917 LaFarge Ave Historic Survey - Laserfiche WebLink

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Resource Number: 5BL 7998 Temporary Resource Number: 157508405008 Landscape or special setting description: Jefferson Place Subdivision is a historic residential neighborhood adjacent to downtown Louisville. The subdivision is laid out on a standard urban grid of narrow, deep lots with rear alleys. Houses are built to a fairly consistent setback line along the streets with small front lawns, deep rear yards and mature landscaping. Small, carefully maintained single-family residences predominate. Most of the houses are wood framed, one or one and one-half stories in height, featuring white or light-colored horizontal wood or steel siding, gabled or hipped asphalt shingled roofs and front porches. While many of the houses have been modified over the years, most of the historic character -defining features have been preserved. 917 La Farge is consistent with these patterns and blends well with the scale and character of the neighborhood. Set on a narrow mid -block lot, it has a shallow front yard and deep back yard. The front yard is landscaped. There is a concrete walk leading to the back yard along the south side of the house. The grassy back yard has a wood deck and a brick patio and is separated from the alley by a chicken wire fence. 9. Changes in Condition: None. 10. Changes to Location or Size Information: None. 11. Changes in Ownership: The property was sold to the Alidu family. 12. Other Changes, Additions, or Observations: Further research has yielded new information about the history of 917 La Farge. The history of this house is very closely connected with the histories of 925 La Farge (5BL8000) and 928 La Farge (5BL918) across the street, as all three were the residences of Porta family members for several decades. In fact, 917 and 925 La Farge are so closely connected with one another that the available records about these properties do not always clearly distinguish between the two. Boulder County gives 1891 as the year of construction for this house, and it is true that it appears on the 1893 Sanborn map (and on the 1900 and 1908 Sanborn maps, and on the 1909 Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville). The information on this house from the 2000 survey that was done calls the 1891 date "probably reliable" for this reason. Although this house was the home of members of the Porta family for most of its history, new information has been located that shows that the Porta family was not the sole family that owned and occupied it for over 100 years. In its earliest years, Antonio (Charles) Damiana owned it and lived in it with his family. Damiana acquired this property from Jefferson Place developer Charles Welch not later than 1898, according to online Boulder County property records showing recording dates. As documents were sometimes not officially recorded with the County for years in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it is possible that Damiana purchased this house even earlier. Charles Damiana was already living in Louisville by 1892, according to the directory for that year, and also appears in the 1896 and 1898 directories (these directories, however, do not indicate the locations of homes of those listed). As he was listed in the 1892 directory, he was among Louisville's earliest Italian settlers. Charles Damiana worked as a blacksmith at coal mines in the Louisville area. One mine at which he was particularly known to have worked was the Rex Mine #1. He and his wife, Angela, were both born in Italy. According to the 1900 census, he was born in 1870 and came to the US in 1888. Angela was born in 1874 and came to the US in 1882. They were married in approximately 1890. (These dates are not consistent across all available federal census records for the Damiana family, however.) The 1900 census, the 1904 directory for Louisville, and the 1910 census all place the Damiana family in this approximate location on La Farge. In fact, the 1910 census shows the Damiana family living next door to the Porta family that is believed to have been residing next door to 917 La Farge, at 925 La Farge. The 1910 census shows that the Damiana family in Louisville included seven children: Mike, Joe, Rosa, Carrie, Mayme, Guy, and Della. By the time of the 1920 census, the Damiana family had relocated from Louisville to Fort Lupton, and there were two additional children in the family. One possible reason for their move may have been the mine strike that took place in the Louisville area between 1910 and 1914. If Charles Damiana was dependent on coal mining for his job as a blacksmith, but if he was not a miner himself, he and his family may not have been eligible for family support payments from the United Mine Workers during the strike. In Fort Lupton, he became a farmer. Members of the 2