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somewhat later, hydroelectric power. Also during the early twentieth century, Colorado saw a <br />downturn in the mining of gold, silver, lead, and other metals; these industries had relied heavily <br />on coal to create power for milling, smelting, ore reduction, and railroad transportation of raw <br />and finished products (Avenue L Architects 2013:4-11). By the end of WWII, Louisville's coal <br />industry was in marked decline. The final blow for most local coal mines occurred in 1954, when <br />the Burlington Northern Railroad, which had taken over the line through Louisville, switched <br />from coal power to diesel fuel (McWilliams and McWilliams 2000:4). Between the 1930s and <br />1950s, people moved some houses from nearby mines to Louisville (e.g., Monarch Mine, <br />Industrial Mine) when the mines closed (Bacon 2011b). However, in general, Louisville's <br />housing industry was very slow during this period. (Figure 5 shows an aerial view of Louisville <br />in 1948.) <br />Figure 5. Louisville, ca. 1948, view to the southwest (photo credit: LHM). <br />POST -WORLD WAR H (1945-PRESENT) <br />WWII profoundly affected the American culture and economy; across the United States and in <br />Louisville, the early post -WWII years saw a boom in population growth, house construction, <br />automobile use, and new industry. Development of post -WWII housing was tied to an emphasis <br />on the automobile and the availability of mass -production technology developed during the war. <br />In 1944, the federal government passed the Federal Highway Act, which demonstrated the <br />government's preference for funding highways and roads over mass transit (Corbett et al. <br />2009:22; Hayden 2003:165-166). The post -WWII reliance on cars was also facilitated by the <br />Interstate Highway System, created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1956 Interstate <br />Highway Act. The act provided substantial federal funds for the development of a 41,000-mile <br />16 <br />