Denver is Strange

A HISTORY THING

[denverhistory]

Denver sometime in March 1922.... Students at Sherman Elementary School show off their costumes for a school program. Below all of the children dressed as birds sit two kids in bunny costumes. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection) Due to personal issues and general busyness, Denver is Strange is taking sort of a break in March -- there are a few posts planned, but not the usual volume. More to come in April, I promise!

[denverhistory]

From 1998 to 2010, I lived in places that were not Denver, but I still flew through DIA fairly frequently. My friend S. and I had a ritual that we undertook each time we went through the airport: searching all the available gift shops for the most useless postcard of Denver we could find. As vintage postcards go, this souvenir folder from the former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (now the University of Colorado Hospital) seems fairly useless -- one hospital postcard is probably okay ("Hi! I'm in the hospital!" or "Greetings from my new post!") but a whole packet of souvenir views seems excessive. S. and I would have totally sent this to one another had we found it for sale in the airport.

[denverhistory]

Denver sometime in February 1921: Lights at the American Furniture Company at 16th and Lawrence in downtown. Yes, this eventually became that American Furniture Company. The Tabor Center sits here now. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver sometime in February 1978: Students pose in front of the metal "M" sculpture at Manual High School. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver on February 26, 1947: Two model homes made by students at Steele Elementary School. "The home on the right is supposed of the children to be childless. The home on the left provision has been made for play on the roof of the garage and a sand box is provided at its foot." (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

The Denver Eye takes on the history of the DeVille Motel, at Colfax and Galapago. The architectural drawing above of the DeVille is pretty amazing. The building is still there, but it is a pale shadow of what it once was. Now, it just sits empty.

[denverhistory]

Denver on February 23, 1947: Bob Huff reads a dime novel, titled Fancy Frank of Colorado in the Western History department of the Denver Public Library. DPL's Western History Collection opened to the public in 1935. Today, it's one of the world's leading research centers for Colorado history and the history of the American West (and it's also where a lot of the images on this Tumblr come from). Go visit. The people who work there are great, and they want to help you. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver on February 21, 1970: Candy-colored women in matching miniskirts and neckties promote financial services at a bridal fair in Denver. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver on February 21, 1931: Denver masons, wearing their weird Mason aprons, lay the cornerstone of the City and County Building. One of the last major buildings in Denver's Civic Center to be built, the City and County Building opened in 1932. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver on February 19, 1933: The body of north Denver grocer and gangster Joseph "Little Joe" Roma lies on the floor of his parlor. Roma was playing his mandolin when other gangsters shot him 14 times. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Postcard announcing the opening of the "absolutely fireproof" Hotel Argonaut, on Capitol Hill next to the state capitol. For decades, the Argonaut was where out-of-town legislators stayed, along with other people who came to Denver to construct state business. The Argonaut managed to stave off demolition, thankfully, unlike so many other hotels that were once in this part of downtown or Capitol Hill. The building is now a residence for senior citizens and home to both Phonatic and Shish Kabob Grill (and, oh, yes, the odd little Argonant [sic] Groceries convenience store.) (In case you're wondering, the term "argonaut" refers to someone who goes traveling for gold [i.e., Jason and the Argonauts]. Historically, the term was sometimes used to describe migrants to Colorado during the gold rushes of the 1850s and 1860s. You still see remnants of the term here and there in Denver, like the building above, or the name of east-central Denver's greatest liquor store.)

[denverhistory]

Happy Valentine's Day! Let's all take some time to remember our shared love: the City and County of Denver. (Also, there should be more Denver-themed Valentines -- this one is pretty great, but it's the only one I could find [and it's technically not even a Valentine's card]) (Image via PaperPlatesPress)

[denverhistory]

Denver sometime in February 1944: Students at Barnum Elementary School save scrap paper for the war effort. Salvage drives were extremely popular in the United States during World War II. Drives to collect scrap metal, cooking fat, cloth, paper, and other materials made people, even schoolchildren, feel like they were helping their country, while keeping scarce materials from the trash. While they may not have been as key to the war as people thought, they helped raise morale at a stressful time. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver on February 11, 1970: Young Hispanic men protested police actions in a widely publicized 1970 Denver school-bus bombing. On February 3, 1970, bombs went off at the Denver Public Schools' bus garage at 6th and Federal. 38 buses were destroyed or damaged. Tensions in DPS were high due to problems with racial segregation and the looming threat of school busing. The Denver police announced several days later that Balthazar Martinez, a Hispanic from New Mexico, was their a suspect in the bombing. Martinez was a member of the Alianza Federal de Mercedes, a group fighting for Hispanic land rights in New Mexico and southern Colorado. Local media breathlessly described Martinez' past, overembellishing stories with details of his involvement in the 1967 Tierra Amarilla courthouse raid. Martinez, who lived a fairly quiet and unassuming life in Denver, had no idea this was going on until friends told him about it. He had none of the injuries described in news stories or police accounts. Martinez contacted the Crusade for Justice, Denver's own Latino social justice/liberation organization, founded by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in 1966. Under the watch of the Crusade, Martinez pronounced his innocence and announced plans to surrender to the police. When officers arrived, they, in the words of historian Ernesto B. Vigil, "walked down a long aisle...as the crowd changed 'Chicano Power!' and 'Off the pigs!' Martinez was released shortly after being taken into police custody. No charges were ever filed, and the Denver police department claimed that they had the wrong guy. The 1970 bus bombing was never solved. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Denver sometime in February 1921: Lit-up theater signs for the Empress, the Strand, the Princess, the Colonial, and others on Curtis Street. Curtis between 15th and 19th Streets was Denver's theater row until the 1950s and 1960s, when these buildings began to be torn down to build parking lots and office buildings. Here are some more photos and history of the long-gone Curtis Street entertainment district. There is also a chop suey restaurant there in the front, if you look closely enough. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)

[denverhistory]

Chris Maurer's Town House Restaurant, located at East Colfax and Peoria, out in Aurora. There is now a Family Dollar at this location, in what looks to be an old Safeway building (you can see its curved roof above the Town House in the photo above). (Image via illtakeyourphoto!)

[denverhistory]

Denver sometime in February 1934: A teacher talks to the bookkeeping class he is teaching at Rude Park Community Center. Located at 1285 Decatur, the building is now the Rude Recreation Center, and offers Zumba classes on Tuesdays. (Photo via Denver Public Library Western History Collection)