City Council Agenda and Packet 2019 01 15 SP

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to town. As a result, Louisville is characterized by diversity in its architecture, socioeconomic, and cultural history (Barlow et al. 2013:7, 15; Lewis 2011:4; Bacon 2007a:6; Mehls et al. 1985a). By the early 1890s, Louisville was expanding and changing rapidly, as several new residential subdivisions had been platted and Main Street, within the original part of town, morphed from a predominantly residential area to a commercial center (Bacon 2008a:7). In 1895, the town reservoir was constructed and the volunteer fire department was established (Whissen 1982:15). In 1896, approximately 1,500 people lived in Louisville. The town's economy was centered on coal mining and farming, with smaller businesses and services supporting those two industries. The 1896 Boulder County Directory advertised: "LOUISVILLE is a progressive and prosperous city...In a word, Louisville is a bright, social and flourishing little city" (Hamm 1896). In 1899, the town hall was constructed, and electricity became available (Whissen 1982:15). Not long afterwards, in 1903, the first telephones were installed (Barlow et al. 2013:18). The peak of coal mining in Louisville occurred between 1907 and 1909, when 12 of its 30 total mines were in operation simultaneously (City of Louisville 2014). Louisville's population increased to 3,200 people in 1909. Around this time, more than 12 trains stopped in Louisville, carrying passengers, coal, and other freight; beginning in 1909, the Denver Interurban Company used C&S tracks, operating 16 passenger trains a day between Denver and Boulder, with stops in Louisville and other Front Range towns (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-15; McWilliams 2000). The sub -bituminous coal yielded by Louisville's mines was poor quality and disintegrated rapidly once exposed to the atmosphere, so coal mining was conducted largely during the cold months of the year to heat houses and other buildings (Figure 4). During warm months, when less coal was needed, many coal miners farmed and performed other odd jobs (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-8; Bacon 2011a:1; City of Louisville 2014). The coal miners' Long Strike of 1910-1914, as well as Prohibition (1916-1933) and other factors, caused a dramatic and multi -decade decrease in the town's population to approximately 1,706 in 1910; the population did not return to its pre-1910 level until the late 1970s (Barlow et al. 2013:26; Whissen 1982). 14