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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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. […]
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, […]
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 recreation — using old plans and drawings — of historic chimneys that […]
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 […]
In the first decades of the twentieth century, Victorian architectural styles gave way to newer styles including Beaux Arts and Mediterranean-influenced architecture. One of the most significant architects in Colorado to embrace these architectural styles was Jules Jacques Benoit Benedict. Although today he is most remembered for his Denver residential designs (many examples can be […]
The Croke-Patterson-Campbell Mansion, a turreted sandstone castle at 11th and Pennsylvania in Capitol Hill, is often considered to be the most haunted house in Denver. Built in 1891 for Thomas Croke, a state legislator and landowner who has been called the metro Denver area’s “father of irrigation,” Croke sold the house after only living there six […]
If you’re headed to the mountains this summer and are looking for some interesting history, stop in Georgetown — right off I-70 — and tour the Hotel de Paris. The hotel’s founder, Louis Dupuy, was born in France and arrived in Denver in 1869. He opened the hotel in 1875, and from that year until […]
From bridges to dams to tunnels and beyond, Colorado has some fine examples of structural engineering. Awe-inspiring bridges such as the Georgetown Loop, the Royal Gorge, and my personal favorite, the Red Cliff Arch Bridge, conquer the mountainous terrain to allow trains, pedestrians, and motor vehicles to cross wide canyons — get a spectacular view […]
The Colorado governor’s mansion, officially named the Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion, is the “White House” of Colorado. It is the official residence for Colorado governors as well as the site of many official state functions. (Where it differs from the White House, however, is that the governor does not have his office there […]
For those interested in Denver’s architecture, one of the treasures of our library collection is a 1940s publication entitled Colorado Capitol Buildings. This booklet, prepared by the Colorado Writers’ and Art Programs of the Works Progress Administration, is undated but contains a dedication to the armed forces by Governor Ralph Carr, who served between 1939 […]
In 1892-93 Chicago was transformed into the “White City” for the dazzling World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the World’s Fair. Presented on the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the New World, the Fair was dedicated in October 1892 and ran from May through October of 1893. It covered over 600 acres of downtown […]
The Summer 2014 issue of Mines magazine features a story on the campus’s historic architecture, “Building History: Campus Structures Reveal Mines’ Past.” Campus structures include buildings by famous Colorado architects Robert Roeschlaub and Temple Hoyne Buell. The article features some excellent photographs of the buildings around campus, from the 1870s to the present day. A […]
Not all of Colorado’s highway bridges are plain steel and concrete. Many road or highway bridges, both historic and more recent, are highly artistic or advanced works of architecture and engineering. Many of Colorado’s historic bridges have been included on the National Register of Historic Places. For a listing of these, as well as links […]
The Capitol Dome is again being revealed as the scaffolding has been slowly removed over the past several months. So what was this project all about, and what will be the final result? The Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration, who is overseeing the restoration, has issued this Fact Sheet, which includes a brief description of […]