The Steele House served as the residence of the manager of the Robert W. Steele Gymnasium, later known as the Robert W. Steele Community Center. Reverend Walter S. Rudolph and his wife, Hattie J. Wilson (See Figure 1) resided in the house as the original occupants until Walter’s death in 1936. Historian Phil Goodstein in Northside Story calls Rudolph “the driving force in creating the [Steele Community] center through the Church Union Society.”
Walter S. Rudolph was born 4 June 1860 in Searcy, Arkansas and came to Colorado in 1870. His family settled in Canon City, Colorado, and he attended Colorado College in Colorado Springs. Rudolph received a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in New York, a Master's degree from Colorado College, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Denver. While a student in Colorado Springs, he met and married Hattie J. Wilson in 1884. Mrs. Rudolph was born in Pike County, Missouri, about 1861, and came with her family to Colorado Springs in 1873. She attended Colorado College and taught at the Cheyenne Mountain School.
Walter Rudolph was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and preached in Colorado mining towns as such Irwin, Cripple Creek, Bonanza, Poncha Creek, and Gunnison. The Rudolphs settled in Denver in 1891, where he became pastor of the Westminster Presbyterian Church. According to Rudolph, his views "became too extreme for the Presbyterians and he withdrew and entered the Congregational denomination." He was appointed chaplain of the Colorado state penitentiary in 1899 and also served as chaplain to the Colorado state legislature.
Rudolph's concern for children's welfare may have stemmed from his service as superintendent of the Colorado Children's Home, a position he held for eight years beginning in 1901. While in charge of the home, he successfully led efforts for "the abolition of the old 'farming out' system and initiation of the present adoption system for dependent children." He also served on the board of the State Home for Dependent and Neglected Children.
As a result of his interest in children and at the suggestion of his wife, Rudolph founded the Robert W. Steele Gymnasium
