This Is Colorado...in 1959: Our Twelve Favorite Images

Trouble at the Denver Post — another round of buyouts decimating the editorial ranks, "loyal" subscribers irate over a new subscription policy that requires they opt out of receiving special issues or find their delivery duration shortened — has made lots of people nostalgic for the days when this was...

By Patricia Calhoun

June 21, 2016

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Trouble at the Denver Post — another round of buyouts decimating the editorial ranks, "loyal" subscribers irate over a new subscription policy that requires they opt out of receiving special issues or find their delivery duration shortened — has made lots of people nostalgic for the days when this was a two-daily town and the Post was truly the "Voice of the Rocky Mountain Empire."

On Sunday, the same day I found a copy of Summer Getaways delivered along with my Denver Post (even though I'd opted out of that special issue), a neighbor also gave me a copy of a special Denver Post magazine she'd found in her parents' home.

This Is Colorado had been delivered to all subscribers on June 21, 1959, 57 years ago today.

And a hundred years after the Rush to the Rockies began.

This Is Colorado, the "Gold Rush Centennial Edition" of the Denver Post, contains 386 pages of ads, stunning four-color photos, and stories celebrating the history of Colorado, its famous characters and landmarks around town, including Union Station, the stockyards and Bears Stadium.

The magazine concludes with a dedication to Post co-publishers Harry Tammen and Frederick Bonfils, who grew the paper into "the most powerful newspaper in the Rocky Mountain West."

Although both had passed away decades before this special edition was distributed, the tribute concludes: "The Post itself carries on the vital tradition: 'Speak — so the people may know.'"

These twelve excerpts from This Is Colorado speak for themselves:

Continue to see more of our favorite images from This Is Colorado.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.

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.

Contact: Patricia Calhoun

Follow:

Facebook: patricia.calhoun.927