917 LaFarge Ave Historic Survey - Laserfiche WebLink

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Resource Number: 5BL 7998 Temporary Resource Number: 157508405008 Based on available records, it was found that the nine children of Henry Sr. and Edith Porta were William, Della, Henry Jr., Lillian, Arthur, Charles, Albert, Virginia, Elaine, and Evelyn. An address indicated in several directories as being that of the residence of the Porta family, and the only one on the west side of the 900 block of La Farge, was 426 La Farge (under Louisville's old address system). However, it appears that there may have been just one address used for both 917 La Farge and 925 La Farge. It is possible that this was because Porta family members may have resided in both houses that were right next to each other. Other addresses for the Portas on the west side of the 900 block of La Farge were 410 (in 1936) and 915 (starting in 1943). It was not until 1946 that two different addresses for 917 and 925 La Farge were given in the directories (and to add to the confusion, these two addresses were 915 and 917). For many years, a son of Henry Sr. and Edith Porta lived at 917 La Farge with his wife and they took care of his parents; they then became the owners in 1960. This was Henry Porta Jr. (1903-1975) and his wife, Helen Mappin Porta (1912-1996), who had married in 1940. The following photo from the Louisville Historical Museum shows Henry Porta Jr., whose nickname was "Bin," with other Louisville men in the 1930s; he is identified in the photo as standing fifth from the left in the back row: Henry Jr. and Helen Porta continued to make 917 La Farge their home, while Henry Jr.'s brother, Albert, lived next door at 925 La Farge. After being owned for a time by a relative of Helen Porta's in the 1990s, the property passed out of the Mappin/Porta family in 1997. Sources of Information Boulder County "Real Estate Appraisal Card — Urban Master," on file at the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History in Boulder, Colorado. Boulder County Clerk & Recorder's Office and Assessor's Office public records, accessed through http://recorder.bouldercounty.org. Directories of Louisville residents and businesses on file at the Louisville Historical Museum. Census records and other records accessed through www.ancestry.com . Drumm's Wall Map of Louisville, Colorado, 1909. Sanborn Insurance Maps for Louisville, Colorado, 1893, 1900, and 1908. Green Mountain Cemetery Index to Interment Books, 1904-1925, Boulder Genealogical Society, 2006. Lafayette, Colorado cemetery records, accessed at http://files.usgwarchives.org/co/boulder/cemeteries/lafcemqz.txt . 4