Balcony House lies in Soda Canyon about 2-1/2 miles southeast of
Spruce Tree Camp, and is reached by a continuation of the Cliff Palace
Road. It is one of the most picturesque of the accessible ruins in the
park and occupies a better position for defense than most of the other
ruins on the mesa. A few defenders could have repelled a large
attacking force. Additional precautions have been taken at the south
end of the ruin for the strengthening of its defenses, where the only
means of reaching it is through a fortified narrow cleft. The south
part of the ledge was walled up to a height of about 15 feet, the
lower part of the wall closing the cleft being pierced by a narrow
tunnel. Through this tunnel a man may creep on hands and knees from
the cliff dwelling to the south part of the ledge, which affords a
footing, with a precipice to the left and the cliff to the right, for
about 100 paces. The ledge here terminates in the perpendicular wall
of the canyon. The ruined walls of a defensive structure, built to cut
off approach on this side, may still be traced.
At the north end of the ruin the foundation gave the builders
considerable trouble, but the difficulties were skillfully overcome. A
supporting wall was erected on a lower ledge, to form a stable
foundation for the outer wall of the upper rooms, where the higher
ledge was too narrow or abrupt for building purposes.
South of the rooms fronted by this wall is a small open court, bounded
at the back by a few very regular and well-preserved rooms which rise
to the roof of the cave. The poles supporting the floors of these
upper-story rooms project about 2 feet to provide support for a
balcony. Split poles, laid parallel with the front wall, were covered
at right angles with rods of cedar bast and generously plastered with
clay to form the floor of the balcony, which served as a means of
outside communication between the rooms of the upper story. A low,
thick parapet wall built on the edge of the precipice encloses the
canyon side of the northern court.
The funds for the excavation and repair of Balcony House in 1911 were
largely furnished by the Colorado Cliff Dwellers Society, an
organization founded and directed by Mrs. Gilbert McClurg, of Colorado
Springs, Colo. The original purpose of this society was to stimulate
interest in legislation for the preservation and protection of the
prehistoric remains of the Mesa Verde. This society advanced the
creation of Mesa Verde National Park in 1906.