Old Town Historical Building Survey 2000

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"Old Town" Louisville Historical Building Survey Page 6 4.0 RESEARCH DESIGN The "Old Town" Louisville Historical Building Survey was designed to accomplish two main objectives. The first was to conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance survey of historic (pre-1950) properties located within the "Old Town" area, in order to collect data about their geographic distribution, frequencies of property types and architectural styles, integrity of resources, and potential historic districts. This effort was intended to provide the City of Louisville with information to guide historic preservation planning. The second objective was to complete intensive -level documentation for approximately one hundred historic properties, selected by Cultural Resource Historians in consultation with the City of Louisville and the Louisville Historical Commission. The reconnaissance survey was designed to gather fundamental information about historic property location, identification, property type, associated historic context(s), integrity, and preliminary significance assessment. The survey was generally limited to properties exceeding fifty years of age. Identification of historic properties was based upon visual inspection as well as a list of properties within the survey area furnished by the Boulder County Assessor's Office. Significance was measured in terms of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) criteria, although assessments were generally limited to Criterion C (architectural significance), because property specific archival research was not feasible due to the large number of properties surveyed.` A total of 530 properties were surveyed at the reconnaissance level. In order to determine which historic properties had already been identified within the project area, a file search specific to the project was conducted by the Colorado Historical Society, Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, on December 3, 1999. The file search revealed that a total of eighty historic/ architectural properties had been previously recorded within the "Old Town" area. Also included in the file search was the Acme Mine site (5BL1587), recorded in June 1987. Nearly all of the previously recorded properties were surveyed as part of the "Louisville Historical Survey", conducted by Steven R. Whissen in 1982, or as part of the 1985 "Louisville, Colorado National Register of Historic Places Survey", conducted by Western Historical Studies Inc. Represented in the previously surveyed properties were fifty-eight residences, sixteen downtown commercial buildings, and two churches. Four other historic properties surveyed included the Louisville Milling and Elevator Company Grain Elevator (5BL961.11), the Colorado and Southern Railroad Depot (5BL920), the Louisville Historical Museum (5BL961.7), and the Miner's Museum House (5BL908). Twelve properties were listed in the National Register of Historic Places, as part of a Multiple Resource Nomination completed by Western Historical Studies Inc., in 1985. These were: 616 Front Street (5BL961.1); 1024 Grant Avenue (5BL961.2); 1116 LaFarge Avenue (5BL961.3); 700 Lincoln Avenue (5BL961.4); 700 Main Street, Karen's Country