701 Grant Ave History - Baptist Church - updated

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This undated photo from the Church booklet cited above shows the interior of the sanctuary. Information about the placement of pews or chairs in the building could not be located for this report. B. Pastor History and Parsonage History The Louisville Baptist Church had a number of different pastors over the 70 years that it was located at 701 Grant. A list of the names of 30 of the pastors with their years of service appears in Appendix II. Some pastors were here with wives as well as children who attended Louisville schools before the family moved on to a church posting in another community. Other pastors were single men who served for shorter periods or as interim pastors, and who commuted from Denver. A number of the pastors were students at Rockmont College in Denver. This college had previously been known as Denver Bible College, and is now Colorado Christian University. The Church parsonage from 1905 until the 1950s was 500 Pine, which was located just southwest of the Church across Pine Street. When 500 Pine was not needed for the pastor, the Church rented it out. Next, starting in the late 1950s, 705 Grant (just to the north of 701 Grant) served as the parsonage. C. Additions and Work on the Church Building According to previous owner Buddy Day in 2010, the sanctuary part of the building has been mostly unchanged from when the Baptist Church used it. The majority of the changes have been in the construction of the rear additions, in stages; the construction of the basement, also believed to have taken place in stages; and in the remodeling of these areas. It is somewhat difficult to ascertain the dates and extent of these changes, so the texts of the relevant Louisville Times articles are included as appendices. By all accounts, the first part of the rear addition was added in 1946. This began to be called the annex. According to the April 18, 1946 Louisville Times, "it will be used for Sunday school classes, recreation and entertaining. It will be equipped with a kitchen for serving." This addition was of mostly cinder block construction. The 1946 article can be read in Appendix III. The following photo appeared in the locally -published book entitled Service Record Book of Men and Women of Louisville, Colorado and Community and that was sponsored by the American Legion post in 5