Historic Denver celebrates four decades of saves

I love the history of Denver -- even though I lost a large slice of my personal view of the past when Denver's Landmark Commission allowed the destruction of the oldest building on my historic block, which has been replaced by a huge, modern structure going up on the very...

By Patricia Calhoun

August 6, 2010

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I love the history of Denver -- even though I lost a large slice of my personal view of the past when Denver's Landmark Commission allowed the destruction of the oldest building on my historic block, which has been replaced by a huge, modern structure going up on the very edge of the bluff overlooking downtown and the Platte Valley. (You can see it as you drive north on Speer, but don't look for long or you'll plunge onto I-25.)

But I still have my view of the very oldest part of the Denver, the spot where a rough settlement landed in 1858, and where Historic Denver will celebrate its fortieth anniversary this weekend at "Night & Day in Historic Denver," on the Auraria Campus at the 9th Street Historic Park and St. Cajetan's Center.

"In the early 1970s these historic resources were nearly lost," Historic Denver reports, "but a valiant effort by Historic Denver's founders and hundreds of volunteers ensured that we held onto this important piece of Denver history."

And many other important pieces of history, including the Molly Brown House, as Denver residents rallied in 1970 to save significant buildings that were about to fall to the wrecking ball. Celebrate these saves this weekend at a series of events:

Tonight from 7 to 11 p.m.: Night in Historic Denver, a time-traveling gala. Tomorrow from 2 to 9 p.m.: Day in Historic Denver, a free, family-friendly fair with food, live music and other activities.

And a special event tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Karle Seydel Memorial Baseball Game, devoted to the urban planner who passed away earlier this year.

Find all the details here.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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