Historic Preservation Commission Agenda and Packet 2024 05 20

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Gigi Yang Louisville Historical Museum Department of Cultural Services City of Louisville, Colorado May 2024 Citytf Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 1878 1440 Cannon History Legal Description: LOT 7 BLK 7 CALEDONIA PLACE Year of Construction: c.1908 Summary: The history of 1440 Cannon is most notable for the continuous chain of property ownership by Italian families over 119 years that exemplifies the close relationships and connections between families that existed in the Little Italy neighborhood. The history of the Jacovetta and Marinelli families that lived there for three generations from 1906 to 2012 is particularly representative of the Italian immigrant experience in Louisville. Development of Caledonia Place Addition The subdivision in which 1440 Cannon is located is Caledonia Place. It was platted and recorded with Boulder County in 1890 by James Cannon, Jr., Howard Morris, and Henry Brooks. It was the fourth addition to original Louisville, which had been platted in 1878. This particular section of Caledonia Place, located northeast of the core downtown, is known as Little Italy. It covers Griffith Street from the railroad tracks to Highway 42, as well as Harper Street and the cross streets of Front and Cannon and the west side of Highway 42. The separation of the neighborhood from the rest of the town due in part to the railroad tracks led to the formation of an especially tightknit neighborhood and cultural practices that endured for decades, such as winemaking by many residents using grapes that were delivered directly into the neighborhood by truck. This area was attractive to coal miners and their families for its proximity to coal mines to the east and northeast of downtown Louisville. Members of the Italian DiGiacomo/James family owned many or most of the lots and played a large role in the development of the neighborhood (James being the American version of the name DiGiacomo). This led to many of the families in Little Italy being of Italian heritage, with many of them also being related to one another. The concentration of Italians in the neighborhood in the early to mid-1900s was even higher than that in Louisville generally.