800 804 Spruce 2000 St Historic Survey

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Resource Number: 5BL925 Temporary Resource Number: N/A Architectural Inventory Form (Page 3 of 5) V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS 31. Original use(s): Single Dwelling 32. Intermediate use(s): Commerce and Trade 1 Professional 33. Current use(s): Single Dwelling 34. Site type(s): Residence 35. Historical Background Boulder County Assessor records indicate that this building was constructed in 1920. By the mid-1930s, this was the residence of W. Scott and Harriet N. Withers. The Withers lived in the part of the building that is now 800 Spruce Street, and they published the Louisville Times newspaper in the part of the building that is now 804 Spruce Street. The Louisville Times had begun publication in 1913, and in the late 1920s, it was being published out of a garage at 48 Front Street by Mrs. Pearl Conley. Mrs. Conley lived nearby at 111 Pine Street. The Withers published the newspaper here at 800/804 Spruce Street through most of the 1940s. In about 1950, they sold the property to Albert and Elizabeth Varra. By 1951, Arthur R. and Della Hobson were living here, and they had become the new publishers of the Louisville Times. The Hobsons apparently leased the property from the Varras. By 1959, the Hobsons had moved to a house on Johnson Avenue, but they were still publishing the newspaper here. By the mid-1960s, this building had been given over entirely to residential use. Although it has two addresses - 800 and 804 Walnut - it appears to have served as a single dwelling, rather than as a duplex, for most of the past thirty-five years. 36. Sources of Information (Boulder County) "Real Estate Appraisal Card - Urban Master", on file at the Boulder Carnegie Library. Conarroe, Carolyn. The Louisville Story, Louisville: Louisville Times Inc., 1978. Polk'sBoulder County Directory [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk and Company Publishers. Polk'sLongmont City Directory, [generally published annually], Denver, Kansas City, and Salt Lake City: R.L. Polk and Company, Publishers, 1966 - 1997. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, dated August 1893, November 1900, and August 1908.