801 Grant Ave History from Louisville Historian

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The Museum Corner By Bridget Bacon, Museum Coordinator It was a lot of fun to put together the information that the Historical Museum has about the little brick school house that became the Center for the Arts. As always, I would welcome any additional information or corrections so that the record can be set straight. The Museum's joint programming with the Louisville Public Library got off to a great start with two programs in May. "Why and How to Preserve Your Historic Property in Louisville," which was also sponsored by the Historic Preservation Commission, drew sixty audience members who wanted to learn about the City's new landmarking program with its financial incentives made possible by the Historic Preservation Tax that Louisville voters approved in 2008. Thank you to program presenters Michael Koertje, Heather Lewis, Peter Stewart, John Leary, Savannah Jameson, and Jancy Campbell. The second program, "Rocky Flats and the Cold War West: Community Impacts and Historical Legacy" was given by representatives from the Rocky Flats Cold War Museum. It was wonderful to see so many local ex - Rocky Flats workers in the audience of, again, about sixty people. Many of them shared their stories of working there. Thank you to presenters Kim Grant and Ann Lockhart for a very enlightening program. Museum volunteers will be participating in an interesting project in upcoming months: scanning the Boulder County Assessor cards that were completed for privately owned structures in Louisville beginning in 1948. Most of them include a photo dating back to 1948, and this date is significant because few historic homes in Louisville were significantly remodeled before the 1950s. In fact, the facades of quite a few homes in Louisville look just as they did in the 1948 County photos. Our goal is for owners of Louisville historic properties to be able to have easy access to these cards with their interesting property information and photos. I want to let all of our readers and supporters know that it has been decided with the Historical Commission to not have the Holiday Home Tour this year. Obviously, this much -loved community event has been both an important fundraiser for the Commission and a fun way for the Museum to involve people in learning about Louisville's historical neighborhoods, homes, and founding families. The cutbacks to staff due to the City of Louisville's budget situation prompted this decision, as the event involves the coordination of many City volunteers. It is still our hope to be able to organize the tour again in 2011. If you would like to help with the Home Tour next year, please let me know! Anyone is welcome to come to the monthly gatherings of the History Book Club organized by Historical Commission member Anne Robinson. The history topic for the September meeting is "Ethnic Groups in Colorado" (Wednesday, September 1, 6:30 PM, Louisville Public Library Board Room), while the topic for the October meeting is "Crime, Bootlegging, and Prohibition" (Wednesday, October 6, 6:30 PM, Louisville Public Library Board Room). Participants read whatever books they would like to read on the topics ahead of time. In addition to the Museum's volunteers for its Oral History Program, who are thanked elsewhere in this issue, thank you so much to volunteers Mona Lee Doersam, who kindly does the layout for The Louisville Historian; Mary Kay Knorr; Debby Fahey; Gail Khasawneh; Pete Lindquist; Bill Buffo; Melanie Muckle; Ardeshir Sabeti; and Jessica Fasick. Historical Museum Contact Information and Hours Due to budget cutbacks, the Museum is open from 10 to 3 on only Wednesdays and the first Saturday of each month. Special appointments at other times are possible. Museum staff can be reached at museum@louisvilleco.gov or 303-665-9048. The Louisville Historical Museum is owned and operated by the City of Louisville as part of the Department of Library & Museum Services. It is located at 1001 Main Street. Its mailing address is 749 Main Street, Louisville, CO 80027. Don't Miss an Issue of The Louisville Historian! Membership in the Louisville Historical Society is a must for those interested in Louisville's unique history and cultural character! Members receive the quarterly Louisville Historian. A yearly membership is only $15.00 for an individual and $25.00 for a family. A yearly Business Sponsorship is $100.00. Visit the Historical Museum web site at http://www.louisvilleco.gov/ for a membership form or call the Museum at 303-665-9048. You may also write to us at Louisville Historical Museum, 749 Main Street, Louisville, Colorado, 80027. Please make checks payable to the Louisville Historical Commission. 8