to Steamboat Springs by providing a place to stay that is rich in history and brings the guest back in time to the Victorian Era," the application reads.

The bed and breakfast application has to go before the city because a bed and breakfast is a conditional use in that zoning district. City Planner Tom Leeson said the request should not be too much of a hurdle because, although much of the surrounding properties are single family or town homes, many are used as short- and long-term rentals.

The bed and breakfast application will go before the City Planning Commission on May 8 and is scheduled to go before the City Council on May 20.

-- To reach Christine Metz call 871-4229

or e-mail cmetz@steamboatpilot.com