1029 LaFarge Ave History - Laserfiche WebLink

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Date of Construction The 1948 Boulder County Assessor card for this property and the Boulder County Assessor's Office website both give 1935 as the date of construction of this house. Boulder County has sometimes been found to be in error with respect to the date of construction of Louisville buildings, so other evidence is looked to. In this case, the information from the Di Francia family that E.J. Di Francia had built these three houses for three of his daughters could not be true if the house was constructed in 1935, as he died in 1918. Also, he had already purchased Lots 5-8, on which the three houses were built, by 1905. Moreover, the footprint of the house at 1029 La Farge is shown, along with those of the houses at 1013 La Farge, 1021 La Farge, and 1045 La Farge, on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville. Looking at the dates given by the County for the construction of the other two similar houses to the south, the County gives 1906 as the construction date of 1013 La Farge and 1920 as the construction date of 1021 La Farge. For the same reasons given for why 1935 is not a realistic construction date for 1029 La Farge, 1920 does not seem to be an accurate date of construction for 1021 La Farge. However, "1906" is a plausible construction date for not only 1013 La Farge, but also 1021 and 1029 La Farge. For these reasons, and in the absence of other information, the estimated date of construction is presumed to be "circa 1906." It is worth noting that in 1906, there were already six daughters in the family and the oldest Di Francia daughter was already 13 years old. It is possibly that the 1935 construction date given by the County for 1029 La Farge refers to the date of an addition or remodel, which is what the County Assessor would have been concerned with in terms of ascertaining the correct tax assessment. It is also possible that the 1935 construction date represents the average between the actual or estimated construction date and a remodel/addition date, a system that county assessor offices in Colorado are believed to have at times followed. Michela Family Ownership, 1921-1927 In 1921, Joseph (Giuseppe) Michela (1895-1986) purchased 1029 La Farge from Maria Di Francia. He was born in Aglie, Torino, Italy. Records indicate that he arrived in the U.S. in about 1920. He soon married Ernestina Zarini (1897-1986), who had grown up at 808 La Farge. Directories indicate that they may have lived with her family at 808 La Farge for a time. However, the 1926 directory for Louisville shows the Michela family to be living at 1029 La Farge. They would have had two sons during their stay in the house: William and Joseph Jr. 4