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Resource Number: 5BL7988
<br />Temporary Resource Number: 157508414010
<br />rear yards and mature landscaping. Small, carefully maintained single-family residences predominate. Most of
<br />the houses are wood framed, one or one and one-half stories in height, featuring white or light-colored
<br />horizontal wood or steel siding, gabled or hipped asphalt shingled roofs and front porches. While many of the
<br />houses have been modified over the years, most of the historic character -defining features have been
<br />preserved.
<br />815 La Farge Avenue is consistent with these patterns and blends well with the scale and character of the
<br />neighborhood. This narrow, mid -block lot has a shallow grassy front yard and narrow grassy side yards. The
<br />rear yard contains the garage with adjacent concrete drive, wood deck and stone patio.
<br />9. Changes in Condition: None.
<br />10. Changes to Location or Size Information: None.
<br />11. Changes in Ownership: Same ownership as 2000 inventory form.
<br />12. Other Changes, Additions, or Observations:
<br />Further research has yielded new information about the history of 815 La Farge.
<br />This house was associated with members of an early Slovak family in Louisville, the Litavec/Balent family, who
<br />owned this property and lived here, as well as with the Jasko family, also Slovak, and the Italian Perna family.
<br />John Jasko, was an early owner of Lots 1 through 5 of Block 5 of Jefferson Place, which translate to the addresses of
<br />801 (5BL852), 805 (5BL7984), 809 (5BL7986), 815, and 817 La Farge (5BL7989). John Jasko's twin, Joseph Jasko,
<br />later in time owned this house (815 La Farge) and also 817 La Farge.
<br />Andrew Litavec purchased this lot (Lot 4) from John Jasko in 1893 and it became the Litavec family residence. As
<br />noted in the 2000 historical survey written about this house, the Boulder County Assessor records indicate that it was
<br />built in 1905, but the 1893 Sanborn map for Louisville shows that the original part of the house was constructed prior
<br />to 1893. The 2000 historical survey therefore concluded that the date of construction was circa 1885. The house also
<br />appears on the Sanborn maps for 1900 and 1908, and on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville.
<br />Andrew Litavec (born 1851) emigrated from Slovakia in 1878 and Susie Litavec (born 1858) emigrated in 1883,
<br />according to the 1900 federal census. The surname "Litavec" is spelled in several different ways in the historical
<br />records, including as "Latavecz" and "Letavecz" (but, according to the family, was always pronounced with the
<br />emphasis on the second syllable).
<br />In 1897, Annie Litavec (1881-1970) married John Novak Balent (1867-1949), another Slovak who had settled in
<br />Louisville. The 1900 federal census shows this family apparently living at 815 La Farge, with other known La Farge
<br />neighbors listed as living nearby. The 815 La Farge household consisted of John and Annie Balent and their son,
<br />Johnnie, and Annie's parents, Andrew and Susie "Latavecz." At the time, both John Balent and his father-in-law
<br />worked as coal miners.
<br />The 1904 directory for Louisville similarly shows John and Annie Balent, and Andrew and Susie Litavec, living on La
<br />Farge between Spruce and Walnut, which is an accurate description of the location of 815 La Farge.
<br />John Balent (pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable), who had immigrated to the US in the 1880s and
<br />came to Louisville in the 1890s, became a prominent local saloon owner. His saloon was on Front Street at what is
<br />today the site of the corner of the Louisville Public Library. In 1906, Balent purchased Louisville's baseball park
<br />located at the intersection of South Street and Courtesy Road (Highway 42). Today, it is at the same location and is
<br />called Miners Field. Balent became very involved as a sponsor and supporter of baseball teams, and the park was
<br />even referred to in the minutes of the Louisville Town Board as "Balent's Base Ball Park."
<br />In 1906, Andrew Litavec sold 815 La Farge to Joseph Jasko and moved with his family to Weld County, where he
<br />began to farm. In Louisville, John and Annie Balent moved to 829 Lincoln. It is believed that when Prohibition began
<br />in Colorado in 1916, the Balents left their saloon and baseball park businesses in Louisville and followed Annie's
<br />parents to the Greeley, Colorado area.
<br />Joseph Jasko, also from Slovakia along with his wife, Mary, was the twin of the John Jasko who owned Lots 1
<br />through 5 along this block. Just as the Litavec and Balent families became farmers, so did John Jasko when he sold
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