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Resource Number: 5BL8008
<br />Temporary Resource Number: NIA Architectural Inventory Form
<br />(Page 3 of 5)
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<br />V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS
<br />31. Original use(s): Commerce and Trade / Gas Station
<br />32. Intermediate use(s): Commerce and Trade / Gas Station
<br />33. Current use(s): Commerce and Trade / Gas Station
<br />34. Site type(s): Commercial Building
<br />35. Historical Background
<br />The first building on this lot was a large two-story brick building which housed the Miners Trading Company. Built
<br />prior to 1893, the Miners Trading Company was Louisville's foremost business which supplied equipment for the
<br />coal mining industry. In the 1890s, and early 1900s, the Trading Company was located on the building's first
<br />floor, while the second floor was occupied by the I.O.O. F, Hall. It was the coal mining industry which gave rise
<br />to this building, and ironically, it was the same industry that caused its demise. After a series of Acme Mine cave-
<br />ins in the early 1900s, this building partially collapsed, a victim of subsidence. The building was condemned in
<br />1909, and the Miners Trading Company moved into what became the State Mercantile Building, a block to the
<br />north. Five years later, in 1914, what was left of this building was razed. A few years later, a large wooden
<br />building was moved onto this site by Michael Colacci and Lawrence Mossoni. This building, had previously been
<br />located further north on Main Street, where it had served as a miners' boardinghouse, and was later used by federal
<br />troops during the period of labor unrest at the Hecla Mine. After it had been moved here, in about 1919, Mossoni
<br />established a gas station in the front part of the building, while Colacci opened the Blue Parrot Cafe in the back
<br />part of the building. Two years later, Colacci moved the Blue Parrot to its present location at 640 Main Street, on
<br />the opposite corner of Main and Pine Streets, from this site. The gas station business at this location became known
<br />as Tony and Jim's Service Station. Lawrence Mossoni was the proprietor, although Joseph Colacci (Michael's son)
<br />was involved in the business as well. In the 1950s, the name of the service station was changed to the Louisville
<br />Oil and Gas Company. In 1956, the old wooden building was torn down, and a new concrete block service station
<br />was constructed, set well back from Main Street. In the late 1970s, the business became known as the Louisville
<br />66 Gas Station. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Louisville's Phillips 66 was owned by Bud Tharp, who ran it
<br />as as full -service station, in an era of no frills quick stops. The gas pumps were removed in the 1990s, but the
<br />Phillips 66 Service Station is still in business (in the year 2000) as an auto repair facility and car wash.
<br />36. Sources of Information
<br />(Boulder County) "Real Estate Appraisal Card - Urban Master", on file at the Boulder Carnegie Library.
<br />Conarroe, Carolyn. The Louisville Story, Louisville: Louisville Times Inc., 1978.
<br />"Gas Station Revives an Old Concept: Full Service." Boulder Daily Camera, n.d. (circa 1990) (article taken from
<br />clipping file at the Louisville Public Library)
<br />Polk'sBoulder County Directory [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk
<br />and Company Publishers.
<br />Polk'sLongmont City Directory, [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk
<br />and Company, Publishers, 1966 - 1997.
<br />Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, dated August 1893, November 1900, and August 1908.
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