816 Main St Historic Survey - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Resource Number: 5BL8012 Temporary Resource Number: NIA Architectural Inventory Form (Page 3 of 5) V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 31. Original use(s): Funerary I Mortuary 32. Intermediate use(s): Commerce and Trade / Specialty Store 33. Current use(s): Commerce and Trade I Restaurant 34. Site type(s): Commercial Building 35. Historical Background Sanborn insurance maps reveal that this building was constructed shortly after the turn of the twentieth century, and that early on an undertaker's business was located here. By 1936, Steven John was operating a beer parlor here. Within a few years, this establishment had become a billiards hall called "Johnnie's Place." Louis Schmelzer is listed as the business' manager in the 1940 Boulder County Directory. By 1950, Toney W. and Catherine LaSalle were operating the LaSalle Furniture Store at 816 Main Street. LaSalle's Furniture and Household Goods had previously been located at 813 Main Street, according to Boulder County Directories. In 1955, this building was acquired by Anthony and Rita Colacci who opened Colacci's Restaurant here. Anthony is the son of Michael and Mary (Maria) Colacci, who had come to Louisville in the 1910s. The Colacci family, over the course of several decades, made an indelible mark on downtown Louisville, as they operated up to four Italian restaurants in a two block area along Main Street. The Colacci family's first restaurant, the Blue Parrot, has operated continuously at the southeast corner of Main and Pine Streets since the early 1920s. Other Colacci restaurants include: Colacci's Restaurant, which opened here at 816 Main Street in 1955; Luigi's, located at 808 Main Street from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s; and Pasquale's, which was in business at 809 Main Street from the mid-1960s until 1997. Due primarily to the Colacci family, Louisville gained a reputation throughout the Denver metropolitan area as the place to go for Italian food. The Colacci's were involved in other retail businesses as well. In the 1940s and 1950s, Joseph Colacci (Michael and Mary's son) ran Tony and Jim's Service Station (later known as the Louisville Oil Company), at the northwest corner of Main and Pine, located diagonally across the street from the Blue Parrot. Joe Colacci later took over operation of the Blue Parrot, while his brother, Anthony, ran Colacci's Restaurant here at 816 Main Street. Earlier this year (2000) Colacci's Restaurant was acquired by Tony Pasquini, and the name was changed to Pasquini's Pizzeria. It remains a very popular Louisville eatery. 36. Sources of Information (Boulder County) "Real Estate Appraisal Card - Urban Master", on file at the Boulder Carnegie Library. "Colacci's Restaurant Gets New Owner, But Style and Food Will Stay the Same." Boulder Daily Camera, February 3, 1993, p. IC. Polk'sBoulder County Directory [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk and Company Publishers. Polk'sLongmont City Directory, [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk and Company, Publishers, 1966 - 1997. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, dated August 1893, November 1900, and August 1908.