1401 Cannon St Unit A History - Laserfiche WebLink

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Louisville Historical Museum Department of Library & Museum Services City of Louisville, Colorado February 2015 I�f city Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 187E 1401 Cannon Unit A History Legal Description: "Unit A 1401 Cannon Condominiums"; formerly Lot 6, Block 8, Caledonia Place Year of Construction: circa 1900 (see discussion below) Summary: This house in the Louisville neighborhood of Little Italy was the home of the Rizzi/DiGiacomo family for nearly 100 years. Frank Rizzi, who grew up in the house, was mayor of Louisville for many of the years when it transitioned from being a coal mining town to a modern city. Development of Caledonia Place The subdivision in which 1401 Cannon is located is Caledonia Place. It was platted and recorded with Boulder County in 1890 by James Cannon, Jr., Howard Morris, and Henry Brooks. It was the fourth addition to original Louisville, which had been platted in 1878. This particular section of Caledonia Place, located northeast of the core downtown, is still known as Little Italy. It covers Griffith Street from the railroad tracks to Highway 42, as well as Harper Street and the cross streets of Front and Cannon and the west side of Highway 42. The separation of the neighborhood from the rest of the town due in part to the railroad tracks led to the formation of an especially tightknit, close neighborhood and cultural practices that endured for decades, such as winemaking by many residents using grapes that were delivered directly into the neighborhood by truck. This area was attractive to coal miners and their families for its proximity to coal mines to the east and northeast of downtown Louisville. It was members of the Italian DiGiacomo/James family who at one time owned many or most of the lots at some point and who played a large role in the development of the neighborhood (James being the American version of the name DiGiacomo). This led to many of the families in Little Italy being of Italian heritage, with many of them actually being related to one another. 1