A new addition to the State Publications Library’s digital collection is School Buildings, published by the Colorado Department of Public Instruction in 1910. This publication was issued by the state’s education department in order to provide superintendents and school districts with guidance on better planning and construction for school buildings. In an era when many […]
Tag: architecture
Creating Healthy Places
The places where we live, work and play can have a direct effect on our health. With that in mind, researchers from the University of Colorado Denver’s School of Architecture and Planning set out to study the ways that architects, city planners, community organizations, and health officials can work together to plan and design places […]
Time Machine Tuesday: Building the State Capitol
Today, the Capitol Building with its famous gold dome is one of the most recognized symbols of our state. But the road to building a capitol was a long and winding one, fraught with complications that included lawsuits, the firing of the architect, and even uncertainty over whether Denver would remain the state capital. The […]
Time Machine Tuesday: Colorado’s Historic Grain Elevators and Silos
A century ago much of Colorado was dotted with grain elevators, silos, and other agricultural structures. They were found on both the Eastern Plains and the Western Slope. Today many of these have been lost, but efforts are being made to preserve and reuse some of these structures. Grain elevators and silos were built for […]
Colfax: Metro Denver’s Most Famous (or Infamous!) Street
The Colorado State Library is located on Colfax Avenue, as is the State Capitol. It’s one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, with a colorful reputation and an intriguing history. The earliest settlers in the Denver area knew it as Grand Avenue or the Golden Road, but residents advocating for Colorado statehood dubbed it Colfax in […]
The Architecture of the CU Boulder Campus
New to our library’s collection is Body & Soul: A Partnership of Architecture and Academics at the University of Colorado Boulder. Written by Campus Architect Emeritus Bill Deno, this book updates an original edition Deno and the University published in 1994 (which can also be found in our library collection). Deno calls the new edition […]
Time Machine Tuesday: Lakewood Turns 50
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lakewood’s incorporation as a city, but its history goes back much further than 1969. Homesteaders first settled the area more than a century before the incorporation. Lakewood’s oldest surviving building in its original location, the Stone House at 2900 S. Estes Street, was built in the early 1860s, […]
State Capitol Tours
Summer is a great time to tour the State Capitol building. Whether you’re looking for a fun educational activity with your kids, or you’re just curious yourself, a tour of the Capitol is a great way to learn about Colorado’s history and government and enjoy the statehouse’s beautiful architecture. Each year, nearly 70,000 people tour […]
Time Machine Tuesday: The Colorado State Board of Examiners of Architects
On April 26, 1909, the Colorado Legislature passed a law requiring architects to be licensed in order to practice in the state of Colorado. In his 1909 Biennial Message Governor Henry Buchtel urged passage of the law in order “to raise the business of the selection and use of materials, and the superintendence of the […]
Time Machine Tuesday: The WPA in Colorado
During the height of the Great Depression, as banks failed, unemployment soared, and farm prices dropped, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) was established as one of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal projects. The WPA focused on creating and providing jobs rather than handing out direct relief. Most of the WPA jobs were aimed at […]
Time Machine Tuesday: The Colorado State Museum
Have you lived in Colorado long enough to remember when the State Museum was located at 14th and Sherman, in what is now the Legislative Services Building? The State Historical Society was established in 1879 and its earliest museum exhibits were located in the State Capitol. By the early 1900s, however, the Society wanted its […]
Herndon Davis, Colorado Artist
You’re probably familiar with the Face on the Barroom Floor, the mysterious portrait of a dark-haired lady on the floor of the Teller House in Central City. But did you know that the same artist who painted this iconic image also used his paintings to document the Colorado he knew, before it vanished forever? Herndon […]
Building History Research
If you’re the proud owner of a historic property, or if there’s a particular building that speaks to you, you may be interested in finding more about its history. Who lived in your house and what were their stories? Or, what were the previous uses of your commercial or public building? If you’re wondering how […]
Denver Landmarks & Historic Districts
Over the last few months you may have read the news articles about the proposed development of Larimer Square, Denver’s first designated historic district. This week, it was back in the news when the National Trust for Historic Preservation added Larimer Square to its annual list of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.” For the […]
Time Machine Tuesday: Colorado Yule Marble
Lincoln Memorial. Did you know that the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. are constructed of marble quarried here in Colorado? The stone comes from the Colorado Yule Marble quarry in the Crystal River valley near Marble, between Aspen and Carbondale. Colorado Yule marble, named for nearby Yule Creek, […]
State Government Facilities Planning
What is the State of Colorado’s vision for the future of its buildings? Although sometimes overlooked, buildings are one of the state government’s most important assets. Running the government requires offices and a Capitol building. Colleges and universities couldn’t exist without classrooms, libraries, labs, athletic facilities, and community spaces. So maintaining these structures – and […]
Time Machine Tuesday: Byers-Evans House Museum
Nestled between the looming structures of the Denver Art Museum is a hidden treasure, the Byers-Evans House Museum at 1310 Bannock Street. Built in 1883 for Rocky Mountain News founder William Byers and owned for over 90 years by the Evans family, this lovely Italianate house is now a museum property owned by History Colorado. […]
Time Machine Tuesday: Creative Spaces
As housing prices go up and more and more people want to live in the city, the space available to artists has become scarce. In the mid-twentieth century, however, things were a little bit different. After WWII, the flight to the suburbs left many inner-city apartments, warehouses, hotels, and other structures cheaply available, and artists, […]
Renovations at the Capitol
If you work or live near the State Capitol you have probably seen all of the scaffolding and construction work that has been going on this summer and fall. According to Legislative Council, the exterior work includes roof work, gutter replacement, and the re-creation — using old plans and drawings — of historic chimneys that […]
The Buildings of Auraria
The Auraria Higher Education Center (or Auraria Campus, as it is often known) is quite unique among Colorado’s college campuses. This inner-city campus is home to not one, but three separate higher education institutions: the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the University of Colorado Denver. Auraria is also unique for […]