612 Grant Ave History - Laserfiche WebLink

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The layout of the house from the 1948 County Assessor card for 612 Grant appears here: In 1949, Henry Vanderstraten died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of just 53. The following year, his wife, Mary, sold 612 Grant. Di Francia Ownership, 1950-1990; Later Owners In 1950, Carrie Di Francia purchased 612 Grant. It would come to be associated with the Di Francia family for forty years, until 1990. Carrie Di Francia was born in Walsenburg, Colorado in 1901 and grew up in nearby Superior as one of nine children of Angelo and Maria Bucci Di Francia. Angelo and Maria had emigrated from Italy separately in the 1890s and married in Colorado. Angelo operated the East End Saloon in Superior and worked as a coal miner. He died in 1924. The name Di Francia is given in several different ways in the historical records, including as "DiFrancia," "De Francia," and "Francie." The Louisville directory for 1951 shows that some of the first Di Francia family members to live at 612 Grant were Carrie's brother, Nicholas, his wife, Irene, and their children, Marie, Raymond, and Ronald. Directories show that in 1953, 1955, and 1956, Carrie's widowed mother, Maria Di Francia, lived with Carrie at 612 Grant. Maria had been born in about 1879, so was in her seventies when she lived in this house. Maria Di Francia died in 1957. For several years, both Carrie Di Francia and her sister, Ann Romano, shared ownership of this house. Ann Romano lived nearby at 600 Jefferson with her husband, Carmen. Carmen and Ann Romano operated the Rex movie theater at 817 Main Street in Louisville from 1945 to 1972. 3