%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en William Gray Evans http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-gray-evans <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">William Gray Evans</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-05-18T09:59:28-06:00" title="Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - 09:59" class="datetime">Wed, 05/18/2022 - 09:59</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-gray-evans" data-a2a-title="William Gray Evans"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fwilliam-gray-evans&amp;title=William%20Gray%20Evans"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>William Gray Evans (1855–1924) was a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> businessman best known as the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-tramway-company"><strong>Denver Tramway Company</strong></a> president. The son of Territorial Governor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/john-evans"><strong>John Evans</strong></a>, he was involved in many of Denver’s early foundational enterprises and played an integral role in constructing the <strong>Moffat Tunnel</strong>. During the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/progressive-era-colorado"><strong>Progressive Era</strong></a>, he was plagued by accusations of political and financial corruption and eventually quit his business career. He spent the last years of his life focused on social and philanthropic interests, such as the <strong>University of Denver</strong>.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>William Gray Evans was born on December 16, 1855, in Evanston, Illinois, to <strong>Margaret Patton Gray</strong> and John Evans. John Evans was a businessman, real estate and railroad investor, physician, and Methodist minister who founded many institutions, including Northwestern University. The town of Evanston, home to the university, was named for him. In 1862 Evans was named governor of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a>, and the Evans family relocated to Denver. The family resided at Fourteenth and Arapahoe Streets. After three years as governor, Evans had to resign in the wake of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sand-creek-massacre"><strong>Sand Creek Massacre</strong></a>. Still, he continued to be involved in founding Colorado Seminary (later the University of Denver) and various railroads.</p> <p>As a child, William Evans attended school at the first incarnation of Colorado Seminary. However, most of his early education came via his mother or on his own while the family traveled. He also spent one school term in England. In 1873 he enrolled at Northwestern, becoming a star member of the university’s baseball team. He graduated in 1877 with his Bachelor of Science degree.</p> <h2>Early Career</h2> <p>After graduation, William Evans returned to Denver. He lived with his parents and worked as a bookkeeper for his father before trying his hand at real estate and other ventures. Most notably, in 1885 he joined John Evans, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-n-byers"><strong>William Byers</strong></a>, and <strong>Henry Brown</strong> in founding the Denver Electric and Cable Company. The company operated streetcars that served as public transportation before the age of the automobile. In 1886 the company was reincorporated as the Denver Tramway Company, with William Evans serving as secretary.</p> <h2>Personal Life</h2> <p>On December 12, 1883, Evans married <strong>Cornelia Lunt Gray</strong> in the <strong>Evans Chapel</strong> at Thirteenth and Bannock Streets in Denver. The chapel was built in memory of Evans’s sister, Josephine Evans Elbert, who had died in 1868. On September 24, 1884, William and Cornelia welcomed their first child, John II. Their second child, Josephine, was born three years later. As the family grew, in 1889 Evans bought a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/byers-evans-house"><strong>large house</strong></a> from Byers at the corner of Thirteenth and Bannock Streets, catercorner from the Evans Chapel. The Evanses had their third child, Margaret, at the end of that year. Their fourth and final child, Katharine, was born in 1894.</p> <p>After John Evans died in 1897, William Evans moved his mother, Margaret, and sister, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/anne-evans"><strong>Anne</strong></a>, into his home at 1310 Bannock Street. Evans then knocked down his parents’ home at Fourteenth and Arapahoe, where he built a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/tramway-building-hotel-teatro"><strong>new headquarters for the Tramway Company</strong></a>.</p> <h2>Career and Controversy</h2> <p>In the late 1880s and 1890s, Evans continued to invest in railroad companies. At the same time, the Denver Tramway Company capitalized on its early adoption of electric streetcar lines to gobble up its competition after the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/panic-1893"><strong>Panic of 1893</strong></a> left smaller companies reeling. By 1900 Denver Tramway was the only major streetcar company left in town. Evans became president of the company two years later. His rule earned him a reputation as a Napoleonic figure. He led the company to secure a thirty-year franchise in Denver and expand its regional reach as far as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/golden"><strong>Golden</strong></a>.</p> <p>In 1902, the same year that he became president of the Denver Tramway Company, Evans was also elected to the board of trustees of the University of Denver. Three years later, he was elected president of the board in 1905. At the time, the university was in financial straits, and Evans worked in conjunction with the university’s chancellor, <strong>Henry Buchtel</strong>, to correct the downward trajectory. Together, the two set up fundraising campaigns and successfully relieved the debt. Evans continued to contribute funds to the university and was noted by Buchtel as the greatest benefactor of his day.</p> <p>At the same time, Evans joined forces with <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/david-h-moffat"><strong>David Moffat</strong></a> to found the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-northwestern-pacific-railway-hill-route-moffat-road"><strong>Denver, Northwestern &amp; Pacific Railway Company</strong></a> to build a direct railroad line from Denver to Salt Lake City. A tunnel under the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a> would take significant time and money to make, however, so in the meantime, the company laid a temporary route over the Divide at Rollins Pass. Progress on the tunnel stalled as cost estimates climbed, and the project faced fierce opposition from the rival Union Pacific Railroad. The company struggled to attract enough funding to complete the project, and Evans took it upon himself to secure the necessary funds through his business connections and personal contributions. This investment put him in a precarious financial position. After Moffat died in 1911, Evans succeeded him as president of the reorganized Denver &amp; Salt Lake Railway and continued to pursue the tunnel project.</p> <p>All the while, Evans was plagued by serious accusations that he stole elections and mishandled money. The story was that Evans and Mayor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/robert-w-speer"><strong>Robert Speer</strong></a> had used funds from the Tramway Company and other institutions to finance <strong>Lawrence C. Phipps</strong>’s purchase of the <strong><em>Denver Times</em></strong><em>.</em> The unfavorable press led to two libel suits, spawning a complex legal situation that involved contempt charges for Evans, Speer, and <strong><em>The Denver Post</em></strong> editors who had leveled the allegations; Evans was even arrested and put on trial to determine his ownership of the<em> Times</em>. In the end, the charges were dropped. &nbsp;</p> <p>Stressed by his legal situation and the ongoing Moffat Tunnel struggle, Evans had a nervous breakdown in 1913. He resigned from the Tramway Company and his many railroad positions, though he remained personally invested in the Moffat Road and was a staunch supporter of the project for the rest of his life. At the end of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a>, Evans worked with Representative Hugh R. Steele to propose a state railroad commission bill. After the bill passed, the governor appointed Evans to the commission, and he was elected its president. Thanks in part to his influence, in 1922 the Colorado legislature passed a bill to fund the tunnel, which was finally completed in 1928.</p> <h2>Community Involvement</h2> <p>After a vacation to recuperate from his mental distress, Evans continued his involvement in the Denver community. He retained his position as president of the University of Denver board of trustees until his death. He was well connected socially and belonged to the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-country-club"><strong>Denver Country Club</strong></a>, Denver Athletic Club, and University Club. During World War I, Evans and his wife became heavily involved in the Red Cross and distributed supplies for the war effort. Evans also chaired a Denver Civic and Commercial Association committee for establishing hospitals in Denver for soldiers.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>On October 21, 1924, William Gray Evans died at his house on Bannock Street. Like his father before him, Evans was a powerful business and civic leader who made many valuable contributions to the Centennial State. Also, like his father, his life was not without controversy. His leadership of the Tramway Company into a monopolized takeover of public transit dismayed many because it concentrated so much power in one company’s hands and because Evans accomplished it through his relationship with political figures such as Mayor Speer.</p> <p>While Evans may have unabashedly gained and consolidated power, he put it to ends that definitively reshaped Denver. His influence can still be seen today in the University of Denver, the Tramway Building (now Hotel Teatro), the Byers-Evans House (now operated by <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/history-colorado-colorado-historical-society"><strong>History Colorado</strong></a> as the Center for Colorado Women’s History), and even the <strong>Regional Transportation District</strong> (RTD), which took over public transit in Denver after the monopolistic Tramway Company’s demise.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carr-shelby" hreflang="und">Carr, Shelby</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/william-gray-evans" hreflang="en">William Gray Evans</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/john-evans" hreflang="en">John Evans</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/john-evans-ii" hreflang="en">John Evans II</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/margaret-evans" hreflang="en">Margaret Evans</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/anne-evans" hreflang="en">Anne Evans</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/university-denver" hreflang="en">University of Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-tramway-company" hreflang="en">Denver Tramway Company</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/moffat-road" hreflang="en">Moffat Road</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/moffat-tunnel" hreflang="en">Moffat Tunnel</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Charles B. Atwell, ed., <em>Alumni Record of the College of Liberal Arts, 1903</em> (Evanston, IL: Northwestern University, 1903).</p> <p>Allan DuPont Breck, <em>William Gray Evans, 1855–1924: Portrait of a Western Executive </em>(Denver: University of Denver, 1964).</p> <p>Helen Cannon, “First Ladies of Colorado: Margaret Gray Evans,” <em>Colorado Magazine</em> 39, no. 1 (January 1962).</p> <p>“Diary of Margaret Patton Gray Evans,” Governor John Evans Papers, MSS WH1724, Denver Public Library.</p> <p>A. J. Flynn, “An Appreciation of William G. Evans,” <em>Colorado Magazine</em> 2, no. 1 (January 1925).</p> <p>“Great Family: Evans of Denver,” <em>LIFE,</em> June 15, 1959.</p> <p>Frances Wayne, “William G. Evans Is Dead: News Kept from Wife Ill in Hospital as End Comes, Tuesday Night,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post, </em>October 22, 1924.&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>David Fridtjof Halaas, “The House in the Heart of a City: The Byers and Evans Families of Denver,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> 4 (1989).</p> <p>Elaine Colvin Walsh and Jean Walton Smith, <em>Victoria of Civic Center: The Byers-Evans House</em> (Denver: n.p., 1985).</p> <p>Thomas J. Noel and Nicholas J. Wharton, <em>Denver Landmarks and Historic Districts</em>, 2nd ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2016).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 18 May 2022 15:59:28 +0000 yongli 3680 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Lena Stoiber http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lena-stoiber <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Lena Stoiber</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-10-28T11:36:58-06:00" title="Thursday, October 28, 2021 - 11:36" class="datetime">Thu, 10/28/2021 - 11:36</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lena-stoiber" data-a2a-title="Lena Stoiber"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Flena-stoiber&amp;title=Lena%20Stoiber"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Lena Alma Allen Webster Stoiber Rood Ellis (1862–1935) was the “Bonanza Queen” of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/silverton-0"><strong>Silverton</strong></a>. Known as “Captain Jack” or “Jack Pants” to the miners who worked for her, she was a tough boss who worked in conjunction with her second husband, Edward G. Stoiber, at the Silver Lake Mine. He managed the mine and she managed the miners, outswearing them and ruling with an iron first. She has become a mythicized figure in Colorado history, often sensationalized for her four marriages and her colorful life, which did not correspond with cultural expectations for elite women at the time.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Lena Alma Allen was born on April 2, 1862, to Mary Jane and George Washington Allen in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Little is known about her childhood. Lena Allen’s first husband was Frederick Charles Webster, a Yale graduate and successful lawyer. They married in Minneapolis on August 7, 1877. The Websters moved west to Colorado after their marriage and settled in <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/leadville">Leadville</a></strong>, then at the start of its silver boom, where Frederick Webster served as city attorney. The marriage did not last, and the couple divorced on April 9, 1887. Frederick Webster moved to Montana, while Lena remained in Colorado, supporting herself for a time by working at <strong>Joslin’s Dry Goods</strong> in <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver">Denver</a></strong>.</p> <h2>Edward Stoiber</h2> <p>After relocating to Silverton, Lena Webster met Edward George Stoiber, a <a href="/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a> engineer. The couple wed on March 29, 1888, in Illinois. Stoiber was originally from New York, where he was born to German immigrant parents in 1855. After attending Columbia College in New York, he began working in the mining industry by the late 1870s. He relocated first to Leadville, then to <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-county">San Juan County</a></strong>. By 1885 he was working there with his brother, Gustavus. Around that time, the brothers purchased the Silver Lake mine near Silverton. About two years later, the brothers had a disagreement and divided their mutual assets. Edward retained ownership of the Silver Lake mine.</p> <h2>Marriage and Mining</h2> <p>Edward and Lena Stoiber spent their honeymoon at the <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/hotel-de-paris">Hotel de Paris</a></strong> in <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown%E2%80%93silver-plume-historic-district">Georgetown</a></strong>. The couple then settled in Silverton. It was in this first residence that Lena Stoiber became known for constructing “spite fences.” She had disagreements with her Silverton neighbors, and to spite them she built a two-story fence around her house to obstruct her neighbors’ views.</p> <p>Her neighbors were probably not surprised to learn that Stoiber was also a tough mining boss. While her husband managed the Silver Lake mine, she managed the miners. There are many outlandish stories about her time overseeing the Silver Lake miners. Some of the tales are myths, but Stoiber was in fact notorious for going from bar to bar to round up her miners and send them back to work. She also held parties and arranged entertainment for them, managed their boardinghouse, and helped look after their families. Owing to her impressive work in the mining industry, in 1894 Stoiber was named an associate member of the American Society of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers—a high honor, particularly for a woman of her time. The Stoibers were tough bosses, but they were respected by their employees and their mining interests saw great success.</p> <p>During the <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/panic-1893">Panic of 1893</a></strong>, which shuttered many mines, the Stoibers approached the crisis with clear heads and were able to survive by reducing the cost per ton and continuing to produce profitable low-grade ores. Thanks to their frugality and business savvy, the Stoibers retained their mine and their wealth. In the late 1890s, they decided to build a new house near their mine. Their three-story brick residence, called Waldheim, was completed in 1897 and had all the modern conveniences: electricity, plumbing, and a furnace.</p> <h2>Philanthropy</h2> <p>When Lena Stoiber wasn’t busy managing the Silver Lake miners, she was actively involved in the Silverton community. During the holiday season, she would deliver presents to every child in town. In 1898 she hosted a group from the <strong>Denver Woman’s Club </strong>at Waldheim as part of their biennial meeting.</p> <p>Around 1901 Edward Stoiber sold Silver Lake to the <strong>American Smelting and Refining Company</strong>. After the sale, the Stoibers relocated to Denver and began to travel the world. Lena Stoiber remained active in local charitable organizations after the move to Denver. She furnished rooms at the YWCA home and was a trustee and incorporator of the Colorado Cliff Dwellings Association in 1900. She played a major role in the <strong>movement</strong> to establish <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mesa-verde-national-park">Mesa Verde</a></strong> as a national park in 1906.</p> <h2>Edward’s Death</h2> <p>In Denver the Stoibers planned a large mansion at Tenth and Humboldt Streets, next to <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cheesman-park">Cheesman Park</a></strong>. Edward Stoiber never saw it completed, as he passed away suddenly after contracting typhoid fever while abroad in Paris. After his death, Lena Stoiber continued with the existing plans and her new mansion, <strong>Stoiberhof</strong>, was finished in 1907. Later, the property boasted another spite fence. To honor her late husband, in 1906 Lena Stoiber established the Edward Stoiber Prize at the <strong>Colorado School of Mines</strong> to honor the best senior thesis involving the concentration of ores and the separation of metals. The prize was awarded annually until at least 1916.</p> <h2>Rood Marriage</h2> <p>Stoiber continued to live alone at Stoiberhof until January 1909, when she married Hugh Roscoe Rood in Vancouver, Washington. A lumber baron from Seattle, Rood was president of the Pacific Coast Creosoting Company. After their marriage, the Roods split their time between Washington and Colorado.</p> <p>In 1912 the couple was in Europe when Hugh Rood decided to sail back to the United States. Lena decided to stay behind in Europe, while her husband booked passage home on the <em>Titanic</em>. He perished when it sank on April 14, 1912. Apparently in disbelief that her third husband had died, Lena Stoiber Rood placed advertisements in newspapers searching for her husband. Rumors swirled that he had survived the sinking, but he was never found.</p> <h2>Fourth Marriage</h2> <p>After the death of her third husband, Lena Stoiber Rood sold Stoiberhof to <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/verner-zevola-reed">Verner Z. Reed</a></strong> and spent some time in Paris. In 1918 she married for a fourth time to Commander Mark St. Clair Ellis of the US Navy. The couple did not have a happy marriage and separated after only a year. After their separation, Lena began spending most of her time in Europe. She bought a villa in Stresa, Italy, and remained there for the rest of her life.</p> <h2><strong>Legacy</strong></h2> <p>Lena Alma Allen Stoiber Rood Ellis passed away on March 27, 1935 in Stresa, Italy. Her body was brought back to Colorado and buried with her second husband, Edward Stoiber, in his mausoleum at <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fairmount-cemetery">Fairmount Cemetery</a></strong>. Her name is not inscribed on the mausoleum.</p> <p>Stoiber left a large estate upon her death and had no direct heirs. In her will, she named her siblings, nephews, Stoiber family members, employees, and friends as inheritors. Shortly after her death, a woman named Magdalena Domínguez came forward with a claim that Stoiber had adopted her and that she was therefore heir to the Stoiber estate. According to Domínguez’s story, Lena Stoiber agreed to adopt Dominguez as a child and to bequeath Domínguez a share of her estate upon her death. Domínguez took her claims to court, but in the end there was no evidence of an adoption and her claims were dismissed.</p> <p>Myths have surrounded the life of Lena Stoiber since her death. Supposedly, she once refused an offer to become the Queen of Serbia. She has also been painted as a “black widow” since two of her husbands died and many believed that her first husband also died or disappeared instead of relocating to Montana. The truth seems to be that Lena Stoiber stood apart from her contemporaries as a modern woman who pushed the boundaries of what was considered appropriate for a woman of her time.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carr-shelby" hreflang="und">Carr, Shelby</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lena-stoiber" hreflang="en">Lena Stoiber</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/edward-stoiber" hreflang="en">Edward Stoiber</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silver-lake-mine" hreflang="en">Silver Lake mine</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silverton" hreflang="en">Silverton</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/frederick-webster" hreflang="en">Frederick Webster</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Death of E. G. Stoiber,” <em>Las Animas Leader</em>, April 27, 1906.</p> <p><em>“</em>Frederick Charles Webster,” <em>Obituary Record of Graduates Deceased During the Year Ending July 1, 1927 </em>(New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1927).</p> <p>Larry Goodwin, “Silver Lake Basin: A Mining Chronicle,” <em>Mining History Association Journal </em>(2016).</p> <p>Lena Stoiber Papers, Mss. 3121, History Colorado Center, Denver, n.d..</p> <p>“Magnitude of Disaster Shocks Whole World: Hugh Rood of Denver Lost, Mrs. J.J. Brown Is Rescued,” <em>Rocky Mountain News, </em>April 17, 1912.</p> <p>Constance Merrill Primus, <em>Victorian Visitors at the Hotel de Paris in Georgetown, Colorado </em>(Virginia Beach: Donning Company, 2014).</p> <p>Agnes Wright Spring, “Silver Queen of the San Juans,” <em>Frontier Times</em>, January 1967.</p> <p>Karen A. Vendl and Mark A. Vendl with the San Juan County Historical Society, <em>Mines Around Silverton</em> (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2015).</p> <p>“Widow of Colorado Mining Magnate Dies,” <em>Daily Oklahoman</em>, March 28, 1935.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Thomas J. Noel and Nicholas J. Wharton, <em>Denver Landmarks and Historic Districts, </em>2nd ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2016).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 28 Oct 2021 17:36:58 +0000 yongli 3624 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Kate Ferretti http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/kate-ferretti <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Kate Ferretti </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-10-25T15:03:06-06:00" title="Monday, October 25, 2021 - 15:03" class="datetime">Mon, 10/25/2021 - 15:03</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/kate-ferretti" data-a2a-title="Kate Ferretti "><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fkate-ferretti&amp;title=Kate%20Ferretti%20"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Henrietta “Kate” Malnati Ferretti (1891–1987) was an early twentieth-century entrepreneur who established a successful millinery business in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>. A first-generation Italian American, Ferretti founded her business in Denver’s <strong>Little Italy</strong> and catered to some of the city’s most elite clientele. Her work for <strong>Margaret Brown</strong>, in particular, brought her national recognition as an elite hatmaker. Ferretti’s successful career spanned more than fifty years until her retirement in 1973.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Henrietta “Kate” Malnati was born on January 3, 1891, in Denver, one of eight children of Italian immigrants Henry and Louisa Malnati. Her father was a granite cutter who worked on famous Denver structures such as the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/city-park"><strong>City Park</strong></a> gates, <strong>Colorado State Capitol</strong>, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-mint"><strong>Denver Mint</strong></a>. The Malnatis lived in the Villa Park neighborhood southwest of downtown, and the Malnati children attended Villa Park Elementary School. While attending school there, Henrietta got the nickname “Kate” from an older brother, and it stuck through the rest of her life.</p> <p>Malnati left school at age fourteen to enter the workforce. Her first job was at the <strong>Golden Eagle Dry Goods Store</strong> on <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sixteenth-street-denver"><strong>Sixteenth</strong></a> and Lawrence Streets. The Golden Eagle was Denver’s elite store at the time, and she made two dollars a week for her work. She was fascinated by the millinery department and spent her spare time watching the store’s milliner, Madame Lily. Eventually, Madame Lily offered to mentor her, and she eagerly accepted. She worked for Madame Lily for three years before going to work for Madame Rossi at the <strong>Denver Dry Goods Company</strong>, where her salary was doubled to four dollars per week.</p> <p>By 1911 Malnati worked for Miss M. E. Mulroy at the Villa de Paris millinery shop on Sixteenth Street. Villa de Paris was well known locally and catered to Denver elites. During a decade of work at Villa de Paris, Malnati designed and made hats for many of Denver’s most influential women of the time, including Margaret Brown, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/louise-bethel-sneed-hill"><strong>Louise Bethel Sneed Hill</strong></a>, and <strong>Genevieve Phipps</strong>. She was also tasked at times with making and delivering hats for women working in Denver’s red-light district.</p> <h2>Personal Life</h2> <p>During her time at Villa de Paris, Malnati met Giacomo Ferretti, also called Jacob or Jack. The couple wed on April 10, 1917. Kate Ferretti took a break from her millinery work after her marriage to birth and raise her children. In 1918 the couple had their first child, a daughter, Anne Louise. In 1925 the couple had their second child, another daughter, Virginia, who passed away shortly after her birth. In 1926 Ferretti gave birth to Denver’s first recorded triplets: Jack, Joan, and Joseph. In 1932 tragedy again struck the family when one of the triplets, Joan, died of pneumonia.</p> <h2>Business</h2> <p>Although Ferretti left Villa de Paris after her marriage, she found that her customers still desired her designs. Seeing an opportunity to establish herself as the leading milliner for Denver’s high society, she seized her chance. She spent years designing hats at home before officially establishing a storefront in the Little Italy neighborhood of northwest Denver. In 1938 she operated her business at 3736 Tejon Street, a half mile from her house. Later, she relocated her business to the carriage house behind her family’s home at 4240 Tejon Street.</p> <p>The Kate Ferretti Millinery Shop became notable for its chic contemporary hats. Ferretti’s designs ranged from custom pieces featuring real leopard fur and ostrich feathers to simpler pieces with cloth, silk, and flowers. Her affluent patrons often sent chauffeured cars across town from their <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-capitol-hill"><strong>Capitol Hill</strong></a> residences to pick up their purchases. At one point during <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/prohibition"><strong>prohibition</strong></a>, there were so many limousines coming and going that police believed Ferretti was a bootlegger.</p> <p>Despite Ferretti’s quick success, she did not become complacent. To improve her products, she began traveling to New York, Italy, France, and Switzerland to find new materials for her innovative designs. She also decided to expand her business to include designer clothing, which she bought abroad and brought back to her Denver shop. Many of the couture pieces were not otherwise available in the Mile High City, setting her shop apart from the competition.</p> <p>Ferretti’s business continued to thrive over the following decades. Each season, articles detailed her impressive work and publicized her in-demand headwear; descriptions of her work were carried in newspapers across the country. As her children grew older, they joined the business. Ferretti’s daughter, Anne Louise, worked in the millinery shop with her mother. After <strong>World War II</strong>, Ferretti’s sons, Joseph and Jack, became involved in the finances and management of the overall enterprise. As the family grew to include the younger generation’s spouses and children, they also became involved. Jack’s wife, Maria Ferretti, started working in the shop in the 1960s.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>By the 1970s, Kate Ferretti had turned her small millinery shop into a full-blown corporation, Kate Ferretti, Inc. Ferretti served as president, with Joseph as vice-president and Jack as secretary-treasurer. She retired in 1973, after working more than fifty years in the millinery trade. Jack, Joseph, and Anne Louise Ferretti continued to run Kate Ferretti, Inc., for a few years before they, too, retired.</p> <p>Kate Ferretti died on May 3, 1987, at age ninety-six. She continues to be remembered in Denver for her long, successful career as one of the city’s most accomplished female entrepreneurs. Coming from humble origins, she was a self-made businessperson who established an impressive national reputation in the millinery world. She spent more than half a century shaping Denver’s fashion trends, and her hats were treasured by some of the city’s most famous and influential women.&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carr-shelby" hreflang="und">Carr, Shelby</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/kate-ferretti" hreflang="en">Kate Ferretti</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/italian-immigrants" hreflang="en">Italian immigrants</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/millinery" hreflang="en">millinery</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hats" hreflang="en">hats</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fashion" hreflang="en">fashion</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Dorothy Battle, “Denver’s Only Set of Triplets Is Separated by Girl’s Death: Pneumonia Proves Fatal to Little 5-Year-Old Joan Ferretti, Despite Family’s Anxious Prayers Thruout [<em>sic</em>] Night,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post, </em>March 4, 1932.</p> <p>“<a href="https://historicdenver.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/HDnews-Summer-2015-Draft.pdf">Conservation in Action at the Molly Brown House Museum</a>,” <em>Historic Denver News</em> 44, no. 3 (Summer 2015).</p> <p>Kate Ferretti interview with Nancy Whistler, August 4, 1975 (transcript), C MSS-M1846, Western History and Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library.</p> <p>Frances Melrose, “Denverite Created Hats,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, May 1, 1977.</p> <p>Thomas J. Noel and Barbara S. Norgren, <em>Denver: The City Beautiful and Its Architects, 1893–1941</em> (Denver: Historic Denver, Inc., 1987).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Alisa Zahller, <em>Italy in Colorado: Family Histories From Denver and Beyond</em> (Virginia Beach: Donning Company Publishers, 2008).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 25 Oct 2021 21:03:06 +0000 yongli 3623 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Charles Boettcher http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/charles-boettcher <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Charles Boettcher</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-06-29T15:46:48-06:00" title="Tuesday, June 29, 2021 - 15:46" class="datetime">Tue, 06/29/2021 - 15:46</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/charles-boettcher" data-a2a-title="Charles Boettcher"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcharles-boettcher&amp;title=Charles%20Boettcher"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Charles Boettcher (1852–1948) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for founding the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-western-sugar-company"><strong>Great Western Sugar Company</strong></a> and the Boettcher Foundation, an organization that made the Boettcher name synonymous with generosity in Colorado. Boettcher built his wealth through a series of sound investments in hardware, mining, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sugar-beet-industry"><strong>sugar beet</strong></a> processing, meatpacking, cement production, hotels, and more. This diversity helped amass his large fortune, protected it from the perils of Colorado’s early boom-and-bust economy, and developed Boettcher’s reputation as a savvy businessman. The <strong>Boettcher Foundation</strong>, founded by Charles Boettcher and his son <strong>Claude</strong> in 1937, continues to provide millions of dollars in grants and scholarships across Colorado.</p> <h2>Early Years</h2> <p>Charles Boettcher was born in 1852 in the German town of Kölleda, where his parents Frederick and Susanna owned a hardware store. When he was seventeen, his parents sent him to Wyoming to visit his older brother Herman, who was also working in a hardware store. Once in the United States, Charles saw the opportunities for hardware sales in booming mining towns and decided to stay.</p> <h2>Hardware Empire</h2> <p>The business career of the Boettcher brothers began when they purchased two hardware stores, one in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and one in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/greeley"><strong>Greeley</strong></a>, Colorado. The brothers were taught from a young age to save their money and work hard, and this led to the rapid development of a hardware empire. They purchased a third store in Evans, Colorado, in 1871. He then purchased another store in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> in 1872. Charles would later open another store in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a> by himself, and it quickly became a landmark building that still stands at the corner of Broadway and Pearl.</p> <h2>Family Life</h2> <p>While living in Fort Collins, Boettcher met Fannie Augusta Cowan and quickly proposed. Eager to start a new life with his bride, Boettcher sold the goods from his Fort Collins hardware store and rented out the premises. He chose Boulder as his next destination, and Boettcher later recalled the next four years as some of the happiest of his life. The Boettchers married in 1874 and had two children, Claude in 1875 and Ruth in 1890. Charles and Fannie would travel the world together during their long marriage but eventually grew apart. Although they remained civil, the couple officially separated in 1918 and lived apart for the remainder of their long lives.</p> <h2>Leadville</h2> <p>The silver boom in <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/leadville"><strong>Leadville</strong></a> soon attracted Charles, and he opened another store there in 1879. Business boomed in this mining town that soon boasted 30,000 residents. Charles and his family lived in Leadville for the next ten years. During this time, he used profits from his hardware empire to purchase mining properties in and around Leadville. He also invested in Leadville’s first electric company and bought a ranch.</p> <h2>Banking</h2> <p>According to legend, Boettcher started banking as soon as he arrived in Colorado, but he did not officially incorporate until much later. In the 1890, Boettcher joined the board of the Carbonate Bank in Leadville as director.&nbsp; His wife, Fannie wanted to move to <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, and this new business venture provided the necessary funds. Boettcher’s business acumen would be sharply tested in the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/panic-1893"><strong>Panic of 1893</strong></a>, but in part thanks to his diverse portfolio, he escaped relatively unscathed. Boettcher later operated and invested in his own bank, Denver US Bank (now part of Wells Fargo). With his partner H. M. Porter, Boettcher also opened an investment firm later known as the Fifteenth Street Investment Company, which became the largest landowner in Denver. In 1910 his son Claude would take over and create the investment firm Boettcher, Porter, and Company.</p> <h2>Sugar Beets</h2> <p>In 1900 Fannie and Charles Boettcher embarked on a pivotal trip back to Germany. It was during this vacation that Charles visited several sugar beet farms and became interested in the potential of sugar beets back in Colorado. He learned all he could during the trip about growing and processing sugar beets, and he even collected seeds, which he experimented with after his return. This new interest changed the course of Colorado’s economic history, especially for the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>eastern plains</strong></a>, where sugar beets could be grown in large quantities.</p> <p>Boettcher founded the Great Western Sugar Company in 1900, but his wasn’t the only one. Between 1900 and 1920, beet-processing facilities opened across the plains in Greeley, <strong>Loveland</strong>, Eaton, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-morgan"><strong>Fort Morgan</strong></a>, <strong>Brush</strong>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/sterling-0"><strong>Sterling</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/longmont-0"><strong>Longmont</strong></a>, and <strong>Brighton</strong>. Each facility opened independently but was then purchased by Henry O. Havemeyer and in 1905 was acquired by Boettcher and his partners. Boettcher’s Great Western Sugar Company flourished and supported a multi-million-dollar industry in Colorado.</p> <h2>Ideal Cement Company</h2> <p>During the construction of the first of several sugar beet–processing facilities, Boettcher realized that he and his partners paid a premium price for concrete mix produced in Germany. To remedy this, Boettcher decided to open his own cement company to produce high-quality cement locally. In 1901 he and his partner John Thatcher incorporated as the Portland Cement Company, which provided cement for sugar beet factories. In 1924 the name would change to the Ideal Cement Company, which became the largest privately owned cement company in the world. The first two cement production facilities were in Florence and just outside Fort Collins, but the company would later expand to twenty-six states and employ more than 3,000 people.</p> <p>In 1908 Boettcher completed construction of the Ideal Cement Building in downtown Denver. Located at Seventeenth and Champa Streets, it was in a prime location for demonstrating the strength and safety of concrete. According to legend, Boettcher set fire to the building soon after its completion to demonstrate the superiority and safety of the all-concrete structure. It still stands today.</p> <h2>Other Investments</h2> <p>In 1901 Boettcher founded the Western Packing Company in Denver to slaughter the cows from his ranch. The company was sold to Swift and Company in 1912 at a substantial profit. He also invested in the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-tramway-company"><strong>Denver Tramway Company</strong></a>, the city’s largest streetcar company. Boettcher’s diverse portfolio also included the Capitol Life Insurance Company and Bighorn Land and Cattle Company. In 1903 he created the National Fuse and Powder Company, which produced dynamite for miners.</p> <h2>Later Years</h2> <p>In 1915 Boettcher became president of the Denver &amp; Salt Lake Railroad, also known as the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-northwestern-pacific-railway-hill-route-moffat-road"><strong>Moffat Road</strong></a>. This group of investors wanted to build a railroad across the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a> through Colorado to Salt Lake City. Plagued by financial difficulties, the group appealed to the legislature for funds to build a tunnel. The legislature approved the funding, but the governor disagreed, and the ensuing fight in court went against Boettcher’s company. After a stalemate, Boettcher decided to raise the funds via bonds, but that was also unsuccessful. The tunnel was eventually completed in 1928, but by then Boettcher had already vacated his position and sold his shares.</p> <p>Boettcher also purchased the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/brown-palace-hotel"><strong>Brown Palace Hotel</strong></a> in 1922, and after separating from his wife, Fannie, he lived there full time. Boettcher used his large collection of European military memorabilia to decorate the Palace Arms Dining Room. Although he owned the hotel, he liked to buy Coca-Cola across the street at a vending machine, saying the prices at the Brown Palace were too high.</p> <h2>Residences</h2> <p>Over the years the Boettcher family lived in Boulder, Leadville, and Denver in increasingly larger and more stately houses. Their Denver residence, at 1201 Grant Street in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-capitol-hill"><strong>Capitol Hill</strong></a>, was one of the many elegant houses on Grant Street, which became known as “Millionaires Row.” In 1917 Boettcher completed his summer retreat, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lorraine-lodgeboettcher-mansion"><strong>Lorraine Lodge</strong></a>, in the mountains near <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/golden"><strong>Golden</strong></a>, and would typically spend summers there hunting, fishing, and entertaining his business partners and guests.</p> <h2>Philanthropy</h2> <p>Both Charles and Fannie Boettcher valued education. They each donated generously to schools. Fannie supported the Kent School for Girls (now <strong>Kent Denver</strong> <strong>School</strong>), while Charles and his son Claude opened the Boettcher School for Crippled Children for children receiving care at Denver’s <strong>Children’s Hospital</strong>. In 1937 he and Claude created the Boettcher Foundation to give back to Colorado, his adopted home.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>Never one to rest on his laurels, Boettcher worked at the Ideal Cement Company until his death on July 2, 1948, at age ninety-six. One of the most significant businessmen in Colorado history, Boettcher made his approximately $16 million fortune in a variety of industries. His gratitude was expressed in the Boettcher Foundation, which has provided millions of dollars in grants to schools, hospitals, and other worthy causes throughout Colorado. Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-museum-nature-science-0"><strong>Museum of Nature and Science</strong></a>, <strong>Center for the Performing Arts</strong>, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-botanic-gardens"><strong>Botanic Gardens</strong></a> all have spaces dedicated to the Boettcher family. A series of murals in Denver’s <strong>Capitol Building</strong> was also donated to the state in Boettcher’s memory.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/campbell-alyse" hreflang="und">Campbell, Alyse</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/charles-boettcher" hreflang="en">Charles Boettcher</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-western-sugar" hreflang="en">great western sugar</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ideal-cement-company" hreflang="en">ideal cement company</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-business-leaders" hreflang="en">colorado business leaders</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/business-history-colorado" hreflang="en">business history colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/sugar-beets" hreflang="en">sugar beets</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/sugar-beet-industry" hreflang="en">sugar beet industry</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/boettcher-foundation" hreflang="en">Boettcher Foundation</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/claude-boettcher" hreflang="en">Claude Boettcher</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/boettcher-family-history" hreflang="en">boettcher family history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/boettcher-mansion" hreflang="en">boettcher mansion</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://boettcherfoundation.org/2020-grantmaking/">2020 Year-End: Boettcher Foundation Awards $10.6 Million in Grants and Scholarships</a>,” Boettcher Foundation, December 23, 2020.</p> <p>Phillip Anschutz, <em>Out Where the West Begins</em> (Denver: Cloud Campus Press, 2015).</p> <p>Geraldine B. Bean, <em>Charles Boettcher: Study in Pioneer Western Enterprise</em> (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1976).</p> <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/digital-colorado/colorado-histories/boom-years/charles-boettcher-denver-businessman/">Charles Boettcher: Denver Business Man</a>,” Colorado Virtual Library, accessed February 1, 2020.</p> <p><a href="https://coloradocapitolart.colorado.gov/art-work-maps/1st-floor">Colorado State Capitol Art and Memorials</a>. N.d.</p> <p>Candy Hamilton, <em>Footprints in the Sugar: A History of the Great Western Sugar Company</em> (Ontario, OR: Hamilton Bates Publishers, 2009).</p> <p>Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 1990).</p> <p>Thomas J. Noel, <em>Growing Through History With Colorado: The Colorado National Banks</em> (Denver: Colorado National Banks and the Colorado Studies Center, 1987).</p> <p>Anne Cameron Robb, <a href="https://boettcherfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/A-Colorado-Legacy.pdf"><em>The Boettcher Time: A Colorado Legacy</em></a>, Boettcher Foundation, n.d.</p> <p>Rocky Mountain PBS, “<a href="https://video.rmpbs.org/video/2365005651/">The Boettchers</a>,” <em>Colorado Experience</em>, May 2, 2013.</p> <p>Carl Ubbelohde, Maxine Benson, Duane A. Smith, <em>A Colorado History</em>, 9th ed. (Boulder: Pruett Publishing, 2006).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Carl Abbott, Stephen Leonard, and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State</em>, 5th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2013).</p> <p>Grace Zirkelbach, <em>Charles Boettcher: A Colorado Businessman</em> (Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2011).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 29 Jun 2021 21:46:48 +0000 yongli 3588 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Mary Hauck Elitch Long http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mary-hauck-elitch-long <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Mary Hauck Elitch Long</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-06-18T14:53:46-06:00" title="Friday, June 18, 2021 - 14:53" class="datetime">Fri, 06/18/2021 - 14:53</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mary-hauck-elitch-long" data-a2a-title="Mary Hauck Elitch Long"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fmary-hauck-elitch-long&amp;title=Mary%20Hauck%20Elitch%20Long"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Mary Hauck Elitch Long (1856–1936) was the first woman in the world to own and operate a zoo, located at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elitch-gardens"><strong>Elitch Gardens</strong></a> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>. She and her husband, <strong>John Elitch, Jr.</strong>, opened the attraction in 1890, and after his death in 1891, Mary continued on as a pioneering businesswoman and entrepreneur. At a time when women held relatively little power in business and politics, Long defied the odds by catapulting herself to success as the “First Lady of Fun” and famed “Lady of the Gardens,” which she ran until 1916.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Mary Hauck was born on May 10, 1856, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Frederick and Augustina Hauck. Her family soon moved to California, where her father owned and operated a farm. At the age of sixteen, she fell in love with twenty-two-year-old John Elitch, Jr., and the couple eloped. After their marriage, they moved from San Jose to San Francisco, where they opened a restaurant in a theater building. During their time there, the couple made many valuable connections in the theater industry.</p> <p>In 1880 the Elitches decided to relocate to Colorado. Initially they moved to <strong>Durango</strong> and opened another restaurant. Two years later, the couple moved to Denver, where John Elitch and his father opened a restaurant together. The Elitch Restaurant and Oyster House was a success and was eventually relocated and renamed Elitch’s Palace and Dining Rooms.</p> <h2>Elitch’s Zoological Gardens</h2> <p>Soon after their move to Denver, Mary and John Elitch decided to open a zoo. At the time, none existed west of Chicago. They also hoped for a space where they could grow vegetables to supply their restaurant. They began their search for land and discovered Chilcott Farm in the northwest Denver area known as the <strong>Highlands</strong>. The farm included a lake, an apple orchard, countless trees, and a farmhouse that had once operated as a country school. In 1888 the Elitches bought the property, renamed it Elitch’s Farm, and began the process of establishing their zoo. Their initial layouts for the property included a theater and animal houses. They began acquiring exotic animals from close friend and circus leader P.&nbsp;T. Barnum as well as his rival, Adam Forepaugh. Through Forepaugh they bought monkeys, lions, camels, and cockatoos, among other animals.</p> <p>The couple’s dream was realized on May 1, 1890, when Elitch’s Zoological Gardens opened its doors to much excitement and fanfare. The gardens were so successful after the first season that John Elitch decided to expand his interests and invest in a touring performance group. In March 1891, the group was touring the Pacific Coast when Elitch fell ill and died. Although devastated by the loss of her husband, Mary Elitch was determined to propel the business to new heights of success.</p> <h2>Mary Elitch, Owner and Operator</h2> <p>After John Elitch passed away, funding for the gardens became tight because his investment in the touring group was lost. In 1891 Mary sold a controlling interest in Elitch Gardens to a group of investors, which became known as the Elitch Gardens Amusement Company. She remained as manager of the zoo. The <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/panic-1893"><strong>Panic of 1893</strong></a> deeply affected many residents and businesses in Colorado, including Elitch Gardens. Attendance dropped, and the park was forced to close early for the season. Many banks closed their doors, too, and the Elitch Gardens Amusement Company went into receivership. In 1894 Elitch was able to regain control of the business when she purchased the controlling stock back from the syndicate in a sheriff’s sale. She thus became the first woman in the world to own and operate a zoo. Back in full control, she continued to expand the gardens and add exotic animals, including kangaroos.</p> <p>Elitch was also one of the first women in the United States to own a theater. The theater and summer stock program at Elitch Gardens were huge successes. Elitch brought in famous names and newcomers alike, including Sarah Bernhardt and Douglas Fairbanks. She had a great love for children (though she didn’t have any of her own) and made every Tuesday at the gardens Children’s Day, when children could come even without their parents and be looked after by Elitch herself.</p> <p>In 1900 Elitch married her business manager, Thomas D. Long. They continued to manage the gardens together. In 1904 they added the park’s first ride. Over the next decade, they continued to add more features, including a merry-go-round and a train.</p> <h2>Society</h2> <p>Mary Elitch Long was active in Denver society from the time she and her first husband settled in the Mile High City. She was involved in many local clubs and organizations. In addition to her love of the theater, she had a great interest in art and painting. She was also a dedicated associate member of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-woman%E2%80%99s-press-club"><strong>Denver Woman’s Press Club</strong></a>. She hosted many club events, and to this day a large portrait of Long hangs on the north wall of the group’s clubhouse. In her spare time, Long wrote two children’s books.</p> <h2>Decline</h2> <p>The amusement park industry started to face stiff competition in the early twentieth century. With the increasing popularity of movie theaters and automobiles, Denverites had the option of choosing from a variety of entertainment venues. Revenue began to drop at Elitch Gardens, and in 1915 the park declared bankruptcy. Long’s personal life was not faring any better than her beloved park. By that time, she and her second husband had separated.</p> <p>In 1916 the park was sold at auction to Oscar L. Malo. Two months later, Malo sold the property to John Mulvihill with the stipulation that Long could remain in her cottage on the property. She continued to live at the gardens until 1932, when her health grew poor and she moved in with her sister-in-law, Jeanette Arnold.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>Mary Hauck Elitch Long died on July 16, 1936, after suffering a heart attack. She is buried with John Elitch, Jr., in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fairmount-cemetery"><strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong></a>. She is remembered as a pioneering Colorado entrepreneur who made a name for herself in an industry where women had previously had no place. She was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 1998. Her legacy continues to this day through the operation of the Elitch Gardens amusement park, which moved from Highlands to downtown Denver in 1995, as well as the restoration of the historic Elitch Theatre on the site of the original gardens.&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carr-shelby" hreflang="und">Carr, Shelby</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mary-elitch" hreflang="en">mary elitch</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/john-elitch" hreflang="en">john elitch</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elitch-gardens" hreflang="en">Elitch Gardens</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“The Daily News,” <em>Rocky Mountain News, </em>March 12, 1891.</p> <p>Debra B. Faulkner, <em>Mary Elitch Long: First Lady of Fun</em> (Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2008).</p> <p>“Elitch Theatre,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (1978).</p> <p>“<a href="https://dwpconline.org/about/house-and-garden/">House and Garden</a>,” Denver Woman’s Press Club, n.d.</p> <p>Rosemary Elaine Lewis, “<a href="http://digital.auraria.edu/AA00002441/00001/1j">The Elitch Gardens Theatre, 1891–2008 America’s High Plains Summer Playhouse</a>” (master’s thesis, University of Colorado–Denver, 2009).</p> <p>Mary Elitch Long, “Early Denver Days Described in Mrs. Elitch Long’s Memoirs,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post, </em>May 31, 1914.</p> <p>“Mrs. John Elitch Jr. Becomes Mrs. T. D. Long,” <em>Rocky Mountain News, </em>November 22, 1900.</p> <p>“Noted Founder of Elitch’s Is Seriously Ill: Heart Attack Suffered by Mary E. Long at Relative’s Home,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post, </em>July 16, 1936.</p> <p>“State News,” <em>Silver Cliff Rustler, </em>December 19, 1889.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Betty Lynne Hull, <em>Denver’s Elitch Gardens: Spinning a Century of Dreams</em> (Boulder, CO: Johnson Books, 2003).</p> <p>Mary Elitch, <em>Experiences of the Only Woman in the World Who Owns and Manages a Zoo </em>(Denver: n.p., 1898).</p> <p>Theodore A. Borrillo<em>, Denver’s Historic Elitch Theater: A Nostalgic Journey (A History of Its Times)</em> (self-published, 2012).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 18 Jun 2021 20:53:46 +0000 yongli 3569 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Crawford Hill http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crawford-hill <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Crawford Hill</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-06-15T17:31:51-06:00" title="Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - 17:31" class="datetime">Tue, 06/15/2021 - 17:31</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crawford-hill" data-a2a-title="Crawford Hill"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcrawford-hill&amp;title=Crawford%20Hill"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Crawford Hill (1862–1922) was a successful <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> businessman and philanthropist. The firstborn child and only son of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/alice-hale-hill"><strong>Alice</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/nathaniel-p-hill"><strong>Nathaniel P. Hill</strong></a>, Crawford inherited their fortune and carried his father’s prosperous businesses into the next generation. A quiet, conservative man, dedicated philanthropist, and savvy real-estate investor, he helped propel the rough, young city of Denver to new heights.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Crawford Hill was born on March 29, 1862, to Alice Hale and Nathaniel Peter Hill in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1867 the Hills relocated to the mining town of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Black Hawk</strong></a> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a>, where Nathaniel Hill, formerly a chemistry professor at Brown University, established the first successful <strong>smelter</strong> in the American West. His business success propelled him to political office as mayor of Black Hawk and, starting in 1879, a US Senator.</p> <p>Crawford was educated in the local Black Hawk grammar schools before being sent to the English and Classical School in Providence. There he followed in his father’s footsteps by attending Brown. After graduating with his BA in 1885, he returned to Denver, where his family had moved, and began working for his father’s newspaper, the <strong><em>Denver Republican</em></strong><em>. </em></p> <h2>Family and Social Life</h2> <p>By the 1890s, Hill was known in Denver as an avid clubman and sportsman—and the most eligible bachelor in town. At the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-country-club"><strong>Denver Country Club</strong></a>, he enjoyed playing golf, tennis, and billiards among other activities. He also belonged to the Union Club of New York City, the University Club, the Denver Athletic Club, and the Denver Club, where he served for a time as director.</p> <p>In 1893 Hill met an energetic Southern belle, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/louise-bethel-sneed-hill"><strong>Louise Bethel Sneed</strong></a>, at a ball in her honor at her cousin’s mansion on the corner of East <strong>Colfax Avenue</strong> and Marion Street. Hill’s personality was demure, and those who knew him described him as being devoid of a sparkling disposition, but he was strong of character and conservative in society and business. What Crawford lacked in social presence, Louise more than made up for with her exuberance, ambition, tenacity, innate sense of leadership, and drive to succeed; it was a perfect match. On November 9, 1894, the couple announced their engagement. They wed on January 15, 1895, in a lavish ceremony in Memphis, Tennessee, and returned to Denver to make the Mile High City their home.</p> <p>Initially the Hills lived at 1407 Cleveland Place, a lovely mansion purchased for the newlyweds by Nathaniel P. Hill. There the Hills welcomed their first child, Nathaniel, in 1896, and their second, Crawford, Jr., in 1898. After the birth of their sons, the family desired more space and newer accommodations. In 1904 Hill acquired property at the corner of Tenth Avenue and Sherman Street, where he hired the architectural firm of Boal and Harnois to build a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crawford-and-louise-hill-mansion"><strong>three-story French Renaissance mansion</strong></a>. It was in that home that Louise Hill cemented the family’s position as undisputed leaders of Denver’s elite set, known as the Sacred 36.</p> <h2>Career</h2> <p>Crawford Hill never actively pursued a career in politics, but he was an influential member of the Republican Party, and his prowess was sought out by local and national officials. Although he had no prior military experience, in 1891–92 Hill served with the rank of colonel on the military staff of Governor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/john-l-routt"><strong>John L. Routt</strong></a>, and in 1895–96 he served on Governor <strong>Albert W. </strong><strong>McIntire</strong>’s military staff. In 1900 he was an alternate delegate for the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. In 1908 he served as chair of the Colorado delegation at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, and in 1912 he served again as a delegate. Hill was close to nationally prominent Republicans such as US senator <strong>Simon Guggenheim</strong> and President William Howard Taft, the latter of whom the Hills entertained during his 1911 trip to Denver. Taft was also an occasional houseguest at the Hills’ palatial residence at 969 Sherman Street.</p> <p>Hill entered business in the 1890s, largely following in his father’s footsteps. In 1896 he was elected vice-president of two companies where his father served as president: Western Oil and United Oil. A year later, he established the Dolly Varden Mining Company with two business associates. After his father passed away in 1900, he inherited family businesses such as the Republican Publishing Company, the Denargo Land and Investment Company, and the Boston and Colorado Smelting Company—all based in Colorado. Along with his mother and two younger sisters, Isabel and Gertrude, he established the Hill Land and Investment Company to manage the family’s properties. He was also elected as his father’s successor to lead United Oil.</p> <p>By 1911 Hill had acquired many other prominent positions in Denver. He was treasurer of the Inland Oil and Refining Company and director of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-museum-nature-science-0"><strong>Colorado Museum of Natural History</strong></a> (serving on the board of trustees from 1901 to 1922), the First National Bank of Denver, the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/telephone-building"><strong>Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company</strong></a>, and the <strong>Young Women’s Christian Association</strong> (an organization his mother had been heavily involved in prior to her death in 1908). He also ran the <em>Denver Republican </em>until 1914, when he sold it.</p> <p>Much like his mother, Hill was a dedicated philanthropist and donated frequently to local charities, though he and his wife chose to keep the majority of their donations private. Among his public contributions, he helped fund the Museum of Natural History’s new building in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/city-park"><strong>City Park</strong></a>, which opened in 1909. He also took a particular interest in the Red Cross during <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a> and even housed a Red Cross headquarters in the family mansion.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>In 1920 Hill suffered a stroke. He never fully recovered and passed away on December 22, 1922, at the age of fifty-seven.</p> <p>Today Hill’s legacy tends to be overshadowed by that of his father, a brilliant chemist and businessman, and his wife, Louise, an innovative and powerful social entrepreneur. Although it stood in contrast to their dynamic personalities, Crawford Hill’s quiet steadiness provided a solid foundation for his family, friends, and business associates; his support behind the scenes helped set them up for success. In addition, Hill’s influential backing of local institutions such as the Museum of Natural History (now the Denver Museum of Nature &amp; Science) helped cement Denver’s future as a cultural hub and propelled the city forward to the modern era.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carr-shelby" hreflang="und">Carr, Shelby</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/crawford-hill" hreflang="en">Crawford Hill</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/nathaniel-hill" hreflang="en">Nathaniel Hill</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/alice-hill" hreflang="en">Alice Hill</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/louise-hill" hreflang="en">louise hill</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/crawford-hill-mansion" hreflang="en">Crawford Hill Mansion</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-republican" hreflang="en">Denver Republican</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Crawford and Louise Hill Collection, MSS 309, Stephen H. Hart Research Center, History Colorado Center, Denver, n.d.</p> <p>“Crawford Hill Dead at Home as Result of Two-Year Illness,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post, </em>December 23, 1922.</p> <p>“Former Prominent Denver Publisher Is Dead,” <em>Fourth Estate, </em>December 30, 1922.</p> <p>“New Corporations,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, July 27, 1897.</p> <p>“Oil Companies Elect,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, October 13, 1896.</p> <p>William Columbus Ferril, “Crawford Hill,” in <em>Sketches of Colorado</em>, vol. 1 (Denver: Western Press Bureau, 1911).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Chuck Bonniwell and David Fridtjof Halaas,&nbsp;<em>The History of the Denver Country Club, 1887–2006 </em>(Sarasota, FL: Oceanview Books, 2006).</p> <p>Shelby Carr,&nbsp;<em>The Queen of Denver: Louise Sneed Hill and the Emergence of Modern High Society</em>&nbsp;(Charleston, SC: History Press, 2020).</p> <p>Crawford Hill Papers, MSS WH180, Western History and Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 15 Jun 2021 23:31:51 +0000 yongli 3558 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Bulkeley Wells http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bulkeley-wells <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Bulkeley Wells</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-06-15T16:19:25-06:00" title="Tuesday, June 15, 2021 - 16:19" class="datetime">Tue, 06/15/2021 - 16:19</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bulkeley-wells" data-a2a-title="Bulkeley Wells"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fbulkeley-wells&amp;title=Bulkeley%20Wells"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Bulkeley Wells (1872–1931) was an influential <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a> investor and hydroelectric engineer best known for building the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/smuggler-union-hydroelectric-power-plant"><strong>Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Power Plant</strong></a> near <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/telluride"><strong>Telluride</strong></a> and for his hostility toward unions. A controversial figure in Colorado history, Wells carried on an affair with <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/louise-bethel-sneed-hill"><strong>Louise Sneed Hill</strong></a>, a leader of <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> society, and later committed suicide as business failures mounted and his finances unraveled.</p> <h2>Early Life<strong> </strong></h2> <p>Bulkeley Wells was born March 10, 1872, in Chicago, Illinois, to Samuel Edgar and Mary Agnes (Bulkeley) Wells; his first name was his mother’s maiden name. He attended Roxbury Latin School in Boston, Massachusetts, before going to Harvard University, where he graduated in 1894 with a degree in engineering. Next, he worked as a machinist at the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, and then at the Boston and Albany Railroad Company.</p> <p>In 1895 Wells married Grace Livermore, a daughter of Colonel Thomas Leonard and Sarah Ellen (Daniels) Livermore. Colonel Livermore was a well-known lawyer who had served as the manager of the Amoskeag Company. Bulkeley and Grace had four children together: Bulkeley L. in 1896, Barbara in 1898, Dorothy in 1900, and Thomas in 1902.</p> <h2>Mining Career</h2> <p>Colonel Livermore had also amassed a fortune from Western mining properties, including the Smuggler, the wealthiest and most famous gold mine in Telluride. After marrying Grace, Wells joined his father-in-law in the mining industry. When the manager of the <strong>Smuggler-Union Mining Company</strong> was murdered in the wake of a violent <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-federation-miners"><strong>Western Federation of Miners</strong></a> (WFM) strike, Livermore appointed Wells as president and general manager, a position he held from 1902 to 1923. During his years in the industry, he served as president or director of at least sixty other mining companies in California, Nevada, and Colorado. He also served as president of the Western Colorado Power Company and the First National Bank of Telluride; sat on the executive board of the Telluride Mining Association; and was a member of numerous civic, scientific, and professional organizations.</p> <p>Nationally known for his work in hydroelectric engineering, Wells oversaw the construction and operation of numerous hydroelectric plants in the United States and Mexico, showing a knack for efficiently tapping natural resources. Most notably, in 1907 he built a power plant at the top of Bridal Veil Falls near Telluride to serve the Smuggler-Union milling complex; the building doubled as Wells’s summer home. The plant’s generator was one of the first to supply alternating current for industrial use in the United States.</p> <h2>Labor Conflicts</h2> <p>Perhaps because of the way he started out in the mining industry, Wells was famously antiunion and fought hard to discredit the WFM. Taking over for murdered manager Arthur Collins, he quickly became a leader among local mine owners and managers who wanted to break the union. After local employees <strong>went on strike again in September 1903</strong>, the Mine Operators Association, which Wells had organized, convinced Governor <strong>James Peabody</strong> to send in National Guard soldiers to protect strikebreakers. The association helped to pay for the deployment of soldiers and provided mine managers to serve as their officers, with Wells as captain of a cavalry troop. By January the governor had declared martial law at the request of the unit’s leader, Major Zeph Hill, who was working with managers to deport dozens of union members. When Hill withdrew in February, Wells gained full command of the district. He kept deporting union members and ordered construction of a sentry post at Imogene Pass—named <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-peabody"><strong>Fort Peabody</strong></a> for the governor—to prevent deportees from returning.</p> <p>After crushing the strike by the summer of 1904, Wells still refused to hire union members. As late as 1908, he may have manned Fort Peabody using mine employees to keep tabs on who was using that route into Telluride. He continued to serve in the National Guard as adjutant general from 1905 to 1907, and from 1907 to 1909 he was a colonel on the governor’s staff. He achieved the rank of brigadier general before retiring from the Colorado National Guard in 1917.</p> <p>During this time, Wells also played an instrumental role in capturing the alleged killers of former Idaho governor Frank Steunenberg, who was assassinated in 1905. A former WFM member named Harry Orchard confessed to the murder. Orchard claimed he had been hired by the union, whose leadership included <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-dudley-haywood"><strong>William “Big Bill” Haywood</strong></a>. Haywood and the other union leaders were arrested in Denver, put on trial, and later acquitted. Wells’s role in the investigation, and his continued actions to neutralize unions, had made him a target. In 1908 a bomb was placed under his bed in Telluride, but he escaped serious injury.</p> <h2>Social Life and Controversy</h2> <p>Wells was popular in elite social circles across the country. A sportsman who enjoyed playing polo and tennis, he was active in numerous prominent sporting and social clubs in Boston, New York, Colorado, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. These social connections helped advance his business career. Playing cards one night in the early 1900s at a private men’s club in New York, he met Harry Payne Whitney, who was so impressed by Wells’s confidence during the high-stakes game that he soon invested millions in Wells’s mining ventures.</p> <p>Sometime in the early 1900s, Wells became acquainted with <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crawford-hill"><strong>Crawford</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/louise-bethel-sneed-hill"><strong>Louise Hill</strong></a>, recognized leaders of Denver’s elite group, the Sacred 36. It is unknown exactly when the trio became acquainted; they may have met through their mutual interests in the mining industry, or at a social or polo event at the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-country-club"><strong>Denver Country Club</strong></a>. Regardless, they quickly became a tight-knit trio. They vacationed together, and Wells became involved in the lives of the Hills’ two sons, who sometimes stayed with him in Telluride.</p> <p>Then and now, the story has been that Wells and Louise Hill carried on an affair. Partygoers at Denver Country Club events told of Wells and Hill disappearing upstairs together. Yet their relationship was more complicated than a simple love affair; instead, it was a deep familial bond. Far from being angry about the relationship, Crawford Hill enlisted Wells’s help when his sons were having trouble in school, affectionately signed his personal letters to Wells with a line of friendship and devotion, and listed Wells in his will as backup executor and guardian to his children should Louise Hill die first. The bond between the three was so tight that Louise Hill hung a life-size portrait of Wells in his finest polo attire beside her husband’s smaller, head-only portrait in the main foyer of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/crawford-and-louise-hill-mansion"><strong>their Denver mansion</strong></a>.</p> <p>Grace Wells was not as pleased with the arrangement; in 1918 she divorced her husband, citing desertion. After the divorce, Bulkeley Wells lived at the Hills’ old mansion on Cleveland Place in Denver before moving to San Francisco to pursue new business ventures. When Crawford Hill passed away in December 1922, Denver society assumed Wells would marry the newly widowed Louise Hill. Instead, he eloped in January 1923 with a much younger woman, Virginia Schmidt. After losing the two men she loved most in quick succession, Louise Hill was emotionally devastated and never loved another man.</p> <h2>Decline and Death</h2> <p>Wells and his new wife appeared to be happy and had two children together, but he was struggling professionally and financially. The decline of his fortune began with his 1918 divorce, when he lost the backing of his wealthy in-laws, the Livermores. He also lost money on risky mining investments, and his gambling habit became a problem as well. On top of all that, Harry Payne Whitney removed his backing from Wells after losing at least $15 million in bad investments. Some claim that Louise Hill, who was friendly with Whitney, convinced him to withdraw his support. Wells retired as head of Whitney’s mining investment company in 1923. His financial situation continued to deteriorate as he attempted to gamble his way out.</p> <p>In 1931, with the Great Depression deepening, Wells foresaw a life of poverty and made a drastic decision. He went to his office on the morning of May 26, 1931, spoke briefly with his coworkers, and asked for a loan of twenty-five dollars, perhaps so that a coworker would have to leave to get the money out of the bank. Wells returned to his office, sat down at his desk, and penned a note to a bookkeeper at the Smuggler-Union. “Nothing but bankruptcy is possible as far as my estate is concerned,” he wrote. “Do what you can for Mrs. Wells.” He then took a revolver from his desk, lay down on a couch, and shot himself in the head, using a pillow to mute the sound. Unaware of the shot, Wells’s coworkers entered his office to discuss business and discovered him bleeding out on the couch. Wells was rushed to the hospital, but he never regained consciousness; he died shortly thereafter. His young wife died four years later of acute gastritis.</p> <h2>Legacy</h2> <p>Wells’s suicide came as a surprise to many who knew him. Most people have blamed Louise Hill for his demise, but no one person or factor caused the downfall of the once-prominent businessman and socialite.</p> <p>Wells remains a controversial figure in Colorado history. His gambling troubles, personal affairs (including his relationship with Louise Hill), and the controversial nature of his death (especially at that time) left him with a complicated social legacy. In business, his early success in the mining industry also involved harsh tactics designed to undercut union progress at every turn, including wrongful murder accusations aimed at union leaders such as Haywood. Wells was once known around the world for his contributions to hydroelectric engineering, but the true significance of his work remains unclear because most surviving information about him deals with his later business failures. Two facets of Wells’s business career are still visible outside Telluride, where Fort Peabody stands watch at Imogene Pass and the picturesque Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Power Plant continues to generate renewable energy for the town below.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/carr-shelby" hreflang="und">Carr, Shelby</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bulkeley-wells" hreflang="en">Bulkeley Wells</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/smuggler-union-mining-company" hreflang="en">Smuggler-Union Mining Company</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/telluride" hreflang="en">Telluride</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/crawford-hill" hreflang="en">Crawford Hill</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/louise-hill" hreflang="en">louise hill</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>E.&nbsp;B. Adams, <em>My Association with a Glamorous Man: Bulkeley Wells</em> (n.p., 1961).</p> <p>“Bulkeley Wells, Noted Mining Engineer, Commits Suicide in S.F. Office,” <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>, May 27, 1931.</p> <p>“Bulkeley Wells Quits Metals Exploration Co., Says a Denver Report: Denver Post Carries Story That Wells and Harry Payne Whitney Have Parted,” <em>Daily Journal, </em>August 14, 1923.</p> <p>“Bulkeley Wells, Suicide, Once Colorful Figure in Colorado,” <em>Eagle Valley Enterprise</em>, June 5, 1931.</p> <p>MaryJoy Martin, “Fort Peabody,” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (August 1, 2004).</p> <p>Kaspar Monahan, “Bulkeley Wells Spent and Lost Huge Fortunes, Gambled $15,000,000 for Harry Payne Whitney and Failed,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, May 27, 1931.</p> <p>Wilson Rockwell, “Gentleman of Fortune,” in <em>The 1966 Brand Book</em>, ed. William D. Powell, vol. 22 (Denver: Denver Westerners, 1967).</p> <p>Wilber Fisk Stone, “Bulkeley Wells,” <em>History of Colorado </em>(Chicago: S.&nbsp;J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1918).</p> <p>Roger Neville Williams, “<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=%22Smuggler-Union%20Hydroelectric%20Power%20Plant,%22">Smuggler-Union Hydroelectric Power Plant,</a>” National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form (December 7, 1977).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Shelby Carr, <em>The Queen of Denver: Louise Sneed Hill and The Emergence of Modern High Society </em>(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2020).</p> <p>MaryJoy Martin,&nbsp;<em>The Corpse on Boomerang Road: Telluride’s War on Labor 1899–1908</em>&nbsp;(Montrose, CO: Western Reflections, 2004).</p> <p>Carrol D. Wright, <em>A Report on Labor Disturbances in the State of Colorado, From 1880 to 1904, Inclusive </em>(Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1905).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 15 Jun 2021 22:19:25 +0000 yongli 3556 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Chin Lin Sou http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chin-lin-sou <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chin Lin Sou</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3753--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3753.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/chin-lin-sou"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Chin_Lin_Sou_0.jpg?itok=uDaGCvw8" width="512" height="660" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/chin-lin-sou" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Chin Lin Sou</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Arriving in Colorado in the early 1870s, Chin Lin Sou became a successful businessman.&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:54:58-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:54" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:54</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/chin-lin-sou" data-a2a-title="Chin Lin Sou"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fchin-lin-sou&amp;title=Chin%20Lin%20Sou"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Not only do historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado, but Chin and his descendants also established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans by defending Chinese workers from prejudice, supporting Chinese-owned businesses, and lifting Chinese residents from the social confines of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-chinatown"><strong>Denver’s Chinatown</strong></a>. Immigrants such as Chin, who successfully built railroads and mined for gold in the face of discriminatory laws and physical violence, reflect a more complete story of the American West than the traditional narrative that centers European and Anglo immigrants.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years except that he received an education (perhaps for the Confucian civil service) and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858, one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco just as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides, clearing rubble, and erecting retention walls. The railroad companies failed to formally record deaths, but engineering reports and newspaper articles suggest that hazardous work conditions from <a href="/article/avalanche"><strong>avalanches</strong></a> and mudslides, lack of safety regulations around explosives, and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid these Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts, who received free food rations and worked fewer hours. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman of Chinese laborers. As an educated foreman who spoke English, Chin was able to escape the fate of many impoverished Chinese laborers who died in obscurity.</p> <p>After the Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain other lines. Chin found work with the <strong>Denver Pacific Railroad</strong> as a foreman overseeing Chinese crews building a feeder line connecting <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants migrated to the nation’s interior to find work in agriculture, logging, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a>. After the Denver Pacific was built, Chin remained in Colorado, where in 1870 he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Black Hawk</strong></a>. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers, drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin also started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims, forcing them to work mines that had been discarded by white-only operations. In turn, Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining, using water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Unlike other Chinese immigrants who turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed them, Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success as a mine manager challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants, whom whites viewed “as a sort of necessary evil” to fulfill cheap labor demands, as the <em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em> put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>In general, white Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society because their language, religious practices, and physical appearance seemed too alien. In untruthful reporting that simply confirmed existing biases among white readers, journalists sensationalized Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens who indulged in prostitution and gambling. Denver’s Chinatown, located in Denver’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lodo-lower-downtown-denver"><strong>lower downtown</strong></a>, was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents, and it gained a notorious reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment, with wealthy whites frequenting opium dens as the drug became fashionable in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes because he stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes, spoke fluent English, dressed in the Western style, and became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers regularly praised him for his intelligence and entrepreneurship while they disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the <em>Fairplay Flume</em> described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind” and two years later labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments reveal that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community as it confronted prejudice and discrimination. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed without evidence that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. To quell growing anger, Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. Newspapers reported that people believed Chin’s account because of “his gentlemanly and dignified deportment” and “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his financial success to assist Colorado’s growing Chinese community. Between 1870 and his death in 1894, he supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and <a href="/article/fairplay"><strong>Fairplay</strong></a>. With his mining associate Edward L. Thayer, Chin also opened supply stores in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gilpin-county"><strong>Gilpin County</strong></a>. In Denver, he participated in the Chee Kong Tong, a Chinese fraternity dedicated to providing financial aid to Chinese-owned businesses and helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Unlike many other Chinese immigrants, Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China, and the couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Nicknamed the “Belle of Chinatown” by the press, Lily grew into a fashionable socialite. Her extravagant 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver amid unsubstantiated, racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>Colorado’s Chinese community became a target as white fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, <strong>a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown</strong>, lynching one man and destroying Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment that led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which suspended Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot but eventually began to shrink because it was heavily male, lacked new immigrants under the immigration ban, and was prohibited by law from interracial marriages. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890, but by the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was originally buried at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/riverside-cemetery"><strong>Riverside Cemetery</strong></a> until his family exhumed his body and returned it to China. Almost a century later in 1977, the Ethnic Minority Council of the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission cosponsored a stained-glass memorial at the <a href="/article/colorado-state-capitol"><strong>State Capitol</strong></a> dedicated to minority leaders. Chin was included in the memorial, but he was depicted in a red Chinese gown rather than his typical suit.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, ascended to his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during <strong>World War II</strong>. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from <strong>Colorado Women’s College</strong>.</p> <p>Chinese American participation in the war, followed by immigration reform in the 1960s, fostered better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. While this slow reconciliation and new fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child, even though she is a fourth-generation Denverite. Although Colorado’s history of racial discrimination has left behind a whitewashed version of history, the experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/whitmore-michala" hreflang="und">Whitmore, Michala</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chin-lin-sou" hreflang="en">Chin Lin Sou</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chinese" hreflang="en">Chinese</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-city" hreflang="en">Central City</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/black-hawk" hreflang="en">Black Hawk</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-pacific-railroad" hreflang="en">Central Pacific Railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-pacific-railroad" hreflang="en">denver pacific railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denvers-chinatown" hreflang="en">Denver&#039;s Chinatown</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-riot-1880" hreflang="en">Denver Riot of 1880</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“Chinese Labor,” <em>Colorado Springs Gazette </em>and<em> El Paso County News</em>, November 11, 1874.</p> <p>“Chinese New Year Celebration Slated,” <em>Golden Transcript</em>, February 5, 1975.</p> <p>“<a href="https://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/website/">Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project</a>,” Stanford University, n.d.</p> <p>“Denver Loses Chinese Mayor of ‘Hop Alley,’” <em>Courier-Journal</em> (Louisville, CO), December 17, 1939.</p> <p>“<a href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/colorado-biographies/chin-lin-sou-1836-1894">Chin Lin Sou (1836–1894)</a>,” Genealogy, African American and Western History Resources, Denver Public Library, n.d.</p> <p>“For the Ladies,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, March 1, 1894.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, October 13, 1892.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fairplay Flume</em>, August 16, 1894.</p> <p>“Lin Sou,” <em>Fort Collins Standard</em>, June 17, 1874.</p> <p>“Minority Stained Glass Window Dedication Set,” <em>Douglas County News</em>, January 6, 1977.</p> <p>“Pretty Belle of Chinatown Calls to Pay Taxes,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, June 1, 1900.</p> <p>William Wei, “Five Generations in Colorado: An Interview with the Descendants of Chin Lin Sou,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2002).</p> <p>&nbsp;William Wei, “History and Memory: The Story of Denver’s Chinatown,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Autumn 2002).</p> <p>William Wei, “Problematizing the Chinese Experience in America,” <em>Genealogy</em> 3 (Winter 2017).&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Noah Allyn, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/story/colorado-voices/2019/04/11/rise-and-fall-denvers-chinatown">The Rise and Fall of Denver’s Chinatown</a>,” History Colorado, April 11, 2019.</p> <p>Office of the Historian, “<a href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/chinese-immigration">Chinese Immigration and the Chinese Exclusion Acts</a>,” Milestones in the History of US Foreign Relations, US Department of State.</p> <p>Tom Rea, “<a href="https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/rock-springs-massacre">The Rock Springs Massacre</a>,” WyoHistory.org, last modified November 8, 2014.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) overcame racial barriers to become a civic leader in Colorado. Chin and his wife were the first Chinese American family in Colorado. He created a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. Chin defended Chinese workers from prejudice. He supported Chinese-owned businesses. Immigrants such as Chin reflect a more complete story of the American West.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroads in the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides and clearing rubble. The railroad companies failed to record deaths. A lack of safety regulations and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman. He oversaw Chinese crews building a line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants moved to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Chin remained in Colorado. In 1870, he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers. He drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. This technique used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Some Chinese immigrants turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success challenged many stereotypes of Chinese immigrants.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society. Whites saw Chinese language, religious practices, and physical appearance as alien. Denver’s Chinatown was located in lower downtown. It was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a reputation for crime.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes. He stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became an American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers praised him for his intelligence. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” The comments show that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success allowed him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partly destroyed Central City. Authorities claimed that Chinese miners had started the fire. Chin defended the miners. People believed Chin because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his success to help Colorado’s Chinese community. He supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, and Denver. Chin opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he took part in the Chee Kong Tong. This was an organization dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese feeling. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration. It also denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. However, the community began to shrink. It was heavily male. Interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Chin was a naturalized citizen with a family. He was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His family exhumed his body and returned it to China.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, took over his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Immigration reform in the 1960s created better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. The experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) overcame racial barriers to become a civic leader in Colorado. Chin and his wife were the first Chinese American family in Colorado. He established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. Chin defended Chinese workers from prejudice. He supported Chinese-owned businesses. Immigrants such as Chin reflect a more complete story of the American West.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides and clearing rubble. The railroad companies failed to record deaths. A lack of safety regulations and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman. He oversaw Chinese crews building a line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants moved to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. Chin remained in Colorado. In 1870, he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers. He drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. This technique used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Some Chinese immigrants turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants. Whites viewed them “as a sort of necessary evil,” as the Colorado Springs Gazette put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society. Whites saw Chinese language, religious practices, and physical appearance as alien. Journalists painted Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens. Denver’s Chinatown was located in lower downtown. It was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment. Wealthy whites visited opium dens as the drug became trendy in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes. He stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke fluent English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers praised him for his intelligence. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” Two years later it labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments show that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. People believed Chin’s account because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his success to help Colorado’s growing Chinese community. He supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and Fairplay. Chin opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he took part in the Chee Kong Tong. This was a Chinese fraternity dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob lynched one man and destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration. It also denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. However, the community began to shrink. It was heavily male and interracial marriages were prohibited by law. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His family exhumed his body and returned it to China.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, took over his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Immigration reform in the 1960s created better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. The experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Cantonese immigrant Chin Lin Sou (1836–94) defied racial barriers to establish himself as an esteemed business and civic leader in Colorado. Historians recognize Chin and his wife as the first Chinese American family in Colorado. Chin and his descendants established a positive legacy for Chinese Americans. They defended Chinese workers from prejudice, supporting Chinese-owned businesses, and lifted Chinese residents from the social confines of Denver’s Chinatown. Immigrants such as Chin, who successfully built railroads and mined for gold in the face of discriminatory laws and physical violence, reflect a more complete story of the American West than the traditional narrative.</p> <h2>Early Years in China</h2> <p>Chin Lin Sou was born in 1836 in southern China. Little is known about his early years. He received an education and learned to speak fluent English. He left Guangzhou (also known as Canton) between 1855 and 1858. He was one of many emigrants fleeing the Taiping Rebellion (1850–64).</p> <h2>Push for Railroads</h2> <p>Chin arrived in San Francisco just as American railroad construction gained momentum. Railroad magnates throughout the 1850s and 1860s recruited Chinese immigrants to build their railways. The work included blasting mountain sides, clearing rubble, and erecting retention walls. The railroad companies failed to formally record deaths. Newspaper articles suggest that hazardous work conditions from avalanches and mudslides, lack of safety regulations around explosives, and disease killed hundreds of Chinese workers each year. The railroad paid these Chinese laborers less than their white counterparts, who received free food rations and worked fewer hours. The Central Pacific Railroad hired Chin to work as a foreman of Chinese laborers. As an educated foreman who spoke English, Chin was able to escape the fate of many poor Chinese laborers who died in obscurity.</p> <p>The Central Pacific joined the Union Pacific to complete the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. Chinese immigrants were hired to build and maintain other lines. Chin found work with the Denver Pacific Railroad as a foreman overseeing Chinese crews building a feeder line connecting Denver to the Union Pacific at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p> <h2>Arrival in Colorado</h2> <p>Some Chinese immigrants migrated to the nation’s interior to find work in agriculture, logging, and mining. After the Denver Pacific was built, Chin remained in Colorado, where in 1870 he became a supervisor of Chinese laborers near the mining town of Black Hawk. As mining foreman, Chin hired workers, drafted contracts, purchased supplies, and negotiated wages.</p> <p>Chin also started to deal in abandoned mining claims. Western territories forbade Chinese miners from filing original claims. This forced them to work mines that had been discarded by white-only operations. Chinese miners specialized in the less profitable form of placer mining. They used water to collect surface-level gold in streambeds. Other Chinese immigrants who turned to cooking and laundry when placer mining failed them. Chin made a small fortune by buying and selling abandoned mines. His success as a mine manager challenged many of the stereotypes of Chinese immigrants. Whites viewed them “as a sort of necessary evil” to fulfill cheap labor demands, as the Colorado Springs Gazette put it in 1874.</p> <h2>Chinese Discrimination</h2> <p>White Americans across the West excluded Chinese immigrants from mainstream society because of their language, religious practices, and physical appearance. Untruthful reporting confirmed existing biases among white readers. Journalists sensationalized Chinese immigrants as dangerous heathens who indulged in prostitution and gambling. Denver’s Chinatown, located in Denver’s lower downtown, was referred to as “Hop Alley” by white residents. It gained a notorious reputation for opium and crime. Non-Chinese residents viewed the neighborhood as a source of entertainment. Wealthy whites frequented opium dens as the drug became trendy in high society.</p> <p>Chin defied the usual Chinese stereotypes because he stood six feet tall with blue-gray eyes. He spoke fluent English and dressed in the Western style. Chin also became a naturalized American citizen. His acceptance into society was an exception to the norm. Newspapers regularly praised him for his intelligence and entrepreneurship. The papers disparaged other Asians. In 1892 the Fairplay Flume described Chin as “one of the ‘whitest’ of his kind.” Two years later it labeled him as “a more than usually intelligent Chinaman.” These comments reveal that many white Coloradans still considered Chin an outsider.</p> <p>Chin’s success enabled him to act as an ambassador for the Chinese community. Early on the morning of May 21, 1874, a fire partially destroyed Central City. Local authorities claimed without evidence that Chinese miners had started the fire during a religious ceremony. Chin defended the miners by claiming a defective flue started the fire. Newspapers reported that people believed Chin’s account because of his “rare skill in conducting business affairs.” The fire’s true cause remains unknown.</p> <h2>Denver’s Chinatown</h2> <p>Chin used his financial success to assist Colorado’s growing Chinese community. Between 1870 and his death in 1894, he supervised hundreds of Chinese placer miners near Black Hawk, Central City, Denver, and Fairplay. With his mining associate Edward L. Thayer, Chin also opened supply stores in Gilpin County. In Denver, he participated in the Chee Kong Tong. This was a Chinese fraternity dedicated to helping the Chinese community.</p> <p>Chin earned enough money to pay for his wife’s passage from China. The couple had six children. In 1873 their first daughter, Lily, made news as Colorado’s first Chinese American child. Lily grew into a stylish socialite. Her 1894 wedding to businessman Look Wing Yuen shook Denver. It took place among amid unsubstantiated, racist claims that Chin had sold his daughter to a much older man with two wives.</p> <p>White fears about Chinese workers led to immigration restrictions in the late nineteenth century. On October 31, 1880, a mob attacked Denver’s Chinatown. The mob lynched one man and destroyed Chinese-owned businesses and houses. The attack was part of a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. It led to the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The act suspended Chinese immigration and denied Chinese immigrants naturalization. Denver’s Chinese community rebuilt after the riot. It began to shrink because it was heavily male and was prohibited by law from interracial marriages. Chin, as a naturalized citizen with a family, was an outlier. Denver’s Chinese population reached its peak at 980 in 1890. By the 1940s only three families remained.</p> <h2>Chin’s Legacy</h2> <p>Chin died of a long-term illness on August 10, 1894. He was buried at Riverside Cemetery until his family exhumed his body and returned it to China. Almost a century later in 1977, the Ethnic Minority Council of the Colorado Centennial-Bicentennial Commission cosponsored a stained-glass memorial at the State Capitol dedicated to minority leaders. Chin was included in the memorial. He was depicted in a red Chinese gown rather than his typical suit.</p> <p>Five generations of Chin’s descendants have lived in Denver. Chin’s son, Willie Chin, ascended to his father’s position as unofficial “Mayor of Chinatown” after Chin’s death. Willie’s two sons, William and Edward, both served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. Their sister, Wawa, graduated with a business degree from Colorado Women’s College.</p> <p>Chinese American participation in the war, followed by immigration reform in the 1960s, fostered better relations between Chinese Americans and mainstream society. New fair housing laws ended the need for Denver’s Chinese neighborhood. However, Chinese Americans still faced prejudice. One of Chin’s descendants, Carolyn Kuhn, recalled being told “you don’t belong here” as a child. She was a fourth-generation Denverite. Although Colorado’s history of racial discrimination has left behind a whitewashed version of history, the experiences of people like Chin show that the state’s past is far more diverse than many Coloradans know today.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:54:58 +0000 yongli 3545 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Stan Kroenke http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/stan-kroenke <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Stan Kroenke</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-02-16T13:48:27-07:00" title="Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 13:48" class="datetime">Tue, 02/16/2021 - 13:48</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/stan-kroenke" data-a2a-title="Stan Kroenke"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fstan-kroenke&amp;title=Stan%20Kroenke"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Stan Kroenke (1947–) is a Missouri-based billionaire whose extensive portfolio of real estate and sports franchises includes <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-nuggets"><strong>Nuggets</strong></a> (basketball), <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-avalanche"><strong>Avalanche</strong></a> (hockey), <strong>Rapids</strong> (soccer), and Mammoth (lacrosse), as well as <strong>Ball Arena</strong>, <strong>Dick</strong><strong>’</strong><strong>s Sporting Goods Park</strong>, and the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel. He also owns Denver’s <strong>Paramount Theatre</strong> and is the main investor behind the River Mile development planned for the site of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elitch-gardens"><strong>Elitch Gardens</strong></a>. His other holdings include the Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, London’s Arsenal soccer team, and some 2 million acres of ranchland in the United States and Canada. Married to Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, Kroenke is worth an estimated $8–10 billion as of 2020, and his wife is worth an additional $6–8 billion.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life and Family</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Enos Stanley Kroenke was born on July 29, 1947, to Evelyn and Alvin Kroenke in Mora, Missouri, about eighty miles southeast of Kansas City. He was named for Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial, two Hall of Fame baseball players for the St. Louis Cardinals. His father owned the Mora Lumber Company, and by the time Stan was ten, he was helping out by sweeping floors and keeping accounts. At Cole Camp High School near Mora, he played for the basketball team and earned a reputation as a top student. He went on to the University of Missouri, where he earned a BA in economics in 1969. After graduation, he invested in a local clothing store and attended business school, earning a master of business administration degree in 1973.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The year he earned his MBA, Kroenke met Ann Walton, the oldest daughter of Wal-Mart cofounder James “Bud” Walton, while on vacation in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/aspen"><strong>Aspen</strong></a>. They married in 1974 and have two children, Whitney (1977) and Josh (1980). Their primary residence remains the college town of Columbia, Missouri. Perhaps as a result of his small-town, Lutheran background, Kroenke has developed a reputation as “Silent Stan” for his aversion to the media and relatively modest lifestyle.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Real Estate</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1975 Kroenke started his career in real estate by taking a job with developer Raul Walters, who had already built several Wal-Mart stores. Kroenke became a partner at Walters’s firm four years later. Together they developed more than twenty retail malls across the Midwest, many of them anchored by large Wal-Marts. In 1985 Kroenke started his own development company, the Kroenke Group, which continued to specialize in shopping centers anchored by Wal-Marts, and in 1990 he helped start THF Realty, which also developed shopping centers around Wal-Marts and other big-box stores. Today Kroenke controls about 30 million square feet of commercial real estate.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Denver Sports</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Kroenke’s wealth grew, he started to invest in sports franchises. After failing to land an NFL expansion team for St. Louis in 1993, two years later he helped convince the Rams to move from Los Angeles to St. Louis and acquired a minority stake in the team.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At the end of the 1990s, he formed Kroenke Sports Enterprises (now Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) as he planned more acquisitions. In 2000 he entered the Denver market with a splash, buying the Nuggets, the Avalanche, and the recently built Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) where they played for more than $400 million. Two years later he added the Colorado Mammoth, an indoor lacrosse team that moved to the Pepsi Center, and in 2004 he bought the Colorado Rapids soccer team from his friend and fellow billionaire <strong>Philip Anschutz</strong>. That year he started the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel to broadcast the games of his Denver sports franchises. He then built the Rapids a $71 million stadium, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in <strong>Commerce City</strong>, which opened in 2007. In the 2000s, Kroenke also had a stake in the Colorado Crush indoor football team before it folded in the wake of the <strong>Great Recession</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to his sports franchises and facilities, Kroenke owns or operates a variety of other Denver-area shopping centers and entertainment venues. Most notably, in 2002 he bought the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Denver, and in 2009 he and Anschutz formed a partnership to take over operations at <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/city-and-county-broomfield"><strong>Broomfield</strong></a>’s 1stBank Center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Other Acquisitions</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the early twenty-first century, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment became the single-largest owner of major sports franchises in the world. Across the Atlantic, Kroenke became a minority owner in the Arsenal Football Club in 2007 and worked steadily to gain greater control. By 2011 he had a majority stake, and in 2019 he became the sole owner despite the enmity of the squad’s English fans, who believed he didn’t adequately support the team.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Closer to home, Kroenke took full ownership of the St. Louis Rams in 2010. NFL rules required him to relinquish control of his major professional teams in other markets where the league had a presence. Over the next few years, he shifted control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his wife, Ann, and installed his son, Josh, a former college basketball player at the University of Missouri, as president of the Denver teams. In St. Louis, meanwhile, Kroenke soon earned the city’s hatred when he decided to move the team back to Los Angeles, where his stadium proposal beat out a competing plan from Anschutz. The NFL approved the move in 2016, and Kroenke spent the next four years building the team a $5 billion facility, SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020 as the centerpiece of a 300-acre development.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to his sports teams, Kroenke owns several wineries in the United States and France, as well as about a dozen ranches totaling roughly 2 million acres in Arizona, Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and British Columbia. With holdings including the 800-square-mile Waggoner Ranch in Texas, he is the fifth-largest landowner in the United States.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>River Mile</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Like Anschutz, who built the L.A. Live complex beside the Staples Center in the early 2000s, Kroenke is planning several large developments around his sports facilities. In 2015 he joined Revesco Properties and Second City Real Estate to buy Elitch Gardens, which is adjacent to Ball Arena, for $140 million. Over the next twenty-five years, the new owners plan to move the amusement park and replace it with a sixty-two-acre development full of office towers, condominiums, and parks along the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte River</strong></a>. Approved by the city in 2018, the proposed neighborhood would expand downtown Denver by about 20 percent, adding 12–15 million square feet and some 15,000 residents to the area. The plan promises that 15 percent of the neighborhood’s residences will be offered at below-market rates, but more recently elected councilmembers such as Candi CdeBaca remain concerned that Denver’s development is pricing many people out of the city. In conjunction with River Mile, development partners assume that Kroenke will also develop Ball Arena’s fifty acres of parking lots, providing a connection from River Mile to the <strong>Auraria Higher Education Center</strong> and downtown Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Kroenke is planning a 250-acre development called Victory Crossing Park, which would be adjacent to Denver’s <strong>Central Park</strong> neighborhood and the <strong>Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge</strong>.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/stan-kroenke" hreflang="en">stan kroenke</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-nuggets" hreflang="en">denver nuggets</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-avalanche" hreflang="en">Colorado Avalanche</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-rapids" hreflang="en">Colorado Rapids</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-mammoth" hreflang="en">Colorado Mammoth</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/pepsi-center" hreflang="en">pepsi center</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ball-arena" hreflang="en">Ball Arena</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elitch-gardens" hreflang="en">Elitch Gardens</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/river-mile" hreflang="en">River Mile</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/paramount-theatre" hreflang="en">Paramount Theatre</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/dicks-sporting-goods-park" hreflang="en">Dick&#039;s Sporting Goods Park</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>David Accomazzo, “<a href="https://boulderweekly.com/entertainment/music/1stbank-centers-new-management-delivers/">1stBank Center’s New Management Delivers</a>,” <em>Boulder Weekly</em>, March 11, 2010.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Patricia Calhoun, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/at-dnc-a-suite-deal-for-stan-kroenke-5100130">At DNC, a Suite Deal for Stan Kroenke</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, August 7, 2008.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Matt Fitzgerald, “<a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2576877-nfl-approves-stan-kroenkes-plan-to-retain-rams-transfer-nuggets-and-avalanche">NFL Approves Stan Kroenke’s Plan to Retain Rams, Transfer Nuggets and Avalanche</a>,” Bleacher Report, October 7, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tom Hoffarth, “<a href="https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2020/mar/16/business-person-year-2020-stan-kroenke-guide/">Stan Kroenke: A Condensed Guide</a>,” <em>Los Angeles Business Journal</em>, March 16, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://landreport.com/americas-100-largest-landowners/">Land Report 100</a>,” Land Report, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeré Longman, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/sports/soccer/15owner.html">From an Owner to the Quietist Sports Emperor</a>,” <em>New York Times</em>, January 14, 2010.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tariq Panja, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/sports/soccer/arsenal-alisher-usmanov-stan-kroenke.html">U.S. Billionaire Gets Full Control of Arsenal, Buying Out Russian Rival</a>,” <em>New York Times</em>, August 7, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert Sanchez, “<a href="https://www.5280.com/inside-one-of-the-largest-redevelopments-in-denvers-history/">Inside One of the Largest Redevelopments in Denver’s History</a>,” <em>5280</em>, February 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert Sanchez and Greg Griffin, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2007/07/06/a-look-inside-kroenkes-empire/">A Look Inside Kroenke’s Empire</a>,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em>, July 6, 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/enos-s-kroenke/">Stan Kroenke</a>,” Bloomberg Billionaires Index, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?id=5496516">Stan Kroenke Is New Rams Owner</a>,” Associated Press via ESPN, August 25, 2010.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/stanley-kroenke/?sh=5167a9cd742c">Stanley Kroenke</a>,” <em>Forbes</em>, updated January 22, 2021.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Nathan Fenno and Sam Farmer, “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-09-04/stan-kroenke-nfl-owners-coronavirus-workers-sofi-stadium-rams-chargers">A Turbulent Path: How Stan Kroenke and the NFL Turned SoFi Stadium Into a $5-Billion Reality</a>,” <em>Los Angeles Times</em>, September 4, 2020.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Stan Kroenke (1947–) is a Missouri-based billionaire. He owns multiple sports teams and the stadiums they play at. His teams include the Denver’s Nuggets (basketball), Avalanche (hockey), Rapids (soccer), and Mammoth (lacrosse). He also owns Ball Arena, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel. His other holdings include the Los Angeles Rams and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Across the Atlantic, Kroenke also owns London’s Arsenal soccer team. He has purchased almost 2 million acres of ranchland in the United States and Canada. Stan Kroenke is married to Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke. Stan Kroenke is worth an estimated $8–10 billion as of 2020. His wife is worth an additional $6–8 billion.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life and Family</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Enos Stanley Kroenke was born on July 29, 1947 in Mora, Missouri. His father owned the Mora Lumber Company. By the time Stan was ten, he was helping out by sweeping floors and keeping accounts. At Cole Camp High School near Mora, he played for the basketball team. Kroenke earned a reputation as a top student. He went on to the University of Missouri. After graduation, he invested in a local clothing store and attended business school.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke met Ann Walton, the oldest daughter of Wal-Mart cofounder James “Bud” Walton, while on vacation in Aspen. They married in 1974. They have two children, Whitney (1977) and Josh (1980). They live in the college town of Columbia, Missouri. Kroenke has developed a reputation as “Silent Stan” for his modest lifestyle.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Real Estate</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1975 Kroenke started his career in real estate. He took a job with developer Raul Walters. Walters had already built several Wal-Mart stores. Kroenke became a partner at Walters’s firm four years later. They developed more than twenty retail malls across the Midwest. Many of them were anchored by large Wal-Marts. In 1985 Kroenke started his own development company, the Kroenke Group. The company specialized in shopping centers anchored by Wal-Marts. In 1990 he helped start THF Realty. The company also developed shopping centers around big-box stores. Today Kroenke controls about 30 million square feet of commercial real estate.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Denver Sports</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Kroenke’s wealth grew, he started to invest in sports teams. He failed to land an NFL expansion team for St. Louis in 1993. Two years later, he helped convince the Rams to move from Los Angeles to St. Louis. Kroenke acquired a minority stake in the team.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At the end of the 1990s, he formed Kroenke Sports Enterprises (now Kroenke Sports and Entertainment). In 2000 he entered the Denver market. Kroenke bought the Nuggets, the Avalanche, and the Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) for more than $400 million. Two years later he added the Colorado Mammoth. In 2004, he bought the Colorado Rapids soccer team. That year he started the Altitude Sports and Entertainment. The channel broadcasts the games of his Denver sports franchises. He then built the Rapids a $71 million stadium. Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City opened in 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke owns or operates a variety of other Denver-area shopping centers and entertainment venues. In 2002 he bought the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Denver. In 2009 he and Philip Anschutz formed a partnership to take over operations at Broomfield’s 1stBank Center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Other Acquisitions</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke Sports and Entertainment became the single-largest owner of major sports franchises in the world. Kroenke became a minority owner in the Arsenal Football Club in 2007. He worked to gain greater control. By 2011 he had a majority stake. In 2019 he became the sole owner.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Closer to home, Kroenke took full ownership of the St. Louis Rams in 2010. NFL rules required him to give up control of his major professional teams in other markets where the league had a presence. Over the next few years, he shifted control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his wife, Ann. He installed his son, Josh, as president of the Denver teams.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2016, the NFL approved Kroenke's plan to move the Rams back to Los Angeles. Kroenke spent the next four years building Sofi Stadium. The $5 billion facility opened in 2020. It is the centerpiece of a 300-acre development.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke also owns several wineries in the United States and France. He possesses about a dozen ranches totaling roughly 2 million acres. He is the fifth-largest landowner in the United States.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>River Mile</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke is planning several large developments around his sports facilities. In 2015 he purchased Elitch Gardens, which is next to Ball Arena, for $140 million. Over the next twenty-five years, there are plans to move the amusement park. The amusement park will be replaced with a sixty-two-acre development. The development will include office towers, housing, and parks. The project was approved by the city in 2018. The proposed neighborhood would expand downtown Denver by about 20 percent. It would add 15,000 residents to the area.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Kroenke is planning a 250-acre development called Victory Crossing Park.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Stan Kroenke (1947–) is a Missouri-based billionaire. He owns several sports teams including Denver’s Nuggets (basketball), Avalanche (hockey), Rapids (soccer), and Mammoth (lacrosse). He also owns Ball Arena, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel. His other holdings include the Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, London’s Arsenal soccer team, and some 2 million acres of ranchland in the United States and Canada. He is married to Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke. Stan Kroenke is worth an estimated $8–10 billion as of 2020. His wife is worth an additional $6–8 billion.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life and Family</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Enos Stanley Kroenke was born on July 29, 1947, to Evelyn and Alvin Kroenke in Mora, Missouri. He was named for Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial, two Hall of Fame baseball players for the St. Louis Cardinals. His father owned the Mora Lumber Company. By the time Stan was ten, he was helping out by sweeping floors and keeping accounts. At Cole Camp High School near Mora, he played for the basketball team. Kroenke earned a reputation as a top student. He went on to the University of Missouri, where he earned a BA in economics in 1969. After graduation, he invested in a local clothing store and attended business school. Kroenke earned a master of business administration degree in 1973.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke met Ann Walton, the oldest daughter of Wal-Mart cofounder James “Bud” Walton, while on vacation in Aspen. They married in 1974. They have two children, Whitney (1977) and Josh (1980). Their primary residence remains the college town of Columbia, Missouri. Kroenke has developed a reputation as “Silent Stan” for his aversion to the media and modest lifestyle.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Real Estate</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1975 Kroenke started his career in real estate. He took a job with developer Raul Walters, who had already built several Wal-Mart stores. Kroenke became a partner at Walters’s firm four years later. They developed more than twenty retail malls across the Midwest. Many of them were anchored by large Wal-Marts. In 1985 Kroenke started his own development company, the Kroenke Group. The company specialized in shopping centers anchored by Wal-Marts. In 1990 he helped start THF Realty, which also developed shopping centers around Wal-Marts and other big-box stores. Today Kroenke controls about 30 million square feet of commercial real estate.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Denver Sports</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Kroenke’s wealth grew, he started to invest in sports franchises. He failed to land an NFL expansion team for St. Louis in 1993. Two years later he helped convince the Rams to move from Los Angeles to St. Louis. Kroenke acquired a minority stake in the team.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At the end of the 1990s, he formed Kroenke Sports Enterprises (now Kroenke Sports and Entertainment). In 2000 he entered the Denver market, buying the Nuggets, the Avalanche, and the recently built Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) for more than $400 million. Two years later he added the Colorado Mammoth. In 2004 he bought the Colorado Rapids soccer team. That year he started the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel to broadcast the games of his Denver sports franchises. He then built the Rapids a $71 million stadium, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. The facility opened in 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke owns or operates a variety of other Denver-area shopping centers and entertainment venues. In 2002 he bought the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Denver. In 2009 he and Philip Anschutz formed a partnership to take over operations at Broomfield’s 1stBank Center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Other Acquisitions</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke Sports and Entertainment became the single-largest owner of major sports franchises in the world. Kroenke became a minority owner in the Arsenal Football Club in 2007. He worked to gain greater control. By 2011 he had a majority stake. In 2019 he became the sole owner.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Closer to home, Kroenke took full ownership of the St. Louis Rams in 2010. NFL rules required him to give up control of his major professional teams in other markets where the league had a presence. Over the next few years, he shifted control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his wife, Ann. He installed his son, Josh, as president of the Denver teams. In St. Louis, Kroenke earned the city’s hatred when he decided to move the team back to Los Angeles after his stadium proposal beat out a competing plan from Anschutz. The NFL approved the move in 2016. Kroenke spent the next four years building the team a $5 billion facility, SoFi Stadium. The stadium opened in 2020. It was the centerpiece of a 300-acre development.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke also owns several wineries in the United States and France. He also possesses about a dozen ranches totaling roughly 2 million acres. He is the fifth-largest landowner in the United States.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>River Mile</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke is planning several large developments around his sports facilities. In 2015 he joined Revesco Properties and Second City Real Estate to buy Elitch Gardens, which is adjacent to Ball Arena, for $140 million. Over the next twenty-five years, the new owners plan to move the amusement park. They will replace it with a sixty-two-acre development full of office towers, condominiums, and parks along the South Platte River. The project was approved by the city in 2018. The proposed neighborhood would expand downtown Denver by about 20 percent. It would add 12–15 million square feet and some 15,000 residents to the area. The plan promises that 15 percent of the neighborhood’s residences will be offered at below-market rates. Some councilmembers are concerned that Denver’s development is pricing many people out of the city. In conjunction with River Mile, development partners assume that Kroenke will also develop Ball Arena’s fifty acres of parking lots, providing a connection from River Mile to the Auraria Higher Education Center and downtown Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Kroenke is planning a 250-acre development called Victory Crossing Park. The development would sit adjacent to Denver’s Central Park neighborhood and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Stan Kroenke (1947–) is a Missouri-based billionaire. He owns several sports teams including Denver’s Nuggets (basketball), Avalanche (hockey), Rapids (soccer), and Mammoth (lacrosse). He also owns Ball Arena, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, and the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel. His other holdings include the Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, London’s Arsenal soccer team, and some 2 million acres of ranchland in the United States and Canada. He is married to Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke. Stan Kroenke is worth an estimated $8–10 billion as of 2020. His wife is worth an additional $6–8 billion.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life and Family</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Enos Stanley Kroenke was born on July 29, 1947, to Evelyn and Alvin Kroenke in Mora, Missouri. He was named for Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial, two Hall of Fame baseball players for the St. Louis Cardinals. His father owned the Mora Lumber Company. By the time Stan was ten, he was helping out by sweeping floors and keeping accounts. At Cole Camp High School near Mora, he played for the basketball team. Kroenke earned a reputation as a top student. He went on to the University of Missouri, where he earned a BA in economics in 1969. After graduation, he invested in a local clothing store and attended business school. Kroenke earned a master of business administration degree in 1973.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kroenke met Ann Walton, the oldest daughter of Wal-Mart cofounder James “Bud” Walton, while on vacation in Aspen. They married in 1974. They have two children, Whitney (1977) and Josh (1980). Their primary residence remains the college town of Columbia, Missouri. Kroenke has developed a reputation as “Silent Stan” for his aversion to the media and modest lifestyle.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Real Estate</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1975 Kroenke started his career in real estate. He took a job with developer Raul Walters, who had already built several Wal-Mart stores. Kroenke became a partner at Walters’s firm four years later. They developed more than twenty retail malls across the Midwest. Many of them were anchored by large Wal-Marts. In 1985 Kroenke started his own development company, the Kroenke Group. The company specialized in shopping centers anchored by Wal-Marts. In 1990 he helped start THF Realty, which also developed shopping centers around Wal-Marts and other big-box stores. Today Kroenke controls about 30 million square feet of commercial real estate.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Denver Sports</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Kroenke’s wealth grew, he started to invest in sports franchises. After failing to land an NFL expansion team for St. Louis in 1993, two years later he helped convince the Rams to move from Los Angeles to St. Louis and acquired a minority stake in the team.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>At the end of the 1990s, he formed Kroenke Sports Enterprises (now Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) as he planned more acquisitions. In 2000 he entered the Denver market with a splash, buying the Nuggets, the Avalanche, and the recently built Pepsi Center (now Ball Arena) where they played for more than $400 million. Two years later he added the Colorado Mammoth, an indoor lacrosse team that moved to the Pepsi Center, and in 2004 he bought the Colorado Rapids soccer team from his friend and fellow billionaire Philip Anschutz. That year he started the Altitude Sports and Entertainment channel to broadcast the games of his Denver sports franchises. He then built the Rapids a $71 million stadium, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, which opened in 2007. In the 2000s, Kroenke also had a stake in the Colorado Crush indoor football team before it folded in the wake of the Great Recession.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to his sports franchises and facilities, Kroenke owns or operates a variety of other Denver-area shopping centers and entertainment venues. Most notably, in 2002 he bought the historic Paramount Theatre in downtown Denver, and in 2009 he and Anschutz formed a partnership to take over operations at Broomfield’s 1stBank Center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Other Acquisitions</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the early twenty-first century, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment became the single-largest owner of major sports franchises in the world. Across the Atlantic, Kroenke became a minority owner in the Arsenal Football Club in 2007 and worked steadily to gain greater control. By 2011 he had a majority stake, and in 2019 he became the sole owner despite the enmity of the squad’s English fans, who believed he didn’t adequately support the team.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Closer to home, Kroenke took full ownership of the St. Louis Rams in 2010. NFL rules required him to relinquish control of his major professional teams in other markets where the league had a presence. Over the next few years, he shifted control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his wife, Ann, and installed his son, Josh, a former college basketball player at the University of Missouri, as president of the Denver teams. In St. Louis, meanwhile, Kroenke soon earned the city’s hatred when he decided to move the team back to Los Angeles, where his stadium proposal beat out a competing plan from Anschutz. The NFL approved the move in 2016, and Kroenke spent the next four years building the team a $5 billion facility, SoFi Stadium, which opened in 2020 as the centerpiece of a 300-acre development.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition to his sports teams, Kroenke owns several wineries in the United States and France, as well as about a dozen ranches totaling roughly 2 million acres in Arizona, Montana, Texas, Wyoming, and British Columbia. With holdings including the 800-square-mile Waggoner Ranch in Texas, he is the fifth-largest landowner in the United States.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>River Mile</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Like Anschutz, who built the L.A. Live complex beside the Staples Center in the early 2000s, Kroenke is planning several large developments around his sports facilities. In 2015 he joined Revesco Properties and Second City Real Estate to buy Elitch Gardens, which is adjacent to Ball Arena, for $140 million. Over the next twenty-five years, the new owners plan to move the amusement park and replace it with a sixty-two-acre development full of office towers, condominiums, and parks along the South Platte River. Approved by the city in 2018, the proposed neighborhood would expand downtown Denver by about 20 percent, adding 12–15 million square feet and some 15,000 residents to the area. The plan promises that 15 percent of the neighborhood’s residences will be offered at below-market rates, but more recently elected councilmembers such as Candi CdeBaca remain concerned that Denver’s development is pricing many people out of the city. In conjunction with River Mile, development partners assume that Kroenke will also develop Ball Arena’s fifty acres of parking lots, providing a connection from River Mile to the Auraria Higher Education Center and downtown Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Kroenke is planning a 250-acre development called Victory Crossing Park, which would be adjacent to Denver’s Central Park neighborhood and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 16 Feb 2021 20:48:27 +0000 yongli 3543 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Dana Crawford http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/dana-crawford <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"> Dana Crawford</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-01-25T17:21:48-07:00" title="Monday, January 25, 2021 - 17:21" class="datetime">Mon, 01/25/2021 - 17:21</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/dana-crawford" data-a2a-title=" Dana Crawford"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fdana-crawford&amp;title=%20Dana%20Crawford"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Dana Crawford (1931–) is a nationally prominent preservationist and developer who exemplifies how one woman can transform a city. She started with <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/larimer-square"><strong>Larimer Square</strong></a> and then <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lodo-lower-downtown-denver"><strong>Lower Downtown</strong></a> (LoDo), the hubs of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>’s skid row, and helped turn them into one of America’s most popular and dynamic urban neighborhoods, attracting a set of wealthier white residents who had once spurned the city. By spearheading this wave of new investment in the long-neglected heart of Denver, Crawford triggered a process that has spread to and greatly transformed surrounding core city neighborhoods.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana Hudkins was born in Salina, Kansas, on July 22, 1931. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in journalism and later completed an associate business administration degree at Harvard University. In October 1954 she came to Denver and found work with Koska &amp; Associates, a leading public relations firm. She also became active in the Junior League and as a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-art-museum"><strong>Denver Art Museum</strong></a> docent. In 1955 she married John W. R. Crawford III of Denver, a graduate of the <strong>Colorado School of Mines</strong> and geologist for the <strong>Argo Oil Company</strong>. They raised four sons in their <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver%E2%80%99s-capitol-hill"><strong>Capitol Hill</strong></a> home.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Larimer Square</h2>&#13; &#13; <p> Dana Crawford made her name in historic preservation, saving some of Denver’s oldest downtown buildings from the wrecking ball and redeveloping them into spaces that attracted prosperous businesses and affluent residents. Her first and most significant project was Larimer Square. “I went down to Larimer Street in the 1950s looking for old furniture to restore,” Crawford later reminisced. “I couldn't help but notice that some of the derelict buildings themselves were fine antiques needing restoration. I began researching and found that the 1400 block of Larimer had housed the log cabin of Denver's founder, General <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-larimer-jr"><strong>William H. Larimer</strong></a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford pointed out to everyone who would listen that Larimer Street was once Denver’s bustling main street, lined by <strong>City Hall</strong> as well as the city’s finest office block (the <strong>Tabor Building</strong>), its grandest hotel (the <strong>Windsor</strong>), and its first streetcar line. All were gone. Decline had started with the <a href="/article/panic-1893"><strong>silver crash of 1893</strong></a> and Denver’s pivot uptown toward the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/brown-palace-hotel"><strong>Brown Place Hotel</strong></a> and the <strong>State Capitol</strong>. As the city grew in new directions, old areas such as Larimer Street received little new investment, particularly as federal housing and transportation policies subsidized middle-class migration to the suburbs. Downtown disinvestment attracted bars, liquor stores, flophouses, pawnshops, and secondhand stores, all of which lined Larimer by the time Crawford arrived.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To create Larimer Square, Crawford first had to take on the <strong>Denver Urban Renewal Authority</strong> (DURA), wrestling the 1400 block away from their wrecking ball. In an effort to remake what officials saw as a derelict downtown, DURA’s <strong>Skyline Urban Renewal Project</strong> aimed to level much of the old city from <strong>Cherry Creek</strong> to Twentieth Street between the Market–Larimer Street alley and Curtis Street. A once-planned freeway would have obliterated much of what was then labeled skid row. Crawford enlisted Denver mayor <strong>Bill McNichols, Jr.</strong>, and other community leaders to lean on DURA. DURA and later some of her Larimer Square renters called Crawford “The Dragon Lady of Larimer Square” for her fierceness and toughness, concealed under a charming, velvet-smooth exterior.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford’s vision for Larimer Square drew inspiration from two pioneering preservation projects, Gaslight Square in St. Louis and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. She noted that the St. Louis project was handled by multiple parties while Ghirardelli had a single controlling developer. Gaslight Square’s multiple owners had difficulty agreeing on a single course of action. This taught Crawford a lesson in tight control. She later reflected, “I applied suburban shopping center management principles and techniques to make Larimer Square work.” She set a precedent by combining the roles of two traditional enemies: preservationists and developers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana and John Crawford incorporated Larimer Square Associates in 1964 and began construction in 1965. She served as president, with partners including Denver’s future US congresswoman <strong>Patricia Schroeder</strong> and her husband, James Schroeder; Rike and Barbara Stearns Wootton; and Thomas and Noël Congdon. For the restoration work, Crawford recalled finding “some old-timey brick and stone masons, stained-glass workers, woodworkers, metalworkers, and other craftspeople who remembered those lost arts. We used them in Larimer Square to train young people who have since gone on to other preservation projects like Ninth Street Historic Park on the <strong>Auraria Higher Education Center </strong>campus.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As a public relations expert, Crawford repackaged Larimer Square as the historic heart of old Denver. Her hype did not celebrate Larimer Street’s long and notorious skid-row history. Much unsavory “history” was ignored, replaced by “heritage” celebrating the good old days. (History attempts to re-create as much as possible what actually happened based on the most reliable professional scholarship; heritage involves interpreting history to make it appealing to shoppers, visitors, and others in search of happy history.) While claiming to re-create the historic street, Crawford banished many old-time Larimer Street fixtures such as utility wires overhead, billboards on buildings, and fire escapes on the facades. Yesteryear’s narrow, crowded sidewalks full of telephone poles were cleared and widened to house sidewalk cafés. The transformation pushed out the poor people who once frequented Larimer Street, forcing them to move a few blocks north. This sanitized, spruced-up block appealed to suburbanites as well as city dwellers and became a popular and financial success.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Historic Denver, Inc.</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After creating Larimer Square, Crawford’s next mission was to help establish <strong>Historic Denver, Inc.</strong>, in 1970 to save the <strong>Molly Brown House</strong> from demolition. A developer proposed to tear down the Queen Anne–style residence at 1340 Pennsylvania Street and replace it with a much larger, modern apartment building, as had been done with much of that block. Crawford and others thought the house of arguably Denver’s most famous woman should be spared. To do so, they organized a preservation group that included Colorado First Lady Ann Love. This team of mostly women raised money to buy the house and begin restoring it as a museum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Confident that there would be other preservation battles to come, Crawford suggested that the Molly Brown House group broaden its mission and adopt the name Historic Denver, Inc. (HDI). Still an active preservation group, HDI has helped the city designate more than 340 local landmarks and more than 55 historic districts. The Molly Brown House Museum has become the state’s most visited.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lower Downtown</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite the success of Larimer Square as a historic district of restaurants, shops, offices, cafés, art galleries, and nightclubs, the adjacent Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood remained for decades an area of half-empty old warehouses and relatively few residents. Crawford recognized the area’s potential as the anchor of a broader downtown revival. In the early 1980s, she helped transform the skid-row <strong>Oxford Hotel</strong>, the oldest in town, into a boutique hotel, complete with the trendy art deco Cruise Room bar.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The key turning point in LoDo’s history came when the area was designated as a local historic district in 1988. This gave the <strong>Denver Landmark Preservation Commission</strong> power of design review over any change involving a building permit as well as the authority to deny demolition permits. The Lower Downtown Historic District protected the area from Cherry Creek to Twentieth Street, from Larimer to Wynkoop Streets.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Once again Crawford moved fast, buying up aging warehouses for her Edbrooke and Acme loft projects. This inspired other developers to follow her lead, creating more than two dozen LoDo loft projects during the 1990s. Such projects included restoration of the trackside Ice House, a cold-storage warehouse for dairy products, into lofts with first-floor restaurants. Throughout LoDo, dollar-a-night hotels became million-dollar lofts and dive bars became upscale thirst parlors, casting old downtown denizens out and replacing them with well-heeled professionals. Further redevelopment followed, including a branch of Denver’s iconic <strong>Tattered Cover Book Store</strong>, Colorado’s first brewpub (the <strong>Wynkoop Brewing Company</strong>), and <strong>Coors Field</strong>, home of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-rockies"><strong>Colorado Rockies</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Perhaps Crawford’s wackiest idea was restoring a crumbling eight-story concrete flour mill amid abandoned railroad tracks. Defying long odds, it became the Flour Mill Lofts and her personal residence in 1998. That project helped jump-start revitalization of Denver’s South Platte Valley with newcomers such as <strong>Mile High Stadium</strong> and Denver’s grand old amusement park, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elitch-gardens"><strong>Elitch Gardens</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Union Station</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford had long eyed <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/union-station-0"><strong>Union Station</strong></a> as the former hub of Lower Downtown. When it opened in 1881, the station reigned as the largest, most stylish, and most important building in town. As train traffic declined over the decades, so did the station. A mausoleum-like quiet descended on the mostly empty edifice. Then in 2011, Crawford spearheaded the Union Station Alliance of architects, construction and restoration firms, and hotel and mall operators. With partners Sage Hospitality, the <strong>Regional Transportation District</strong> (RTD), architect <strong>David Tryba</strong>, and others, the alliance reincarnated the landmark. They undertook Crawford’s most spectacular restoration, transforming the old depot into a boutique shopping mall and high-end Crawford Hotel, named for Dana.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The parking lot in front of the station became a large pedestrian plaza with splashing fountains and near constant activity. The tracks behind Union Station were repurposed as an RTD light-rail hub. As part of the complex, RTD also built an underground hub for metro bus service. At the 2014 grand opening ceremony, Crawford theatrically waved a wand. Her magic had worked for the $38 million rebirth of Union Station.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The high-ceilinged Union Station lobby became what Crawford called “Denver’s Living Room,” a vibrant space full of couches, tables, and desks where people could chat or work on their laptops. In early 2020, however, the alliance declared the lobby off-limits to people who did not spend money at the station’s businesses or have a transit ticket, leading to concerns that the policy was intended to exclude poor people from a previously open public space.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford has served as a board member and treasurer of the Colorado Historical Society (renamed <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/history-colorado-colorado-historical-society"><strong>History Colorado</strong></a> in 2009), and on many other civic boards such as Downtown Denver, Inc. She has been president of Preservation Action, a national preservation-lobbying group. Her Urban Neighborhoods firm consults on redevelopment and preservation projects for more than fifty cities all over the country. Her Colorado clients include <strong>Idaho Springs</strong>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pueblo-0"><strong>Pueblo</strong></a>, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/el-corazon-de-trinidad-national-historic-district"><strong>Trinidad</strong></a>. In 1995 the International Conference of the Women’s Forum in Atlanta honored her as a Colorado Woman Who Made a Difference, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave Crawford its highest honor, the Louise duPont Crownenshield Award, for nationally extraordinary work in preserving and redeveloping urban neighborhoods.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Happy History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>While most applaud Crawford’s work, some have criticized her for turning history into heritage and thus refining and cleaning up history for commercial purposes. Larimer Square, for instance, is not a square but a face block, a term lacking cachet. Crawford promoted Larimer as “the most famous street in the frontier West,” a claim that San Francisco and other western cities might well contest. She claimed the street “reflects the elegance and gayety of Denver’s heyday,” glossing over the violence and depravity of the street during the city’s founding. (William Larimer founded the city on a jumped claim and threatened to hang anyone who challenged him for it.) Any woman achieving so much is bound to have critics. Not even critics, however, deny that Crawford changed Denver. Without her, there would be no Larimer Square, and no LoDo, and the transformation of the city’s core would look very different.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The return of the wealthy and the white to Denver also led to gentrification at the expense of people of color and all poor people. Thanks in part to Crawford, Larimer Square, and LoDo, Denver has been turned inside out, with the poor and racial minorities increasingly priced out of the core city, which is turning whiter and wealthier.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/noel-thomas-j" hreflang="und">Noel, Thomas J.</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/dana-crawford" hreflang="en">Dana Crawford</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/larimer-square" hreflang="en">Larimer Square</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lower-downtown" hreflang="en">Lower Downtown</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lower-downtown-denver" hreflang="en">lower downtown denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/historic-denver" hreflang="en">Historic Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/historic-preservation" hreflang="en">historic preservation</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Dana Crawford, numerous interviews with Thomas J. Noel, 1979 to present.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>Denver Union Station: Portal to Progress</em> (Denver: Havey Productions, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Mike McPhee,<em> Dana Crawford: 50 Years of Saving the Soul of a City</em> (Denver: Upper Gulch Publishing, 2015).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Judy Mattivi Morley, <em>Historic Preservation and the Imagined West: Albuquerque, Denver and Seattle</em> (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2006).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel, <em>Denver’s Larimer Street, Skid Row and Urban Renaissance</em> (Denver: Historic Denver, Inc., 1981).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rocky Mountain PBS, “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/video/colorado-experience-dana-crawford/">Dana Crawford</a>,” <em>Colorado Experience</em>, November 10, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David Sachs, “<a href="https://denverite.com/2020/02/24/the-public-owns-denvers-union-station-but-now-only-people-with-money-can-lounge-there/">The Public Owns Denver’s Union Station but Now Only People With Money Can Lounge There</a>,” Denverite, February 24, 2020.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Stephen J. Leonard and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Denver: Mining Camp to Metropolis</em> (Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1990).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Dana Crawford (1931–) is a preservationist and developer. She has shown how one woman can change a city. She started with Larimer Square and Lower Downtown (LoDo). The areas were the hubs of Denver’s skid row. Crawford helped turn them into popular areas. This wave of investment has spread and transformed surrounding areas.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana Hudkins was born in Salina, Kansas, on July 22, 1931. She graduated from the University of Kansas. In October 1954 she came to Denver. She found work with a leading public relations firm. In 1955, she married John W. R. Crawford III of Denver. They raised four sons in their Capitol Hill home.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Larimer Square</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana Crawford made her name in historic preservation. Her first project was Larimer Square. “I went down to Larimer Street in the 1950s looking for old furniture to restore,” Crawford later said. “I couldn't help but notice that some of the derelict buildings themselves were fine antiques needing restoration.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Larimer Street was once Denver’s bustling main street. Its decline started with the silver crash of 1893. As the city grew, old areas such as Larimer Street received little investment. Federal housing policies encouraged middle-class movement to the suburbs. Downtown disinvestment attracted bars, liquor stores, and pawnshops.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To create Larimer Square, Crawford first had to take on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA). She wrestled the 1400 block away from the wrecking ball. DURA’s Skyline Urban Renewal Project aimed to level much of the old city. A once-planned freeway would have destroyed what was then labeled skid row. Crawford enlisted Denver mayor Bill McNichols, Jr., and other community leaders to lean on DURA.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford’s vision for Larimer Square drew inspiration from Gaslight Square in St. Louis and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. She noted that the St. Louis project was handled by multiple parties. Ghirardelli had a single controlling developer. Gaslight Square’s multiple owners had difficulty agreeing. This taught Crawford a lesson. She combined the roles of preservationists and developers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana and John Crawford incorporated Larimer Square Associates in 1964. They began construction in 1965. She served as president. For the restoration work, Crawford found “some old-timey brick and stone masons, stained-glass workers, woodworkers, metalworkers, and other craftspeople who remembered those lost arts.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford repackaged Larimer Square as the historic heart of old Denver. Much of the area's unsavory “history” was ignored. It was replaced by “heritage” celebrating the good old days. (History attempts to re-create what happened based on the most reliable information. Heritage interprets history to make it appealing.) Crawford got rid of many old-time Larimer Street fixtures. These included overhead utility wires and billboards on buildings. The narrow sidewalks full of telephone poles were cleared. They were widened to house sidewalk cafés. The change pushed out people who once frequented Larimer Street. It forced them to move a few blocks north. This spruced-up block became a financial success.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Historic Denver, Inc.</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After creating Larimer Square, Crawford wanted to save the Molly Brown House. A developer wanted to tear down the house and replace it with an apartment building. Crawford and others thought the house should be spared. They organized a preservation group. This team of women raised money to buy the house. They began restoring it as a museum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford thought there would be other preservation projects. She suggested that the Molly Brown House group broaden its mission. The group adopted the name Historic Denver, Inc. (HDI). HDI has helped the city designate more than 340 local landmarks and more than 55 historic districts. The Molly Brown House Museum has become the state’s most visited.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lower Downtown</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite Larimer Square's success, nearby Lower Downtown (LoDo) remained full of old warehouses. Crawford recognized the area’s potential.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The turning point in LoDo’s history came in 1988. The area was designated as a local historic district. The Lower Downtown Historic District protected the area.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford moved fast. She bought up aging warehouses for her Edbrooke and Acme loft projects. This inspired other developers to build more than two dozen LoDo projects during the 1990s. Such projects included restoration of the trackside Ice House. The former warehouse for dairy products became lofts with first-floor restaurants. More building followed. This included Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford also restored a crumbling eight-story concrete flour mill. The building sat amid abandoned railroad tracks. It became the Flour Mill Lofts and her personal residence in 1998. That project helped jump-start revitalization of Denver’s South Platte Valley.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Union Station</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford had long eyed Union Station. When it opened in 1881, the station was one of the most important buildings in town. As train traffic declined, so did the station. In 2011, Crawford helped create the Union Station Alliance. The alliance transformed the building.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The parking lot in front of the station became a large pedestrian plaza. The tracks behind Union Station were turned into a light-rail hub. An underground hub for bus service was built. At the 2014 grand opening ceremony, Crawford waved a wand. Her magic had worked for the $38 million rebirth of Union Station.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Union Station's lobby was filled with couches and tables. People could sit and chat or work on their laptops. In 2020, the alliance declared the lobby off-limits to people who did not spend money at the station’s businesses. There were concerns that the policy excluded poor people from a public space.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford has served as a board member of the Colorado Historical Society. (The group was (renamed History Colorado in 2009). She has been president of Preservation Action, a national preservation-lobbying group. Her Urban Neighborhoods firm consults on projects for cities all over the country. Crawford's Colorado clients include Idaho Springs, Pueblo, and Trinidad. In 1995, Crawford was honored as a Colorado Woman Who Made a Difference.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Happy History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Some have criticized Crawford for turning history into heritage. Crawford promoted Larimer as “the most famous street in the frontier West.” That is a claim that other cities might dispute. She claimed the street “reflects the elegance and gayety of Denver’s heyday.” Her description glosses over the street's history of violence. Any woman achieving so much is bound to have critics. However, not even her critics deny that Crawford changed Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The return of the wealthy and the white to Denver led to gentrification. Thanks in part to Crawford, the poor and minorities have been priced out of the core city. The area is turning whiter and wealthier.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Dana Crawford (1931–) is a prominent preservationist and developer. She exemplifies how one woman can transform a city. She started with Larimer Square and Lower Downtown (LoDo). The areas were the hubs of Denver’s skid row. Crawford helped turn them into popular urban neighborhoods. This wave of new investment has spread and transformed surrounding area.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana Hudkins was born in Salina, Kansas, on July 22, 1931. She graduated from the University of Kansas. She later completed an associate business administration degree at Harvard University. In October 1954 she came to Denver. Crawford found work with a leading public relations firm. In 1955 she married John W. R. Crawford III of Denver. They raised four sons in their Capitol Hill home.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Larimer Square</h2>&#13; &#13; <p> Dana Crawford made her name in historic preservation. She saved some of Denver’s oldest downtown buildings from the wrecking ball. Crawford redeveloped them into spaces that attracted businesses and residents. Her first and most significant project was Larimer Square. “I went down to Larimer Street in the 1950s looking for old furniture to restore,” Crawford later reminisced. “I couldn't help but notice that some of the derelict buildings themselves were fine antiques needing restoration. I began researching and found that the 1400 block of Larimer had housed the log cabin of Denver's founder, General William H. Larimer.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford pointed out that Larimer Street was once Denver’s bustling main street. Decline had started with the silver crash of 1893. As the city grew, old areas such as Larimer Street received little new investment. Federal housing policies subsidized middle-class migration to the suburbs. Downtown disinvestment attracted bars, liquor stores, and pawnshops. All of these businesses lined Larimer by the time Crawford arrived.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To create Larimer Square, Crawford first had to take on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA). She wrestled the 1400 block away from the wrecking ball. DURA’s Skyline Urban Renewal Project aimed to level much of the old city. A once-planned freeway would have destroyed what was then labeled skid row. Crawford enlisted Denver mayor Bill McNichols, Jr., and other community leaders to lean on DURA.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford’s vision for Larimer Square drew inspiration from two projects, Gaslight Square in St. Louis and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. She noted that the St. Louis project was handled by multiple parties. Ghirardelli had a single controlling developer. Gaslight Square’s multiple owners had difficulty agreeing on a single course of action. This taught Crawford a lesson in tight control. She combined the roles of two traditional enemies: preservationists and developers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana and John Crawford incorporated Larimer Square Associates in 1964. They began construction in 1965. She served as president, with partners including Denver’s future US congresswoman Patricia Schroeder and her husband, James Schroeder; Rike and Barbara Stearns Wootton; and Thomas and Noël Congdon. For the restoration work, Crawford found “some old-timey brick and stone masons, stained-glass workers, woodworkers, metalworkers, and other craftspeople who remembered those lost arts. We used them in Larimer Square to train young people who have since gone on to other preservation projects like Ninth Street Historic Park on the Auraria Higher Education Center campus.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford repackaged Larimer Square as the historic heart of old Denver. Much of the area's unsavory “history” was ignored. It was replaced by “heritage” celebrating the good old days. (History attempts to re-create what happened based on the most reliable information. Heritage interprets history to make it appealing.) Crawford got rid of many old-time Larimer Street fixtures. These included overhead utility wires, billboards on buildings, and fire escapes on the facades. The narrow sidewalks full of telephone poles were cleared and widened to house sidewalk cafés. The change pushed out the people who once frequented Larimer Street. It forced them to move a few blocks north. This spruced-up block appealed to people and became a financial success.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Historic Denver, Inc.</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After creating Larimer Square, Crawford wanted to save the Molly Brown House. A developer wanted to tear down the Queen Anne–style residence at 1340 Pennsylvania Street. The developer wanted to replace it with a modern apartment building. Crawford and others thought the house should be spared. They organized a preservation group that included Colorado First Lady Ann Love. This team of mostly women raised money to buy the house and begin restoring it as a museum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford was confident that there would be other preservation battles. She suggested that the Molly Brown House group broaden its mission. They adopted the name Historic Denver, Inc. (HDI). HDI has helped the city designate more than 340 local landmarks and more than 55 historic districts. The Molly Brown House Museum has become the state’s most visited.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lower Downtown</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite Larimer Square's success, for decades the nearby Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood remained full of old warehouses. Crawford recognized the area’s potential.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The turning point in LoDo’s history came when the area was designated as a local historic district in 1988. The Lower Downtown Historic District protected the area from Cherry Creek to Twentieth Street, from Larimer to Wynkoop Streets.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford moved fast. She bought up aging warehouses for her Edbrooke and Acme loft projects. This inspired other developers to follow her lead. More than two dozen LoDo loft projects were built during the 1990s. Such projects included restoration of the trackside Ice House. The former cold-storage warehouse for dairy products became lofts with first-floor restaurants. Further redevelopment followed, including Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford also restored a crumbling eight-story concrete flour mill. The building sat amid abandoned railroad tracks. It became the Flour Mill Lofts and her personal residence in 1998. That project helped jump-start revitalization of Denver’s South Platte Valley.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Union Station</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford had long eyed Union Station. When it opened in 1881, the station was one of the largest and most important buildings in town. As train traffic declined, so did the station. In 2011, Crawford spearheaded the Union Station Alliance. The alliance revitalized the landmark. They transformed the old depot into a shopping mall and a high-end hotel.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The parking lot in front of the station became a large pedestrian plaza. The tracks behind Union Station were repurposed as an RTD light-rail hub. RTD also built an underground hub for bus service. At the 2014 grand opening ceremony, Crawford waved a wand. Her magic had worked for the $38 million rebirth of Union Station.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Union Station's lobby was filled with couches and tables where people could chat or work on their laptops. In early 2020, the alliance declared the lobby off-limits to people who did not spend money at the station’s businesses or have a transit ticket. There were concerns that the policy excluded poor people from a previously open public space.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford has served as a board member and treasurer of the Colorado Historical Society (renamed History Colorado in 2009). She has been president of Preservation Action, a national preservation-lobbying group. Her Urban Neighborhoods firm consults on preservation projects for cities all over the country. Her Colorado clients include Idaho Springs, Pueblo, and Trinidad. In 1995 she was honored as a Colorado Woman Who Made a Difference.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Happy History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Some have criticized Crawford for turning history into heritage. Crawford promoted Larimer as “the most famous street in the frontier West.” That is a claim that San Francisco and other western cities might contest. She claimed the street “reflects the elegance and gayety of Denver’s heyday.” Her description glosses over the street's history of violence during the city's founding. (William Larimer founded the city on a jumped claim and threatened to hang anyone who challenged him for it.) Any woman achieving so much is bound to have critics. Not even her critics deny that Crawford changed Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The return of the wealthy and the white to Denver led to gentrification. Thanks in part to Crawford, the poor and minorities have been priced out of the core city. The area is turning whiter and wealthier.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Dana Crawford (1931–) is a prominent preservationist and developer. She exemplifies how one woman can transform a city. She started with Larimer Square and Lower Downtown (LoDo), the hubs of Denver’s skid row. Crawford helped turn them into one of America’s most popular and dynamic urban neighborhoods. The areas attracted a set of wealthier white residents who had once spurned the city. This wave of new investment triggered a process that has spread and transformed surrounding area.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana Hudkins was born in Salina, Kansas, on July 22, 1931. She graduated from the University of Kansas with a BA in journalism. She later completed an associate business administration degree at Harvard University. In October 1954 she came to Denver and found work with Koska &amp; Associates, a leading public relations firm. She also became active in the Junior League and as a Denver Art Museum docent. In 1955 she married John W. R. Crawford III of Denver, a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines and geologist for the Argo Oil Company. They raised four sons in their Capitol Hill home.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Larimer Square</h2>&#13; &#13; <p> Dana Crawford made her name in historic preservation. She saved some of Denver’s oldest downtown buildings from the wrecking ball and redeveloped them into spaces that attracted businesses and residents. Her first and most significant project was Larimer Square. “I went down to Larimer Street in the 1950s looking for old furniture to restore,” Crawford later reminisced. “I couldn't help but notice that some of the derelict buildings themselves were fine antiques needing restoration. I began researching and found that the 1400 block of Larimer had housed the log cabin of Denver's founder, General William H. Larimer.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford pointed out that Larimer Street was once Denver’s bustling main street. Decline had started with the silver crash of 1893. As the city grew in new directions, old areas such as Larimer Street received little new investment. Federal housing and transportation policies subsidized middle-class migration to the suburbs. Downtown disinvestment attracted bars, liquor stores, and pawnshops, all of which lined Larimer by the time Crawford arrived.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To create Larimer Square, Crawford first had to take on the Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA). She wrestled the 1400 block away from their wrecking ball. DURA’s Skyline Urban Renewal Project aimed to level much of the old city from Cherry Creek to Twentieth Street between the Market–Larimer Street alley and Curtis Street. A once-planned freeway would have destroyed much of what was then labeled skid row. Crawford enlisted Denver mayor Bill McNichols, Jr., and other community leaders to lean on DURA. DURA and later some of her Larimer Square renters called Crawford “The Dragon Lady of Larimer Square” for the fierceness she concealed under a charming exterior.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford’s vision for Larimer Square drew inspiration from two pioneering preservation projects, Gaslight Square in St. Louis and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco. She noted that the St. Louis project was handled by multiple parties. Ghirardelli had a single controlling developer. Gaslight Square’s multiple owners had difficulty agreeing on a single course of action. This taught Crawford a lesson in tight control. She later reflected, “I applied suburban shopping center management principles and techniques to make Larimer Square work.” She set a precedent by combining the roles of two traditional enemies: preservationists and developers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dana and John Crawford incorporated Larimer Square Associates in 1964. They began construction in 1965. She served as president, with partners including Denver’s future US congresswoman Patricia Schroeder and her husband, James Schroeder; Rike and Barbara Stearns Wootton; and Thomas and Noël Congdon. For the restoration work, Crawford recalled finding “some old-timey brick and stone masons, stained-glass workers, woodworkers, metalworkers, and other craftspeople who remembered those lost arts. We used them in Larimer Square to train young people who have since gone on to other preservation projects like Ninth Street Historic Park on the Auraria Higher Education Center campus.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford repackaged Larimer Square as the historic heart of old Denver. Her hype did not celebrate Larimer Street’s long and notorious skid-row history. Much unsavory “history” was ignored. It was replaced by “heritage” celebrating the good old days. (History attempts to re-create as much as possible what happened based on the most reliable professional scholarship. Heritage involves interpreting history to make it appealing to shoppers, visitors, and others.) Crawford banished many old-time Larimer Street fixtures such as utility wires overhead, billboards on buildings, and fire escapes on the facades. The narrow sidewalks full of telephone poles were cleared and widened to house sidewalk cafés. The transformation pushed out the people who once frequented Larimer Street. It forced them to move a few blocks north. This spruced-up block appealed to suburbanites as well as city dwellers and became a financial success.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Historic Denver, Inc.</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After creating Larimer Square, Crawford’s next mission was to help establish Historic Denver, Inc., in 1970 to save the Molly Brown House from demolition. A developer proposed to tear down the Queen Anne–style residence at 1340 Pennsylvania Street. The developer wanted to replace it with a much larger, modern apartment building. Crawford and others thought the house of arguably Denver’s most famous woman should be spared. To do so, they organized a preservation group that included Colorado First Lady Ann Love. This team of mostly women raised money to buy the house and begin restoring it as a museum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford was confident that there would be other preservation battles to come. She suggested that the Molly Brown House group broaden its mission and adopt the name Historic Denver, Inc. (HDI). HDI has helped the city designate more than 340 local landmarks and more than 55 historic districts. The Molly Brown House Museum has become the state’s most visited.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lower Downtown</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite the success of Larimer Square, for decades the adjacent Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood remained full of half-empty old warehouses. Crawford recognized the area’s potential. In the early 1980s, she helped transform the skid-row Oxford Hotel into a boutique hotel.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The key turning point in LoDo’s history came when the area was designated as a local historic district in 1988. This gave the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission power of design review over any change involving a building permit as well as the authority to deny demolition permits. The Lower Downtown Historic District protected the area from Cherry Creek to Twentieth Street, from Larimer to Wynkoop Streets.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford moved fast. She bought up aging warehouses for her Edbrooke and Acme loft projects. This inspired other developers to follow her lead, creating more than two dozen LoDo loft projects during the 1990s. Such projects included restoration of the trackside Ice House, a cold-storage warehouse for dairy products, into lofts with first-floor restaurants. Throughout LoDo, dollar-a-night hotels became million-dollar lofts. Dive bars became upscale thirst parlors. Further redevelopment followed, including a branch of Denver’s iconic Tattered Cover Book Store, Colorado’s first brewpub (the Wynkoop Brewing Company), and Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Perhaps Crawford’s wackiest idea was restoring a crumbling eight-story concrete flour mill amid abandoned railroad tracks. Defying long odds, it became the Flour Mill Lofts and her personal residence in 1998. That project helped jump-start revitalization of Denver’s South Platte Valley with newcomers such as Mile High Stadium and Denver’s grand old amusement park, Elitch Gardens.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Union Station</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford had long eyed Union Station as the former hub of Lower Downtown. When it opened in 1881, the station reigned as the largest, most stylish, and most important building in town. As train traffic declined over the decades, so did the station. A mausoleum-like quiet descended on the mostly empty edifice. Then in 2011, Crawford spearheaded the Union Station Alliance of architects, construction and restoration firms, and hotel and mall operators. With partners Sage Hospitality, the Regional Transportation District (RTD), architect David Tryba, and others, the alliance reincarnated the landmark. They undertook Crawford’s most spectacular restoration, transforming the old depot into a boutique shopping mall and high-end Crawford Hotel, named for Dana.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The parking lot in front of the station became a large pedestrian plaza with splashing fountains and near constant activity. The tracks behind Union Station were repurposed as an RTD light-rail hub. As part of the complex, RTD also built an underground hub for metro bus service. At the 2014 grand opening ceremony, Crawford theatrically waved a wand. Her magic had worked for the $38 million rebirth of Union Station.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The high-ceilinged Union Station lobby became what Crawford called “Denver’s Living Room,” a vibrant space full of couches, tables, and desks where people could chat or work on their laptops. In early 2020, however, the alliance declared the lobby off-limits to people who did not spend money at the station’s businesses or have a transit ticket, leading to concerns that the policy was intended to exclude poor people from a previously open public space.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Influence</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford has served as a board member and treasurer of the Colorado Historical Society (renamed History Colorado in 2009), and on many other civic boards such as Downtown Denver, Inc. She has been president of Preservation Action, a national preservation-lobbying group. Her Urban Neighborhoods firm consults on redevelopment and preservation projects for more than fifty cities all over the country. Her Colorado clients include Idaho Springs, Pueblo, and Trinidad. In 1995 the International Conference of the Women’s Forum in Atlanta honored her as a Colorado Woman Who Made a Difference, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave Crawford its highest honor, the Louise duPont Crownenshield Award, for nationally extraordinary work in preserving and redeveloping urban neighborhoods.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Happy History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>While most applaud Crawford’s work, some have criticized her for turning history into heritage and thus refining and cleaning up history for commercial purposes. Larimer Square, for instance, is not a square but a face block, a term lacking cachet. Crawford promoted Larimer as “the most famous street in the frontier West,” a claim that San Francisco and other western cities might well contest. She claimed the street “reflects the elegance and gayety of Denver’s heyday,” glossing over the violence and depravity of the street during the city’s founding. (William Larimer founded the city on a jumped claim and threatened to hang anyone who challenged him for it.) Any woman achieving so much is bound to have critics. Not even critics, however, deny that Crawford changed Denver. Without her, there would be no Larimer Square, and no LoDo, and the transformation of the city’s core would look very different.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The return of the wealthy and the white to Denver also led to gentrification at the expense of people of color and all poor people. Thanks in part to Crawford, Larimer Square, and LoDo, Denver has been turned inside out, with the poor and racial minorities increasingly priced out of the core city, which is turning whiter and wealthier.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Tue, 26 Jan 2021 00:21:48 +0000 yongli 3499 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Philip Anschutz http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/philip-anschutz <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Philip Anschutz</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-01-21T16:28:55-07:00" title="Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 16:28" class="datetime">Thu, 01/21/2021 - 16:28</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/philip-anschutz" data-a2a-title="Philip Anschutz"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fphilip-anschutz&amp;title=Philip%20Anschutz"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Philip Anschutz (1939–) is a <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>-based businessman and Colorado’s richest person, with a wealth estimated at more than $10 billion. He has garnered comparisons to Gilded Age financier J. P. Morgan for his success across a wide range of businesses—oil and gas,<strong> railroads</strong>, telecommunications, sports, and entertainment—and to Warren Buffett for his relatively modest lifestyle. Today his best-known business is the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which owns arenas, sports teams, and music festivals around the world. In Colorado, Anschutz’s business empire includes the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/broadmoor"><strong>Broadmoor</strong></a>, the <strong><em>Colorado Springs Gazette</em></strong> and <em>Denver Gazette</em> newspapers, and the sixty-square-mile Eagles Nest Ranch east of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/greeley"><strong>Greeley</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>A devout Christian, Anschutz is known for his contributions to conservative political causes and for his philanthropy, perhaps most notably to the <strong>University of Colorado</strong>, whose <strong>Anschutz Medical Campus</strong> bears his name. Anschutz also harbors a deep love of the American West; his collection of Western art, considered one of the finest in existence, is on display at the American Museum of Western Art in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Philip Frederick Anschutz was born on December 28, 1939, in Russell, Kansas, to Marian and Fred Anschutz. His father was a wildcatter, or an independent driller of exploratory oil wells. The family soon moved to Hays and then to Wichita, where Philip attended high school. He went on to the University of Kansas, where he completed a finance degree in 1961.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>1960s–70s: Oil and Gas</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After graduating from college, Anschutz intended to start law school at the University of Virginia. Just before his first semester started, however, he returned home to take over his father’s company, Circle A Drilling, which was struggling as a result of his father’s alcoholism and other health problems. Anschutz turned the company around and moved to Denver to start his own oil business, the Anschutz Corporation, in 1965.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The central story of Anschutz’s early career in oil concerns a fire that broke out soon after his first big find near Gillette, Wyoming. With no money to pay famous oil firefighter Red Adair to put out the blaze, Anschutz instead sold the rights to film the fire to Universal Pictures, which happened to be making a biopic about Adair. Anschutz then used part of his $100,000 fee to pay Adair to douse the flames and invested the rest in more oilfields.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By the mid-1970s, Anschutz had acquired oil fields in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Texas, as well as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/uranium-mining"><strong>uranium</strong></a> and coal mines and cattle ranches. At the end of the decade, new seismic drilling technology revealed a billion-barrel oilfield under the huge Anschutz Ranch he owned with his father on the Utah-Wyoming border. In 1982 he sold part of the field to Mobil for $500 million; this gave him the capital to seed the rest of his business career.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>1980s–90s: Railroads and Telecom</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Anschutz remains involved in the oil and gas industry that gave him his start, but by the 1980s he was branching out into other businesses. He saw an opportunity in declining old railroads, which owned tons of land and whose operations, he thought, could easily be improved. In 1984 he bought Rio Grande Industries, owner of the <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande Western Railroad</strong>, for $90 million, and four years later he acquired the Southern Pacific Railroad for more than $1 billion. He sold Southern Pacific’s surplus land (mostly in California and Texas) for some $2 billion and invested the money in new tracks and locomotives. By 1996 he was able to sell Southern Pacific to the Union Pacific Railroad for $5.4 billion, netting more than $1 billion for himself while also becoming one of Union Pacific’s largest shareholders.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, as the internet began to take off, Anschutz had been using his railroad rights-of-way to install fiber optic cables for telecommunications companies—and, while he was at it, laid extra cables for himself. In 1995 he used that fiber network to spin off Southern Pacific Telecommunications as <strong>Qwest Communications</strong>, which became a darling of the late-nineties dot-com bubble. At Qwest’s height, in 2000, Anschutz was worth some $15 billion. But Qwest’s stock crashed when the dot-com bubble popped later that year, and several company executives were convicted of fraud and insider trading. Anschutz was not charged with any wrongdoing, but in 2002 <em>Fortune</em> named him America’s “greediest executive.” Qwest was eventually acquired by CenturyLink in 2011.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>1990s–2010s: Sports and Entertainment</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Anschutz built up Qwest’s network, he also began to get involved in the sports and entertainment industries, perhaps to ensure that he would have plenty of content for Qwest to deliver. One early sign of Anschutz’s interest in sports franchises was his involvement in establishing Major League Soccer (MLS), which started in 1996. When MLS was struggling in the early 2000s, Anschutz almost single-handedly kept it going by operating six of the league’s ten teams—including the Colorado Rapids, which he sold to <strong>Stan Kroenke</strong> in 2003. In 2008 the new MLS championship trophy was named for Anschutz. Today he still owns the Los Angeles Galaxy, which plays at the Anschutz-owned Dignity Health Sports Park.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Anschutz became involved in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s, after he failed in a bid to turn Southern Pacific land in Denver’s Central <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>Platte</strong></a> Valley into a vast sports and entertainment complex. Instead he bought the Los Angeles Kings in 1995 and set to work on building an arena in a city that hadn’t seen a new sports venue since the 1960s. The result, Staples Center, opened in 1999. It is now home to the Kings, the Lakers (Anschutz owns one-quarter of the team), the LA Clippers, and the WNBA’s LA Sparks (Anschutz has a minority stake). In the 2000s, he added a development called L.A. Live next to the Staples Center; it includes hotels, restaurants, theaters, and the Grammy Museum.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, Anschutz started a movie-production company, now known as Walden Media, which focuses on family-friendly movies with a strong moral message. Its hits have included the <em>Chronicles of Narnia</em> series and <em>Ray</em>. He also assembled several movie-theater chains into the Regal Entertainment Group, which became the world’s largest theater chain at the time. (It was sold for a reported $3.6 billion in 2017.)</p>&#13; &#13; <p>All of these sports and entertainment ventures are under the umbrella of the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which Anschutz first started to help provide a stream of events in the Staples Center. Today AEG owns dozens of venues and more sports teams than any other entity in the world. AEG’s event-promotion arm, AEG Presents, is second in the world behind Live Nation; it has organized concerts for pop stars around the world, including Michael Jackson’s ill-fated “This Is It” comeback tour in 2009, and operates festivals such as Coachella. The company also launched a ticketing arm, AXS, to compete with Ticketmaster.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>2000s–2010s: News and Hotels</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite the overall decline of newspapers in the 2000s, Anschutz has steadily added news outlets to his portfolio of businesses, perhaps because he sees them as undervalued assets that can also push a conservative political agenda. He first bought the <em>San Francisco Examiner</em> in 2004, then used the Examiner name for a new paper in Washington, DC, as well as a network of local news websites. In 2009 he bought the conservative political magazine <em>The Weekly Standard</em> from Rupert Murdoch. After reports that Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group wanted to make the magazine more partisan and was displeased with the editors’ opposition to Donald Trump, Clarity shuttered the publication at the end of 2018. In Colorado Anschutz owns the <em>Colorado Springs</em> <em>Gazette</em>, which he acquired in 2012, as well as the <em>Denver Gazette</em>, which he launched in 2020 after years of rumors that he might revive the <strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Most recently, Anschutz has invested in iconic American hotels. In 2008 he bought Xanterra, which operates lodges and other concessions in many national parks. In 2010 he acquired a stake in Sea Island, a historic resort on the Georgia coast. A year later, he also bought the Broadmoor in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>, where he had spent time with his family as a child. At both the Broadmoor and Sea Island, where he attained full control in 2016, Anschutz has invested millions of dollars in upgrades at the main properties while also adding new wilderness or adventure experiences, such as Broadmoor’s Cloud Camp on top of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cheyenne-mountain"><strong>Cheyenne Mountain</strong></a>, fly-fishing camp in the Tarryall Mountains, and zip lines at <strong>Seven Falls Canyon</strong>. He has placed the two properties in a 100-year trust to ensure that they stay in his family with an emphasis on long-term stewardship rather than quick profits.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Personal Life, Politics, and Philanthropy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Anschutz met his wife, Nancy, when he was sixteen; they married in 1968 and have three children. He keeps a low profile and is sometimes called “reclusive” because he rarely speaks to journalists and has given only a few press conferences in nearly sixty years as a businessman. A longtime Denver resident, he lives modestly by billionaire standards, driving himself, wearing blue jeans and a Timex watch, and often hanging out at his hotels or watching his sports teams without being recognized. He attends an evangelical Presbyterian church, and his Christian faith has influenced his political donations and philanthropy.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Anschutz is known for his conservative politics, particularly in the cultural realm of “morality” and “decency.” This is apparent in some of his business enterprises, such as his production company’s emphasis on family-friendly fare, and is even more clear in his political contributions. In the early 1990s, he donated to Colorado for Family Values, which backed <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/amendment-2"><strong>Amendment 2</strong></a>, the measure that prohibited antidiscrimination protections for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals before the US Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Anschutz has funded the antievolution Discovery Institute, the promarriage Institute for American Values, and morality groups such as the Media Research Center and Morality in Media, which campaign against what they consider indecency on television and the internet. He also has a relationship with conservative Supreme Court justice <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/neil-gorsuch"><strong>Neil Gorsuch</strong></a>, who represented Anschutz and his companies in the early 2000s and later received a letter of support from Anschutz for a federal judgeship in 2006.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Anschutz’s Christian faith and conservative politics also play a role in some of his philanthropic giving. His charitable enterprises include the Foundation for a Better Life (makers of the “Pass It On” billboards) and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, both of which advance his goal of increasing civility in American society. Most of Anschutz’s philanthropy is done through the Anschutz Foundation, which he established in 1984. Today the foundation has more than $1 billion in assets and disburses more than $50 million annually in grants to organizations such as the University of Colorado, <strong>Children’s Hospital Colorado</strong>, <strong>Mile High United Way</strong>, Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, the <strong>Denver Art Museum</strong>, <strong>Kent Denver School</strong>, and the <strong>US Olympic Museum and Paralympic Museum</strong>. Anschutz has given more than $100 million to the University of Colorado’s medical campus in <strong>Aurora</strong>, which was named for him in 2006.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Finally, Anschutz sees himself as a man of the American West and harbors a deep love of the region’s lore and land, much of which he owns. He is estimated to be the twenty-fourth-largest landowner in the United States. In addition to the 60-square-mile Eagles Nest Ranch in Colorado, which he acquired from <strong>Peter Coors</strong>, he owns a 500-square-mile cattle ranch in central Wyoming, part of which he wants to make into the world’s largest wind farm. Anschutz also has one of the finest collections of Western art in private hands. He made his first major purchases in 1972, when he traded oil leases for paintings, and now owns more than 600 works by nineteenth- and twentieth-century Western artists. In the late 1990s, he restored the historic <strong>Navarre Building</strong> in downtown Denver and hung his collection there; it is now open to the public as the American Museum of Western Art—The Anschutz Collection.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2015 Anschutz was the National Western Stock Show’s Citizen of the West. He has recently written two volumes called <em>Out Where the West Begins</em>, which consist of a series of profiles of important Western leaders in business and other fields.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/philip-anschutz" hreflang="en">Philip Anschutz</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/broadmoor-hotel" hreflang="en">broadmoor hotel</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/anschutz-corporation" hreflang="en">Anschutz Corporation</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/anschutz-foundation" hreflang="en">Anschutz Foundation</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/anschutz-entertainment-group" hreflang="en">Anschutz Entertainment Group</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-springs-gazette" hreflang="en">Colorado Springs Gazette</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-gazette" hreflang="en">Denver Gazette</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/eagles-nest-ranch" hreflang="en">Eagles Nest Ranch</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/buyers-guide/anschutz-entertainment-group-inc.">Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc.</a>,” Corporate Equality Index, Human Rights Campaign, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Charles Boehm, “<a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/whats-cup-get-know-philip-f-anschutz-trophy-mls-cup">MLS Cup: The Philip F. Anschutz Trophy Is the Winner’s Prize</a>,” Major League Soccer, November 5, 2019.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Connie Bruck, “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/01/16/the-man-who-owns-l-a">The Man Who Owns L.A.</a>,” <em>New Yorker</em>, January 16, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Andrew Buncome, “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131231190800/http:/www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/philip-anschutz-the-westerner-407105.html">Philip Anschutz: The Westerner</a>,” <em>Independent</em>, July 8, 2006.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Calderone, “<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2009/10/phil-anschutzs-conservative-agenda-028355">Phil Anschutz’s Conservative Agenda</a>,” <em>Politico</em>, October 16, 2009.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Christopher Helman, “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2016/10/05/the-broadmoor-hotel-where-billionaire-phil-anschutz-fell-in-love-with-business/#944088111994">The Broadmoor Hotel: Where Billionaire Phil Anschutz Fell in Love with Business</a>,” <em>Forbes</em>, October 25, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Christopher Helman, “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/1108/anschutz-qwest-leiweke-bieber-staples-behind-curtain.html">The Man Behind the Curtain</a>,” <em>Forbes</em>, October 21, 2010.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ben Ryder Howe, “<a href="https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a9156879/philip-anschutz-interview/">Why Philip Anschutz, Known as the ‘Anti-Trump,’ Is Spending a Fortune on Old Hotels</a>,” <em>Town &amp; Country</em>, March 21, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Brian O’Reilly and Ann Harrington, “<a href="https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/09/06/265307/index.htm">Billionaire Next Door Philip Anschutz May Be the Richest American You’ve Never Heard Of</a>,” <em>Fortune</em>, September 6, 1999.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Parker, “<a href="https://macleans.ca/society/the-real-king-of-the-l-a-kings-mystery-billionaire-philip-anschutz/">The Real King of the Los Angeles Kings: Mystery Billionaire Philip Anschutz</a>,” <em>Maclean’s</em>, June 12, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/philip-f-anschutz/">Phil Anschutz</a>,” Bloomberg Billionaires Index, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradobusinesshalloffame.org/philip-f-anschutz.html">Philip F. Anschutz</a>,” Colorado Business Hall of Fame, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>George Raine and Jenny Strasburg, “<a href="https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/New-owner-is-reclusive-a-conservative-Christian-2793741.php">New Owner Is Reclusive, a Conservative Christian</a>,” <em>San Francisco Chronicle</em>, February 20, 2004.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Roberts, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/phil-anschutz-owned-company-buys-colorado-springs-gazette-5830027">Phil Anschutz–Owned Company Buys Colorado Springs <em>Gazette</em></a>,” <em>Westword</em>, November 30, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Charlie Savage and Julie Turkewitz, “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/14/us/politics/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court.html">Neil Gorsuch Has Web of Ties to Secretive Billionaire</a>,” <em>New York Times</em>, March 14, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Benjamin Wallace-Wells, “<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/who-killed-the-weekly-standard">Who Killed the <em>Weekly Standard</em>?</a>” <em>New Yorker</em>, January 3, 2019.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="https://anschutzcollection.org/">American Museum of Western Art—The Anschutz Collection</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.theanschutzfoundation.org/">Anschutz Foundation</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Philip F. Anschutz, <em>Out Where the West Begins, Volume 2: Creating and Civilizing the American West</em> (Denver: Cloud Camp Press, 2017).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Philip F. Anschutz with William J. Convery and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Out Where the West Begins: Profiles, Visions and Strategies of Early Western Business Leaders</em> (Denver: Cloud Camp Press, 2015).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="http://www.eagles-nest-ranch.com/">Eagles Nest Ranch</a>.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 21 Jan 2021 23:28:55 +0000 yongli 3482 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Helen G. Bonfils http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/helen-g-bonfils <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Helen G. Bonfils </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-09-14T16:28:40-06:00" title="Monday, September 14, 2020 - 16:28" class="datetime">Mon, 09/14/2020 - 16:28</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/helen-g-bonfils" data-a2a-title="Helen G. Bonfils "><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fhelen-g-bonfils&amp;title=Helen%20G.%20Bonfils%20"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils (1889–1972) was a well-known Colorado actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known as manager of <strong><em>The</em><em> Denver Post</em></strong> and for her contributions to the theater in Colorado through her time as an actress, producer, and later benefactress of the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation, which supports the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-center-performing-arts"><strong>Denver Center for the Performing Arts</strong></a>, the largest nonprofit theater organization in the country. Her other charitable works included endowing scholarships, creating the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank, and funding the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-zoo"><strong>Denver Zoo</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils was born in Peekskill, New York, on November 16, 1889, the second daughter of <strong>Frederick</strong> and Belle Bonfils. The Bonfils family moved to Kansas in 1894 and then to Denver in 1895, where Frederick and his business partner, <strong>H. H. Tammen</strong>, purchased a failing newspaper and rebranded it as <em>The</em> <em>Denver Post</em>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The successful newspaper business provided for Helen Bonfils’s extravagant upbringing. She attended the Miss Wolcott School, an elite private girls’ school in <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> and then continued to finishing school at National Park Seminary in Maryland. The Bonfils girls were raised in the Catholic Church, as their mother was devout.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen was close with her mother. They attended shows together at the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/tabor-grand-opera-house"><strong>Tabor Grand Opera House</strong></a> and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elitch-gardens"><strong>Elitch Gardens</strong></a>, which sparked Helen’s love for the performing arts. She began acting as a young adult and performed at the Elitch Theatre when she was starting out. She also helped organize the <strong>University of Denver</strong>’s Community Theater, then known as the Civic Theatre, where she later performed. At the time, many theaters in Denver operated seasonally, but Bonfils recognized the need for formal theater companies to keep talent engaged and shows running year-round, not just during summer months. Over the course of her life she orchestrated the creation of five theaters and performance companies, including the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bonfils-memorial-theatre"><strong>Bonfils Memorial Theatre</strong></a> as a new home for the Denver Civic Theatre in 1953.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Family Strife</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The success of <em>The</em> <em>Denver Post</em> amassed great wealth for the Bonfils family. Each daughter was to receive a large inheritance that would be paid out in installments. However, Helen Bonfils received most of the inheritance because her older sister, <strong>Mary “May” Bonfils</strong>, had married without her parents’ approval. Helen inherited majority shares of <em>The</em> <em>Denver Post</em> after her father’s death in 1933. When Belle Bonfils died in 1935, May received a small portion of her mother’s estate in the form of a trust but was offended that Helen had been appointed by her mother as the trust administrator. May sued Helen and won, gaining access to about $12,000 per year (roughly $225,000 today). Even with this concession, May remained bitter about her parents’ desertion and favoritism. Family strife and sibling jealousy were recurring themes in Helen Bonfils’s life. The sisters rarely spoke, and they publicly criticized each other throughout their adult lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The One-Woman Show</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils managed <em>The</em> <em>Denver </em><em>Post</em> as secretary treasurer from 1933 until 1966, when she became the newspaper’s president. Women were not commonly recognized as business leaders in the 1930s, but it is clear from the company’s organization and decision-making that Bonfils was steering the <em>Post</em> during her long tenure. She made a point of hiring female editors and ensured that the paper featured more cultural and family-focused content than it had under her father. Under her leadership, the paper also gave back to the Denver community more than it had under her father’s management. The paper started sponsoring free community events, such as summer operettas in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cheesman-park"><strong>Cheesman Park</strong></a>. These events were a huge hit and allowed Bonfils to combine her work at the paper with her goals of promoting the performing arts in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Success did not come without a few bumps in the road. The Bonfils sisters’ discord negatively affected the newspaper. May publicly criticized the <em>Post</em> while Helen ensured that May’s charitable works and important news were never reported. In 1960 May escalated their fight by selling her 15 percent stake to Samuel I. Newhouse Sr., a publishing magnate who planned to take over the newspaper by edging out Helen Bonfils. He did not succeed, but the sale nevertheless caused the sisters’ rift to widen further.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Success at the Box Office</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>While managing her father’s newspaper, Helen Bonfils never lost her love for the arts. In 1936 she married producer George Somnes. The pair met at the Elitch Theatre, where the English producer had recently been hired. His connection to the Denver theater scene—and particularly to the first theater where she had performed as a young woman—relit the dramatic fire inside Bonfils, who set to work as a playwright, recruiter, and benefactress. The couple created the Bonfils and Somnes Producing Company in 1937. They produced shows in Denver and New York City, with their biggest hit being <em>The Greatest Show on Earth</em> (1938). Helen performed in the play in New York City during the height of its popularity. She continued to recruit talent and produce shows with Somnes for eighteen more years, until he passed away in 1956 from liver failure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following her husband’s death, Bonfils needed a change of scenery. She took some time off from <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em> to co-produce shows in New York and London with well-known producers Haila Stoddard and <strong>Donald Seawell</strong>. With Seawell, Bonfils produced <em>Sail Away</em> (1962), <em>The Hollow Crown</em> (1963), and Tony Award–winning <em>Sleuth </em>(1971). Bonfils appreciated Seawell’s work ethic so much that she asked him to move to Denver and become the chairman of <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em> when she was appointed president in 1966.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the midst of her theatrical success, Bonfils tired of being alone. In 1959, at the age of sixty-eight, she married Edward Michael Davis, her twenty-eight-year-old chauffeur. To avoid appearing too scandalous, she set Davis up to manage an oil company, making him appear more respectable. Though their marriage seemed mutually beneficial, Bonfils filed for divorce in 1971, when her health was ailing. Some Denver historians believe she did not want Davis to inherit her estate after she passed away on June 6, 1972.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Charitable Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils had a large fortune and no heir, so she determined to leave her mark through charity. In 1943 she created the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank to benefit wounded soldiers during World War II. This center, named after her mother, still functions today as part of Vitalant, a nationwide network of donation centers. At the same time she started the blood bank, Bonfils funded the completion of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/holy-ghost-catholic-church"><strong>Holy Ghost Catholic Church</strong></a> in honor of her parents. She also organized sponsorship for specialized wings at Denver hospitals. Her passion for animals led her to be an active member of the Dumb Friends League and contribute to the creation of the Denver Zoo. These ventures marked the start of Bonfils’s long legacy of giving, which was spurred in part by competition with her sister’s charities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils’s most substantial charitable legacy involved the performing arts. In 1953 she created the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation to support the performing arts in Colorado and endow arts scholarships. Through her foundation, Bonfils built the Bonfils Memorial Theatre, which was named in honor of her parents.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After her death in 1972, Donald Seawell, her successor at the <em>Post</em> and manager of the Bonfils Foundation, envisioned and oversaw construction of a new arts complex around the Municipal Auditorium downtown. Seawell’s plan was in many ways a continuation of Bonfils’s lifelong project of promoting the performing arts in Denver. He made the Bonfils Foundation a subsidiary of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, as the campus was then known. (The campus is now the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver-performing-arts-complex"><strong>Denver Performing Arts Complex</strong></a>, while the Denver Center for the Performing Arts focuses on theatrical programming.) By 1979 construction was complete, including the Helen G. Bonfils Theatre Complex with four theaters of different sizes. When Seawell sold <em>The Denver Post</em> a year later, the profits went into the Bonfils Foundation to continue to fund the performing arts center. Meanwhile, the smaller Bonfils Memorial Theatre on East Colfax Avenue became a community theater for a few years before eventually becoming home to the <strong>Tattered Cover Book Store</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. Today her legacy in Denver and her love for the theater continue through the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is now the largest nonprofit theater organization in the United States.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/helen-bonfils" hreflang="en">Helen Bonfils</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-post" hreflang="en">the denver post</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/frederick-bonfils" hreflang="en">Frederick Bonfils</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bonfils-family" hreflang="en">Bonfils family</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-civic-theatre" hreflang="en">Denver Civic Theatre</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/bonfils-memorial-theatre" hreflang="en">Bonfils Memorial Theatre</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-center-performing-arts" hreflang="en">Denver Center for the Performing Arts</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Vivian Epstein, <em>A History of Colorado’s Women for Young People</em> (Denver: Vivian Epstein, 1978).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/helen-bonfils/">Helen Bonfils</a>,” n.d., Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.denvercenter.org/about-us/history-of-dcpa/">History of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts</a>,” n.d., Denver Center for the Performing Arts.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel, <a href="https://bonfils-stantonfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/BSF-History-Book_0419_FINAL_low-res.pdf"><em>The Legacy Continues: The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Story</em></a> (Denver: Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, 2018).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel, “May Bonfils and Her Lost Belmar Mansion,” <em>Colorado Heritage</em> (Fall 2018).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Arian Osborne, “<a href="https://www.coloradovirtuallibrary.org/digital-colorado/colorado-histories/20th-century/helen-bonfils-co-owner-denver-post-philanthropist/">Helen Bonfils: Denver Post Co-owner and Philanthropist</a>,” Colorado Virtual Library, April 5, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://duarchives.coalliance.org/agents/people/664">George Somnes</a>,” University of Denver Archives, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeanne Varnell, <em>Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame</em> (Chicago: Johnson Books, 1999).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Eva Hodges Watt, <em>Papa's Girl: The Fascinating World of Helen Bonfils</em> (Lake City, CO: Western Reflections, 2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ed Will, “<a href="https://extras.denverpost.com/scene/bonfils1104.htm">Performing Arts Greats: Helen Bonfils</a>,” <em>The </em><em>Denver Post</em>, November 4, 1999.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Gail M. Beaton, <em>Colorado Women: A History</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bill Hosokawa, <em>Thunder in the Rockies: The Incredible </em>Denver Post (New York: Morrow, 1976).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils (1889–1972) was a Colorado actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known as manager of <strong><em>The Denver Post</em></strong>. She contributed to the theater in Colorado through her time as an actress, producer, and benefactress. Her other charitable works included creating the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank and funding the <strong>Denver Zoo</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils was born in Peekskill, New York, on November 16, 1889. She was the second daughter of <strong>Frederick</strong> and Belle Bonfils. The Bonfils family moved to Denver in 1895. Frederick and his business partner, <strong>H. H. Tammen</strong>, purchased a failing newspaper and rebranded it as <em>The Denver Post</em>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The newspaper business provided for Helen Bonfils’s wealthy upbringing. She attended an elite private girls’ school in <strong>Denver</strong>. The Bonfils girls were raised in the Catholic Church, as their mother was devout.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen was close with her mother. They attended shows at the <strong>Tabor Grand Opera House</strong> and <strong>Elitch Gardens</strong>. This started Helen’s love for the performing arts. She began acting as a young adult. Helen performed at the Elitch Theatre. At the time, many theaters in Denver operated seasonally. Bonfils saw the need for shows to run year-round. Over the course of her life she helped create five theaters and performance companies.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Family Strife</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The success of <em>The Denver Post</em> created great wealth for the Bonfils family. Each daughter was to receive a large inheritance. Helen Bonfils received most of the inheritance after her older sister, <strong>Mary “May” Bonfils</strong>, married without her parents’ approval. Helen received majority shares of <em>The Denver Post</em> after her father’s death in 1933. When Belle Bonfils died in 1935, May received a small portion of her mother’s estate. The money was in the form of a trust. May was offended that her mother gave Helen control over the trust. May sued Helen and won. May received about $12,000 per year (about $225,000 today). May remained bitter. The sisters rarely spoke. They publicly criticized each other throughout their lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The One-Woman Show</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils managed <em>The Denver Post</em> as secretary treasurer from 1933 until 1966. That's when she became the newspaper’s president. Women were not often recognized as business leaders in the 1930s. However, Bonfils was steering the <em>Post</em>. She hired female editors. The paper featured more cultural and family-focused content than it had under her father. The paper also gave back to the Denver community more. The paper started sponsoring free community events. These events were a huge hit. They allowed Bonfils to combine her work at the paper with her goals of promoting the performing arts in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Success did not come without a few bumps in the road. The Bonfils sisters’ fighting hurt the newspaper. In 1960 May sold her 15 percent stake to Samuel I. Newhouse Sr. He planned to take over the newspaper by edging out Helen Bonfils. He did not succeed. However, the sale caused the sisters’ rift to widen further.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Success at the Box Office</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils never lost her love for the arts. In 1936 she married producer George Somnes. The pair met at the Elitch Theatre. His connection to the Denver theater scene relit the dramatic fire inside Bonfils. She set to work as a playwright, recruiter, and benefactress. The couple created the Bonfils and Somnes Producing Company in 1937. They produced shows in Denver and New York City. Their biggest hit was <em>The Greatest Show on Earth</em> (1938). Helen performed in the play in New York City. She continued to produce shows with Somnes for eighteen more years. He passed away in 1956 from liver failure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following her husband’s death, Bonfils needed a change. She took time off from <em>The Denver Post</em> to co-produce shows in New York and London.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils tired of being alone. In 1959, at the age of sixty-eight, she married Edward Michael Davis. He was her twenty-eight-year-old chauffeur. Bonfils filed for divorce in 1971, when her health was failing. Some historians believe she did not want Davis to inherit her estate after she passed away on June 6, 1972.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Charitable Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils had a large fortune and no heir. She determined to leave her mark through charity. In 1943 she created the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank to benefit wounded soldiers during World War II. This center, named after her mother, still functions today. Her passion for animals led her to be an active member of the Dumb Friends League. She contributed to the creation of the Denver Zoo. This was the start of Bonfils’s long legacy of giving.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils’s biggest charitable legacy involved the performing arts. In 1953 she created the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation to support the performing arts in Colorado. Through her foundation, Bonfils built the Bonfils Memorial Theatre.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After her death, Donald Seawell, her successor at the <em>Post</em> and manager of the Bonfils Foundation, oversaw construction of a new arts complex downtown. By 1979 construction was complete. The building included the Helen G. Bonfils Theatre Complex with four theaters of different sizes. Seawell sold <em>The Denver Post</em> a year later. The profits went into the Bonfils Foundation to continue funding the performing arts center.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. Today her legacy continues through the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils (1889–1972) was a Colorado actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known as manager of <strong><em>The Denver Post</em></strong>. She contributed to the theater in Colorado through her time as an actress, producer, and benefactress of the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation. Her other charitable works included endowing scholarships, creating the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank, and funding the <strong>Denver Zoo</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils was born in Peekskill, New York, on November 16, 1889. She was the second daughter of <strong>Frederick</strong> and Belle Bonfils. The Bonfils family moved to Denver in 1895. Frederick and his business partner, <strong>H. H. Tammen</strong>, purchased a failing newspaper and rebranded it as <em>The Denver Post</em>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The newspaper business provided for Helen Bonfils’s extravagant upbringing. She attended the Miss Wolcott School, an elite private girls’ school in <strong>Denver</strong>. She continued to finishing school at National Park Seminary in Maryland. The Bonfils girls were raised in the Catholic Church, as their mother was devout.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen was close with her mother. They attended shows together at the <strong>Tabor Grand Opera House</strong> and <strong>Elitch Gardens</strong>. This sparked Helen’s love for the performing arts. She began acting as a young adult and performed at the Elitch Theatre. She also helped organize the <strong>University of Denver</strong>’s Community Theater where she later performed. At the time, many theaters in Denver operated seasonally. Bonfils recognized the need for formal theater companies to keep talent engaged and shows running year-round. Over the course of her life she orchestrated the creation of five theaters and performance companies. These included the <strong>Bonfils Memorial Theatre</strong> as a new home for the Denver Civic Theatre in 1953.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Family Strife</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The success of <em>The Denver Post</em> created great wealth for the Bonfils family. Each daughter was to receive a large inheritance. However, Helen Bonfils received most of the inheritance because her older sister, <strong>Mary “May” Bonfils</strong>, married without her parents’ approval. Helen received majority shares of <em>The Denver Post</em> after her father’s death in 1933. When Belle Bonfils died in 1935, May received a small portion of her mother’s estate. The money was in the form of a trust. May was offended that her mother made Helen the trust administrator. May sued Helen and won, gaining access to about $12,000 per year (roughly $225,000 today). Even with this concession, May remained bitter. Family strife and sibling jealousy were recurring themes in Helen Bonfils’s life. The sisters rarely spoke. They publicly criticized each other throughout their adult lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The One-Woman Show</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils managed <em>The Denver Post</em> as secretary treasurer from 1933 until 1966. That's when she became the newspaper’s president. Women were not commonly recognized as business leaders in the 1930s. However, it is clear that Bonfils was steering the <em>Post</em>. She hired female editors. The paper featured more cultural and family-focused content than it had under her father. The paper also gave back to the Denver community more than it had under her father’s management. The paper started sponsoring free community events, such as summer operettas in <strong>Cheesman Park</strong>. These events were a huge hit. They allowed Bonfils to combine her work at the paper with her goals of promoting the performing arts in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Success did not come without a few bumps in the road. The Bonfils sisters’ fighting negatively affected the newspaper. In 1960 May escalated their fight by selling her 15 percent stake to Samuel I. Newhouse Sr. He planned to take over the newspaper by edging out Helen Bonfils. He did not succeed. However, the sale caused the sisters’ rift to widen further.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Success at the Box Office</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils never lost her love for the arts. In 1936 she married producer George Somnes. The pair met at the Elitch Theatre, where the English producer had recently been hired. His connection to the Denver theater scene relit the dramatic fire inside Bonfils. She set to work as a playwright, recruiter, and benefactress. The couple created the Bonfils and Somnes Producing Company in 1937. They produced shows in Denver and New York City. Their biggest hit was <em>The Greatest Show on Earth</em> (1938). Helen performed in the play in New York City during the height of its popularity. She continued to recruit talent and produce shows with Somnes for eighteen more years. He passed away in 1956 from liver failure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following her husband’s death, Bonfils needed a change. She took some time off from <em>The Denver Post</em> to co-produce shows in New York and London with well-known producers Haila Stoddard and <strong>Donald Seawell</strong>. With Seawell, Bonfils produced <em>Sail Away</em> (1962), <em>The Hollow Crown</em> (1963), and Tony Award–winning <em>Sleuth</em> (1971). Bonfils appreciated Seawell’s work ethic so much that she asked him to move to Denver and become the chairman of <em>The Denver Post</em> when she was appointed president in 1966.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the midst of her theatrical success, Bonfils tired of being alone. In 1959, at the age of sixty-eight, she married Edward Michael Davis, her twenty-eight-year-old chauffeur. To avoid appearing too scandalous, she set Davis up to manage an oil company. This made him appear more respectable. Bonfils filed for divorce in 1971, when her health was ailing. Some Denver historians believe she did not want Davis to inherit her estate after she passed away on June 6, 1972.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Charitable Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils had a large fortune and no heir. She determined to leave her mark through charity. In 1943 she created the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank to benefit wounded soldiers during World War II. This center, named after her mother, still functions today. Bonfils also funded the completion of <strong>Holy Ghost Catholic Church</strong> in honor of her parents. She also organized sponsorship for specialized wings at Denver hospitals. Her passion for animals led her to be an active member of the Dumb Friends League. She contributed to the creation of the Denver Zoo. These ventures marked the start of Bonfils’s long legacy of giving.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils’s most substantial charitable legacy involved the performing arts. In 1953 she created the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation to support the performing arts in Colorado. Through her foundation, Bonfils built the Bonfils Memorial Theatre.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After her death, Donald Seawell, her successor at the <em>Post </em>and manager of the Bonfils Foundation, oversaw construction of a new arts complex around the Municipal Auditorium downtown. By 1979 construction was complete, including the Helen G. Bonfils Theatre Complex with four theaters of different sizes. When Seawell sold <em>The Denver Post </em>a year later, the profits went into the Bonfils Foundation to continue to fund the performing arts center.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. Today her legacy in Denver and her love for the theater continue through the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is now the largest nonprofit theater organization in the United States.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils (1889–1972) was a well-known Colorado actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is best known as manager of <strong><em>The Denver Post</em></strong> and for her contributions to the theater in Colorado through her time as an actress, producer, and later benefactress of the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation. Her other charitable works included endowing scholarships, creating the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank, and funding the <strong>Denver Zoo</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Gilmer Bonfils was born in Peekskill, New York, on November 16, 1889, the second daughter of <strong>Frederick</strong> and Belle Bonfils. The Bonfils family moved to Kansas in 1894 and then to Denver in 1895, where Frederick and his business partner, <strong>H. H. Tammen</strong>, purchased a failing newspaper and rebranded it as <em>The Denver Post</em>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The successful newspaper business provided for Helen Bonfils’s extravagant upbringing. She attended the Miss Wolcott School, an elite private girls’ school in <strong>Denver</strong>. She continued to finishing school at National Park Seminary in Maryland. The Bonfils girls were raised in the Catholic Church, as their mother was devout.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen was close with her mother. They attended shows together at the <strong>Tabor Grand Opera House</strong> and <strong>Elitch Gardens</strong>, which sparked Helen’s love for the performing arts. She began acting as a young adult and performed at the Elitch Theatre when she was starting out. She also helped organize the <strong>University of Denver</strong>’s Community Theater, then known as the Civic Theatre, where she later performed. At the time, many theaters in Denver operated seasonally, but Bonfils recognized the need for formal theater companies to keep talent engaged and shows running year-round, not just during summer months. Over the course of her life, she orchestrated the creation of five theaters and performance companies, including the <strong>Bonfils Memorial Theatre</strong> as a new home for the Denver Civic Theatre in 1953.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Family Strife</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The success of <em>The Denver Post</em> amassed great wealth for the Bonfils family. Each daughter was to receive a large inheritance that would be paid out in installments. However, Helen Bonfils received most of the inheritance because her older sister, <strong>Mary “May” Bonfils</strong>, had married without her parents’ approval. Helen inherited majority shares of <em>The Denver Post</em> after her father’s death in 1933. When Belle Bonfils died in 1935, May received a small portion of her mother’s estate in the form of a trust but was offended that Helen had been appointed by her mother as the trust administrator. May sued Helen and won, gaining access to about $12,000 per year (roughly $225,000 today). Even with this concession, May remained bitter about her parents’ desertion and favoritism. Family strife and sibling jealousy were recurring themes in Helen Bonfils’s life. The sisters rarely spoke, and they publicly criticized each other throughout their adult lives.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The One-Woman Show</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils managed <em>The Denver Post</em> as secretary treasurer from 1933 until 1966, when she became the newspaper’s president. Women were not commonly recognized as business leaders in the 1930s, but it is clear from the company’s organization and decision-making that Bonfils was steering the <em>Post</em> during her long tenure. She made a point of hiring female editors and ensured that the paper featured more cultural and family-focused content than it had under her father. Under her leadership, the paper also gave back to the Denver community more than it had under her father’s management. The paper started sponsoring free community events, such as summer operettas in <strong>Cheesman Park</strong>. These events were a huge hit and allowed Bonfils to combine her work at the paper with her goals of promoting the performing arts in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Success did not come without a few bumps in the road. The Bonfils sisters’ discord negatively affected the newspaper. May publicly criticized the <em>Post </em>while Helen ensured that May’s charitable works and important news were never reported. In 1960 May escalated their fight by selling her 15 percent stake to Samuel I. Newhouse Sr., a publishing magnate who planned to take over the newspaper by edging out Helen Bonfils. He did not succeed, but the sale nevertheless caused the sisters’ rift to widen further.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Success at the Box Office</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>While managing her father’s newspaper, Helen Bonfils never lost her love for the arts. In 1936 she married producer George Somnes. The pair met at the Elitch Theatre, where the English producer had recently been hired. His connection to the Denver theater scene—and particularly to the first theater where she had performed as a young woman—relit the dramatic fire inside Bonfils, who set to work as a playwright, recruiter, and benefactress. The couple created the Bonfils and Somnes Producing Company in 1937. They produced shows in Denver and New York City, with their biggest hit being <em>The Greatest Show on Earth</em> (1938). Helen performed in the play in New York City during the height of its popularity. She continued to recruit talent and produce shows with Somnes for eighteen more years, until he passed away in 1956 from liver failure.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following her husband’s death, Bonfils needed a change of scenery. She took some time off from <em>The Denver Post</em> to co-produce shows in New York and London with well-known producers Haila Stoddard and <strong>Donald Seawell</strong>. With Seawell, Bonfils produced <em>Sail Away</em> (1962), <em>The Hollow Crown</em> (1963), and Tony Award–winning Sleuth (1971). Bonfils appreciated Seawell’s work ethic so much that she asked him to move to Denver and become the chairman of <em>The Denver Post</em> when she was appointed president in 1966.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the midst of her theatrical success, Bonfils tired of being alone. In 1959, at the age of sixty-eight, she married Edward Michael Davis, her twenty-eight-year-old chauffeur. To avoid appearing too scandalous, she set Davis up to manage an oil company, making him appear more respectable. Though their marriage seemed mutually beneficial, Bonfils filed for divorce in 1971, when her health was ailing. Some Denver historians believe she did not want Davis to inherit her estate after she passed away on June 6, 1972.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Charitable Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils had a large fortune and no heir, so she determined to leave her mark through charity. In 1943 she created the Belle Bonfils Blood Bank to benefit wounded soldiers during World War II. This center, named after her mother, still functions today as part of Vitalant, a nationwide network of donation centers. At the same time, she started the blood bank, Bonfils funded the completion of <strong>Holy Ghost Catholic Church</strong> in honor of her parents. She also organized sponsorship for specialized wings at Denver hospitals. Her passion for animals led her to be an active member of the Dumb Friends League and contribute to the creation of the Denver Zoo. These ventures marked the start of Bonfils’s long legacy of giving, which was spurred in part by competition with her sister’s charities.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Bonfils’s most substantial charitable legacy involved the performing arts. In 1953 she created the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation to support the performing arts in Colorado and endow arts scholarships. Through her foundation, Bonfils built the Bonfils Memorial Theatre, which was named in honor of her parents.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After her death in 1972, Donald Seawell, her successor at the <em>Post </em>and manager of the Bonfils Foundation, envisioned and oversaw construction of a new arts complex around the Municipal Auditorium downtown. Seawell’s plan was in many ways a continuation of Bonfils’s lifelong project of promoting the performing arts in Denver. He made the Bonfils Foundation a subsidiary of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, as the campus was then known. (The campus is now the <strong>Denver Performing Arts Complex</strong>, while the Denver Center for the Performing Arts focuses on theatrical programming.) By 1979 construction was complete, including the Helen G. Bonfils Theatre Complex with four theaters of different sizes. When Seawell sold <em>The Denver Post</em> a year later, the profits went into the Bonfils Foundation to continue to fund the performing arts center. Meanwhile, the smaller Bonfils Memorial Theatre on East Colfax Avenue became a community theater for a few years before eventually becoming home to the <strong>Tattered Cover Book Store</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Helen Bonfils was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. Today her legacy in Denver and her love for the theater continue through the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is now the largest nonprofit theater organization in the United States.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 14 Sep 2020 22:28:40 +0000 yongli 3418 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org William Jackson Palmer’s Environmental Legacy http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-jackson-palmers-environmental-legacy <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">William Jackson Palmer’s Environmental Legacy</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-07-31T15:31:51-06:00" title="Friday, July 31, 2020 - 15:31" class="datetime">Fri, 07/31/2020 - 15:31</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-jackson-palmers-environmental-legacy" data-a2a-title="William Jackson Palmer’s Environmental Legacy"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fwilliam-jackson-palmers-environmental-legacy&amp;title=William%20Jackson%20Palmer%E2%80%99s%20Environmental%20Legacy"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>General William Jackson Palmer (1836–1909) had a lasting impact on the environment of southern Colorado. Palmer’s initial impact on the Colorado environment resulted from his network of railroads through his <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande Railroad</strong> Company. This, combined with the removal of indigenous people in the 1860s, allowed Coloradans to exploit the resources of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> and enabled them to develop the booming industries of coal and steel. Palmer's businesses attracted new workers and spurred sprawling cityscapes such as <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-springs">Colorado Springs</a></strong>, but they came at a heavy environmental cost. Today, the legacy of Palmer's industrial entrepreneurship is found not only in cities but also in abandoned smokestacks, slag piles, and the accumulation of methane and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Railroad Entrepreneurship</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the late 1860s, Palmer led an expedition to Colorado on behalf of the Union Pacific Railroad’s Eastern Division. After reaching <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver">Denver</a> </strong>in the fall of 1867, Palmer traveled up and down the Front Range from Denver to <strong>Colorado City</strong>. He envisioned a railroad line that traveled perpendicular to the traditional east-west design championed by the transcontinental railroads of the time. This line, Palmer believed, would allow a new generation of exploration in southern Colorado. In the summer of 1870 Palmer founded the Denver &amp; Rio Grande Railroad (D&amp;RG). This north-south line not only revolutionized travel in Colorado but also popularized narrow-gauge tracks, a smaller version of traditional tracks that allowed trains to travel through difficult mountain terrain.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Palmer’s new railroad network connected southern Colorado to the larger cities of Denver and Santa Fe, thus opening the southern Colorado environment to new economic opportunities. It also spawned new urban landscapes in <a href="/article/pueblo"><strong>Pueblo</strong></a>, Colorado Springs, and elsewhere.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Coal and Iron</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Coal deposits south of Denver were rich and plentiful, if remote. With his expanding network of railroads, however, Palmer seized on the resource potential by connecting southern Colorado to supply centers and markets. In the 1880s, he opened <strong>coal mines</strong> across southern Colorado. The new mines fueled the state's industrial mining era, but they were also sites of environmental hazard, as workers inhaled coal dust all day long, as well as localized water and air pollution from the collection and transportation of coal.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Denver &amp; Rio Grande pushed south to Pueblo in 1872. Palmer saw potential in the city for launching a new steel industry. Under Palmer’s guidance and partial ownership, the Colorado Coal and Iron Company (later <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-fuel-iron"><strong>Colorado Fuel &amp; Iron</strong></a>) was founded. As Pueblo grew, coal and steel traveled far from Colorado via the chugging engines they helped to power and the iron rails they helped to construct. The fruits of Palmer’s industry, then, not only developed southern Colorado but also spurred urban development across the American West.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Palmer’s phenomenal success in transforming environments near and far came with consequences, however. His steel and coal companies defined southern Colorado’s early economy, but they also fouled the air and began a legacy of air pollution across the Front Range. Mines permanently scarred landscapes of the southern <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a>. Manufacturing steel multiplied the number of mines and the mileage of tracks needed across the Rockies, connecting Pueblo to cities such as <a href="/article/leadville"><strong>Leadville</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>City Building</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Palmer encouraged his partner, William A. Bell, to found a new town to disperse growing populations. Homing in on Pikes Peak as a potential tourist destination, Bell founded <strong>Manitou Springs </strong>in 1872. Multiple Native American groups believed that the natural hot springs at the foot of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-peak"><strong>Pikes Peak</strong></a>, or Tava, as the Utes called it, held remedies for ailments ranging from indigestion to alcoholism. Bell saw these springs as a great revenue source, borrowing from Palmer’s strategy of turning the natural environment into profit. Although Palmer’s direct involvement in Pueblo was minimal, the city expanded as steel workers and their families flooded in.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Springs grew from the Denver &amp; Rio Grande Railroad’s initial company town to Colorado’s second-largest city. Palmer took great interest in the city’s growth, funding many parks and public institutions, such as the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs. But ironically, thanks to his incessant regional development efforts, the attractive, healthful environment that was at the heart of Palmer’s initial vision for Colorado Springs was now giving way to polluting industries and urban centers. Today, Pueblo is still dealing with pollution from its era of heavy industry, as piles of slag outside its now-shuttered smelter are part of a <strong>Superfund</strong> cleanup site run by the<strong> US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lasting Imprint</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Southern Colorado changed from arid foothills to mining centers and industrial hubs in no small part because of Palmer’s vision. His contributions to the southern Front Range created lasting economic and social legacies, largely at the expense of the environment. Nonetheless, he is a beloved figure in Colorado history. In 1929 the city of Colorado Springs unveiled a large, bronze statue of the general on a horse. The statue was placed in the middle of an intersection in downtown Colorado Springs, where it stands today. The statue’s location is incredibly inconvenient, jamming traffic daily. Nevertheless, it is fitting: a traffic-snarling statue is only a small example of the checkered legacy Palmer has left on the southern Colorado landscape.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/robinson-trenten" hreflang="und">Robinson, Trenten</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/william-jackson-palmer" hreflang="en">william jackson palmer</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/environmental-legacy" hreflang="en">environmental legacy</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/environmental-effects" hreflang="en">environmental effects</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/pueblo" hreflang="en">pueblo</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-springs" hreflang="en">colorado springs</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/coal" hreflang="en">coal</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/iron" hreflang="en">iron</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/railroads" hreflang="en">railroads</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Thomas G. Andrews, <em>Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War </em>(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert G. Athearn, <em>Rebel of the Rockies: A History of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad </em>(Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1971).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James E. Babbitt, “From Albuquerque to Tucson in 1867: The Kansas Pacific Railway Survey Photographs of William A. Bell,” <em>Journal of Arizona History</em> 39, no. 3 (Autumn 1998).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>William A. Bell, <em>New Tracks in North American: A Journal of Travel and Adventure Whilst Engaged in the Survey for a Southern Railroad to the Pacific Ocean During 1867–1868 </em>(Portland, OR: Horn and Wallace, 1965).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kathleen A. Brosnan, <em>Uniting Mountain and Plain: Cities, Law, and Environmental Change Along the Front Range</em> (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeanne Davant, <em>Wellsprings: A History of the Pikes Peak Region </em>, ed. Jan Mowle (Colorado Springs: Gazette Enterprises, 2001).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John Sterling Fisher and Chase Mellen, <em>A Builder of the West: The Life of General William Jackson Palmer.</em> (New York: Arno Press, 1981).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>H. Lee Scamehorn, <em>Pioneer Steelmaker in the West: The Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, 1872–1903. </em>(Boulder, CO: Pruett, 1972).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>Drifting West: The Calamities of James White and Charles Baker</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Brit Allan Storey, “An Army Officer in Texas, 1866­–1867,” <em>Southwestern Historical Quarterly</em> 72 (July 1968–April 1969).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Environmental Protection Agency, "<a href="https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0802700">Superfund site: Colorado Smelter, Pueblo, CO</a>," n.d.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Tim Blevins et al., <em>Legends, Labors, and Loves: The Life and Times of William Jackson Palmer </em>(Colorado Springs: Pikes Peak Library District, 2009).</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.cspm.org/">Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Joyce B. Lohse, <em>General William Palmer: Railroad Pioneer</em> (Palmer Lake, CO: Filter Press, 2009).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 31 Jul 2020 21:31:51 +0000 yongli 3402 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Baron Walter von Richthofen http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/baron-walter-von-richthofen <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Baron Walter von Richthofen</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3752--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3752.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/montclair-colorado"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Montclair-Map-1887_0.jpg?itok=1rqhzI1i" width="1090" height="609" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/montclair-colorado" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Montclair, Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This 1887 aerial drawing of Richthofen's Montclair development includes some real features, such as his castle, and some proposed amenities that never took shape, including a zoological garden.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-07-08T16:07:23-06:00" title="Wednesday, July 8, 2020 - 16:07" class="datetime">Wed, 07/08/2020 - 16:07</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/baron-walter-von-richthofen" data-a2a-title="Baron Walter von Richthofen"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fbaron-walter-von-richthofen&amp;title=Baron%20Walter%20von%20Richthofen"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Baron von Richthofen (1859–98) was a flamboyant, versatile booster and developer who came to Colorado in 1878; he was one of many <strong>Germans</strong> who constituted the state’s largest foreign-born contingent between 1880 and 1910. Richthofen invested in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> real estate, helped establish the suburban town of <strong>Montclair</strong> (now part of Denver), opened two extravagant beer gardens, and built a <strong>castle that has survived to the present</strong>. He also promoted Colorado as a health resort, attracting health seekers and helping to make medical care a major part of the state’s economy.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lineage</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Walter Lothar Emil Eugen von Richthofen was born on January 30, 1859, in the former Prussian province of Silesia. The Richthofen clan had been promoted to the Prussian aristocracy by Frederick the Great for supporting his 1742 annexation of Silesia. The extensive Richthofen family held various estates, manor houses, palaces, and castles throughout Silesia. Walter was a kinsman of the famed explorer, geographer, and scientist Ferdinand von Richthofen, for whom Colorado’s Mount Richthofen is named, and also of Manfred von Richthofen, who would shoot down eighty Allied planes in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a> as the celebrated “Red Baron.” Two distant relatives, the beautiful and brilliant Richthofen sisters, were early feminists. Frieda von Richthofen deserted her husband and children to marry the English novelist D. H. Lawrence and settled down with him to a Bohemian life in Taos, New Mexico. Else von Richthofen, despite her marriage to a staid Heidelberg professor, pursued an independent career and a secret love affair with the renowned social scientist Max Weber.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Coming to America</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As a teenager, Walter served in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Shortly after the war, he sailed for New York and eventually arrived in Colorado in 1878. Impressed with this booming and hospitable state filled with many of his countrymen, he went back to Germany to bring back his English wife, Jane Oakley, and his two daughters. But his family was not as impressed with Colorado as the baron was, so they returned to Europe. The couple soon divorced, leaving the baron free to pursue Colorado women, who had already caught his eye.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Bouncing from Business to Business</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The jovial German with a military bearing waltzed through one enterprise after another. During the late 1870s, Richthofen’s Carlowitz Stock Farm near Denver specialized in purebred racehorses. In 1883 he uncorked a large beer garden in Jamestown, a small <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder-county"><strong>Boulder County</strong></a> mining town. He bottled well water and peddled it as the “Carlsbad Mineral Water Company’s Ginger Champagne.” Later he speculated in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cripple-creek"><strong>Cripple Creek</strong></a> gold but never struck pay dirt. He invested in the Denver Circle Railroad, which never circled the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Some of the baron’s ventures saw greater success. In 1882 Richthofen, a founding member of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, joined <strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong> editor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-n-byers"><strong>William Byers</strong></a>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-ah-loveland"><strong>William A.H. Loveland</strong></a>, Lieutenant Governor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/horace-tabor"><strong>Horace Tabor</strong></a>, and other movers and shakers to create the <strong>National Mining and Industrial Exposition</strong>. They built a 150,000-square-foot hall at Broadway and what is now Exposition Avenue. The exposition showcased Colorado goods and services, especially mining and agriculture and other Colorado marvels, including a band of dancing <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/search/google/ute"><strong>Ute</strong></a> Indians. Next door, Richthofen constructed a large dining hall and concert beer garden, which he named Sans Souci (“without worry”) after Frederick the Great’s summer castle in Prussia. Along with the best imported wine, beer, and schnapps for gentlemen, Richthofen offered strawberries and cream for the ladies, as it was then considered improper for women to drink in social settings. Despite the delicacies, the Exposition closed in 1884, as did the so-called Baron’s Bower.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1885 the baron published <em>Cattle-Raising on the Plains of North America</em>, which proclaimed that Colorado’s “former <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article"><strong>Great American Desert</strong></a> is the largest and richest grass and pasture region in the world.” The baron’s own Carlowitz Ranch cattle venture did not fulfill the book’s promise that a “profit of 25 per cent per annum is the minimum the cattle business will yield.” Richthofen’s ranch, like so many others, suffered in the blizzards of 1885–86, often referred to as the “<strong>Great Die Up</strong>,” and the subsequent federal crackdown on ranchers’ use of public lands.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Montclair Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although Richthofen’s cattle business failed, his book sold well. The baron invested the profits in real estate, dabbling in South Denver and North Denver before looking east. He joined Mathias Cochrane’s Montclair Town and Improvement Company. Their 1885 prospectus, <em>Montclair Colorado: The Beautiful Suburban Town</em>, conjured up drawings of a tree-shaded oasis with a horsecar, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and a castle. Those features actually materialized, unlike the zoological gardens, grand hotel, and a hydropathic establishment reminiscent of St. Peter’s in Rome, all unrealized Richthofen fantasies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cochrane, who hailed from Montclair, New Jersey, named the community for his hometown as well as for its panoramic view of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>. “Beautiful Montclair,” crowed an ad in the <em>Denver</em> <em>Sunday Times</em>. “Magnificent Mountain View only 30 minutes east of downtown. Pure Air. Best Public schools. Handsomest suburb in greater Denver.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Richthofen Castle</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As a show home for the infant community, Richthofen built his own castle at East Twelfth Avenue and Olive Street. Completed in 1886 at a cost of about $32,000 ($920,000 in 2019), the huge baronial edifice included a stone gatehouse topped by a large water tower served by an artesian well. With his castle, the baron hoped to catch a bride—a blue-eyed, golden-haired English divorcée, Louise Woodall Ferguson Davies. She married him on November 22, 1887. Following the honeymoon, however, the new baroness balked at moving into the prairie fortress.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“The castle was lovely,” the baroness recalled later, “but it was a lonely place and the grounds were not attractive.” To accommodate her green dreams, Richthofen dug the Montclair Ditch, which he called a “moat” as it circled the castle grounds. This lateral of the <strong>Highline Canal</strong> allowed the baron to beautify the grounds with trees, rose bushes, gravel paths among marble statuary and fountains, and songbirds. Finally relenting, the baroness took up residence in the castle on their first anniversary.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Town Development</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Transportation remained a challenge. Initially, the baron had horse-drawn wagons take potential Montclair customers four miles east from the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/tabor-grand-opera-house"><strong>Tabor Grand Opera House</strong></a> downtown to see property in his new suburban town. Escorted by the baron and his hounds, the parade soon became known as the “Baron’s Circus.” By the late 1880s, Montclair had coaxed three streetcar lines to the new suburb along East Eighth, Seventeenth, and Colfax Avenues.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To assure customers that they were buying a prestigious address, lots were drawn substantially larger than Denver's standard 25-by-125-foot parcels, and owners were required to spend at least $10,000 on their houses. Richthofen urged buyers to purchase an entire block, which they could farm or subdivide. As new residents streamed in, Montclair incorporated as a town in 1888 and was eventually annexed to Denver in 1902.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The scramble for lots in the suburban paradise came to an abrupt halt with the <strong>1893 silver crash</strong>. In Montclair, as in other suburbs, construction froze. Montclair was left with roughly one large house per block. More modest infill housing would not arrive until Denver’s post–<strong>World War II</strong> boom.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Molkerei</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the silver crash of 1893, Richthofen repackaged Montclair as a health spa, the Colorado Carlsbad. Of Richthofen’s elaborate scheme for a grand health spa, only one building was actually built, the Molkerei (milk house), anglicized to Molkery. Modeled after German and Swiss health spas, the Molkerei offered fresh air and sunshine on its open-air sun porches. Patients drank milk fresh from the Jersey cows stabled below and breathed the supposedly healthy barnyard effluvium rising from the stables. Shortly thereafter, however, the Molkerei was converted to a mental hospital. In 1908 Denver acquired the building and remodeled it as the city’s first community center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The baron lived only a short while in his castle, which he sold in 1891 to fellow German John von Mueller (later Miller). While not traveling in Europe and elsewhere, he and the baroness lived in downtown Denver in the Hotel L’Imperial. After the 1893 crash and Miller’s default on the purchase, the baron and baroness repossessed the castle, which she sold in 1903 to <strong>Edwin Beard Hendrie</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Five years before the sale, on May 8, 1898, the baron had died from appendicitis at the age of forty-nine. The body was shipped back to the family vault in Silesia. He is memorialized in Denver by the castle, the Molkerei, and the Richthofen Fountain, constructed in 1900 by the town of Montclair and his widow, the baroness, at Oneida Street and Richthofen Parkway. All of these monuments are included in the 1975 Montclair Historic District embracing the heart of the old town.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/noel-thomas-j" hreflang="und">Noel, Thomas J.</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/baron-walter-von-richthofen" hreflang="en">Baron Walter von Richthofen</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/baron-richthofen" hreflang="en">Baron Richthofen</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/walter-von-richthofen" hreflang="en">Walter von Richthofen</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/richthofen-castle" hreflang="en">Richthofen Castle</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/montclair" hreflang="en">Montclair</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Louisa Ward Arps, <em>Denver in Slices</em> (Denver: Sage Books, 1959).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Joachim Langhein (great-grandson of Baron Walter von Richthofen), email correspondence with Tom Noel, June 18, 2004.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel, <em>Richthofen’s Montclair: A Pioneer Denver Suburb</em> (Boulder: Pruett, 1978).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas J. Noel and William J. Hansen, <em>The Montclair Neighborhood</em> (Denver: Historic Denver, 1999).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Walter von Richthofen, <em>Cattle-Raising on the Plains of North America</em> (New York: D. Appleton, 1885).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Thomas J. Noel, <em>Buildings of Colorado</em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Amy B. Zimmer, <em>Denver’s Historic Homes</em> (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2013).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Baron von Richthofen (1859–98) was a developer. He came to Colorado in 1878. Richthofen invested in Denver real estate. He helped establish the suburban town of Montclair (now part of Denver). Richthofen also opened two beer gardens and built a castle. He promoted Colorado as a health resort. This helped make medical care a major part of the state’s economy.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lineage</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Walter Lothar Emil Eugen von Richthofen was born on January 30, 1859, in the former Prussian province of Silesia. The family held various estates. They included manor houses, palaces, and castles throughout Silesia. Walter was a kinsman of the famed explorer and scientist Ferdinand von Richthofen. He was also related to Manfred von Richthofen. Manfred would shoot down eighty Allied planes in World War I and be known as the “Red Baron.” Two distant relatives, the beautiful and brilliant Richthofen sisters, were early feminists. Frieda von Richthofen left her husband and children to marry the English novelist D. H. Lawrence. Else von Richthofen pursued an independent career and had secret love affair with the social scientist Max Weber.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Coming to America</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As a teenager, Walter served in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. After the war, he sailed for New York. He arrived in Colorado in 1878 and liked the state. Richthofen brought his wife and two daughters to Colorado. His family was not as impressed with Colorado as the baron was. They returned to Europe. The couple soon divorced. This left the baron free to pursue Colorado women.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Bouncing from Business to Business</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Richthofen had many business ventures. During the late 1870s, Richthofen owned the Carlowitz Stock Farm. It specialized in purebred racehorses. In 1883, Richthofen uncorked a large beer garden in Jamestown. He also bottled well water. Richthofen sold it as the “Carlsbad Mineral Water Company’s Ginger Champagne.” Later he speculated in Cripple Creek gold. Richthofen never struck pay dirt.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Some of the baron’s ventures were more successful. In 1882 Richthofen joined Rocky Mountain News editor William Byers and others to create the National Mining and Industrial Exposition. They built a 150,000-square-foot hall. The exposition showcased Colorado goods and services. They focused on mining, agriculture, and other Colorado marvels, including a band of dancing Ute Indians. Next door, Richthofen constructed a large dining hall and concert beer garden. The Exposition closed in 1884.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1885 the baron published Cattle-Raising on the Plains of North America. However, the baron’s own Carlowitz Ranch cattle venture failed. Richthofen’s ranch suffered in the blizzards of 1885–86, also known as the “Great Die Up.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Montclair Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although Richthofen’s cattle business was not successful, his book sold well. The baron invested the profits in real estate. He joined Mathias Cochrane’s Montclair Town and Improvement Company. They envisioned a tree-shaded oasis with a horsecar and a castle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cochrane hailed from Montclair, New Jersey. The community was named for his hometown.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Richthofen Castle</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Richthofen built a castle at East Twelfth Avenue and Olive Street. It was completed in 1886. The home cost about $32,000 ($920,000 in 2019). With his castle, the baron hoped to catch a bride. The English divorcée Louise Woodall Ferguson Davies married him on November 22, 1887. However, the new baroness did not want to live in the castle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“The castle was lovely,” the baroness said, “but it was a lonely place and the grounds were not attractive.” To accommodate her green dreams, Richthofen dug the Montclair Ditch. He called it a “moat” as it circled the castle grounds. This allowed the baron to beautify the grounds with trees, rose bushes, and marble fountains. The baroness moved into the castle on their first anniversary.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Town Development</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Transportation remained a challenge. The baron had horse-drawn wagons take potential Montclair customers to see property. The parade became known as the “Baron’s Circus.” By the late 1880s, Montclair had coaxed three streetcar lines to the new suburb.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lots in Montclair were drawn much larger than Denver's standard 25-by-125-foot parcels. Owners were required to spend at least $10,000 on their houses. Richthofen urged buyers to purchase an entire block. Buyers could farm or subdivide the land. As new residents streamed in, Montclair incorporated as a town in 1888. It became part of Denver in 1902.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The scramble for lots came to a halt with the 1893 silver crash. Construction froze. Montclair had roughly one large house per block.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Molkerei</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the silver crash, Richthofen repackaged Montclair as a health spa. Only one building was built. It was modeled after German and Swiss health spas. The Molkerei offered fresh air and sunshine on its open-air sun porches. Patients drank milk fresh from the cows stabled below. Ultimately, the Molkerei was converted to a mental hospital. In 1908 Denver bought the building. It was remodeled and became city’s first community center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The baron sold his castle in 1891 to fellow German John von Mueller (later Miller). He and the baroness lived in downtown Denver in the Hotel L’Imperial.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On May 8, 1898, the baron died from appendicitis. He was forty-nine. His body was shipped back to the family vault in Silesia. He is memorialized in Denver by the castle and the Molkerei.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Baron von Richthofen (1859–98) was a developer. He came to Colorado in 1878. Richthofen invested in Denver real estate. He helped establish the suburban town of Montclair (now part of Denver). Richthofen also opened two beer gardens and built a castle. He promoted Colorado as a health resort, which helped make medical care a major part of the state’s economy.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lineage</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Walter Lothar Emil Eugen von Richthofen was born on January 30, 1859, in the former Prussian province of Silesia. The Richthofen clan had been promoted to the Prussian aristocracy by Frederick the Great. The family held various estates which included manor houses, palaces, and castles throughout Silesia. Walter was a kinsman of the famed explorer, geographer, and scientist Ferdinand von Richthofen. He was also related to Manfred von Richthofen, who would shoot down eighty Allied planes in World War I as the celebrated “Red Baron.” Two distant relatives, the beautiful and brilliant Richthofen sisters, were early feminists. Frieda von Richthofen left her husband and children to marry the English novelist D. H. Lawrence. Else von Richthofen pursued an independent career and a secret love affair with the renowned social scientist Max Weber.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Coming to America</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As a teenager, Walter served in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. After the war, he sailed for New York. He arrived in Colorado in 1878 and was impressed with the state. Richthofen brought his wife and two daughters to Colorado. His family was not as impressed with Colorado as the baron was. They returned to Europe. The couple soon divorced. This left the baron free to pursue Colorado women.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Bouncing from Business to Business</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Richthofen had many business ventures. During the late 1870s, Richthofen’s Carlowitz Stock Farm near Denver specialized in purebred racehorses. In 1883, he uncorked a large beer garden in Jamestown, a small Boulder County mining town. He bottled well water and peddled it as the “Carlsbad Mineral Water Company’s Ginger Champagne.” Later he speculated in Cripple Creek gold. Richthofen never struck pay dirt.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Some of the baron’s ventures were more successful. In 1882 Richthofen joined Rocky Mountain News editor William Byers, William A.H. Loveland, Lieutenant Governor Horace Tabor, and others to create the National Mining and Industrial Exposition. They built a 150,000-square-foot hall at Broadway and what is now Exposition Avenue. The exposition showcased Colorado goods and services. They focused on mining, agriculture, and other Colorado marvels, including a band of dancing Ute Indians. Next door, Richthofen constructed a large dining hall and concert beer garden. The Exposition closed in 1884.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1885 the baron published Cattle-Raising on the Plains of North America. It proclaimed that Colorado’s “former Great American Desert is the largest and richest grass and pasture region in the world.” The baron’s own Carlowitz Ranch cattle venture did not fulfill the book’s promise that a “profit of 25 per cent per annum is the minimum the cattle business will yield.” Richthofen’s ranch suffered in the blizzards of 1885–86, which is often referred to as the “Great Die Up.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Montclair Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although Richthofen’s cattle business failed, his book sold well. The baron invested the profits in real estate. He dabbled in South Denver and North Denver before looking east. He joined Mathias Cochrane’s Montclair Town and Improvement Company. Their 1885 prospectus, Montclair Colorado: The Beautiful Suburban Town, included drawings of a tree-shaded oasis with a horsecar and a castle. Those features materialized.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cochrane, who hailed from Montclair, New Jersey, named the community for his hometown.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Richthofen Castle</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Richthofen built his own castle at East Twelfth Avenue and Olive Street. It was completed in 1886 at a cost of about $32,000 ($920,000 in 2019). The huge baronial edifice included a stone gatehouse topped by a large water tower. With his castle, the baron hoped to catch a bride—the English divorcée, Louise Woodall Ferguson Davies. She married him on November 22, 1887. However, the new baroness balked at moving into the castle.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“The castle was lovely,” the baroness recalled later, “but it was a lonely place and the grounds were not attractive.” To accommodate her green dreams, Richthofen dug the Montclair Ditch, which he called a “moat” as it circled the castle grounds. This allowed the baron to beautify the grounds with trees, rose bushes, and marble fountains. The baroness took up residence in the castle on their first anniversary.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Town Development</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Transportation remained a challenge. The baron had horse-drawn wagons take potential Montclair customers to see property in his new suburban town. The parade became known as the “Baron’s Circus.” By the late 1880s, Montclair had coaxed three streetcar lines to the new suburb.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Lots were drawn much larger than Denver's standard 25-by-125-foot parcels. Owners were required to spend at least $10,000 on their houses. Richthofen urged buyers to purchase an entire block. They could farm or subdivide the land. As new residents streamed in, Montclair incorporated as a town in 1888. It was annexed to Denver in 1902.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The scramble for lots in the suburban paradise came to an abrupt halt with the 1893 silver crash. Construction froze. Montclair was left with roughly one large house per block. More modest infill housing would not arrive until Denver’s post–World War II boom.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Molkerei</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the silver crash, Richthofen repackaged Montclair as a health spa. Only one building was built. Modeled after German and Swiss health spas, the Molkerei offered fresh air and sunshine on its open-air sun porches. Patients drank milk fresh from the Jersey cows stabled below. Ultimately, the Molkerei was converted to a mental hospital. In 1908 Denver acquired the building and remodeled it as the city’s first community center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The baron sold his castle in 1891 to fellow German John von Mueller (later Miller). He and the baroness lived in downtown Denver in the Hotel L’Imperial. After the 1893 crash and Miller’s default on the purchase, the baron and baroness repossessed the castle and resold it.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On May 8, 1898, the baron had died from appendicitis at the age of forty-nine. His body was shipped back to the family vault in Silesia. He is memorialized in Denver by the castle and the Molkerei.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Baron von Richthofen (1859–98) was a developer who came to Colorado in 1878. He was one of many Germans who constituted the state’s largest foreign-born contingent between 1880 and 1910. Richthofen invested in Denver real estate, helped establish the suburban town of Montclair (now part of Denver), opened two extravagant beer gardens, and built a castle. He also promoted Colorado as a health resort, attracting health seekers and helping to make medical care a major part of the state’s economy.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lineag<strong>e</strong></h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Walter Lothar Emil Eugen von Richthofen was born on January 30, 1859, in the former Prussian province of Silesia. The Richthofen clan had been promoted to the Prussian aristocracy by Frederick the Great for supporting his 1742 annexation of Silesia. The extensive Richthofen family held various estates, manor houses, palaces, and castles throughout Silesia. Walter was a kinsman of the famed explorer, geographer, and scientist Ferdinand von Richthofen, for whom Colorado’s Mount Richthofen is named, and also of Manfred von Richthofen, who would shoot down eighty Allied planes in World War I as the celebrated “Red Baron.” Two distant relatives, the beautiful and brilliant Richthofen sisters, were early feminists. Frieda von Richthofen deserted her husband and children to marry the English novelist D. H. Lawrence and settled down with him to a Bohemian life in Taos, New Mexico. Else von Richthofen, despite her marriage to a staid Heidelberg professor, pursued an independent career and a secret love affair with the renowned social scientist Max Weber.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Coming to America</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As a teenager, Walter served in the Prussian Army during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Shortly after the war, he sailed for New York and arrived in Colorado in 1878. Impressed with this booming and hospitable state filled with many of his countrymen, he went back to Germany to bring back his English wife, Jane Oakley, and his two daughters. But his family was not as impressed with Colorado as the baron was, so they returned to Europe. The couple soon divorced. This left the baron free to pursue Colorado women.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Bouncing from Business to Business</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The jovial German with a military bearing waltzed through one enterprise after another. During the late 1870s, Richthofen’s Carlowitz Stock Farm near Denver specialized in purebred racehorses. In 1883 he uncorked a large beer garden in Jamestown, a small Boulder County mining town. He bottled well water and peddled it as the “Carlsbad Mineral Water Company’s Ginger Champagne.” Later he speculated in Cripple Creek gold. He never struck pay dirt. He invested in the Denver Circle Railroad, which never circled the city.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Some of the baron’s ventures saw greater success. In 1882 Richthofen, a founding member of the Denver Chamber of Commerce, joined Rocky Mountain News editor William Byers, William A.H. Loveland, Lieutenant Governor Horace Tabor, and other movers and shakers to create the National Mining and Industrial Exposition. They built a 150,000-square-foot hall at Broadway and what is now Exposition Avenue. The exposition showcased Colorado goods and services, especially mining and agriculture and other Colorado marvels, including a band of dancing Ute Indians. Next door, Richthofen constructed a large dining hall and concert beer garden, which he named Sans Souci (“without worry”) after Frederick the Great’s summer castle in Prussia. Along with the best imported wine, beer, and schnapps for gentlemen, Richthofen offered strawberries and cream for the ladies, as it was then considered improper for women to drink in social settings. Despite the delicacies, the Exposition closed in 1884, as did the so-called Baron’s Bower.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1885 the baron published Cattle-Raising on the Plains of North America, which proclaimed that Colorado’s “former Great American Desert is the largest and richest grass and pasture region in the world.” The baron’s own Carlowitz Ranch cattle venture did not fulfill the book’s promise that a “profit of 25 per cent per annum is the minimum the cattle business will yield.” Richthofen’s ranch, like so many others, suffered in the blizzards of 1885–86, often referred to as the “Great Die Up,” and the subsequent federal crackdown on ranchers’ use of public lands.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Montclair Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although Richthofen’s cattle business failed, his book sold well. The baron invested the profits in real estate, dabbling in South Denver and North Denver before looking east. He joined Mathias Cochrane’s Montclair Town and Improvement Company. Their 1885 prospectus, Montclair Colorado: The Beautiful Suburban Town, conjured up drawings of a tree-shaded oasis with a horsecar, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and a castle. Those features actually materialized, unlike the zoological gardens, grand hotel, and a hydropathic establishment reminiscent of St. Peter’s in Rome, all unrealized Richthofen fantasies.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Cochrane, who hailed from Montclair, New Jersey, named the community for his hometown as well as for its panoramic view of the Front Range. “Beautiful Montclair,” crowed an ad in the Denver Sunday Times. “Magnificent Mountain View only 30 minutes east of downtown. Pure Air. Best Public schools. Handsomest suburb in greater Denver.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Richthofen Castle</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As a show home for the infant community, Richthofen built his own castle at East Twelfth Avenue and Olive Street. Completed in 1886 at a cost of about $32,000 ($920,000 in 2019), the huge baronial edifice included a stone gatehouse topped by a large water tower served by an artesian well. With his castle, the baron hoped to catch a bride—a blue-eyed, golden-haired English divorcée, Louise Woodall Ferguson Davies. She married him on November 22, 1887. Following the honeymoon, however, the new baroness balked at moving into the prairie fortress.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“The castle was lovely,” the baroness recalled later, “but it was a lonely place and the grounds were not attractive.” To accommodate her green dreams, Richthofen dug the Montclair Ditch, which he called a “moat” as it circled the castle grounds. This lateral of the Highline Canal allowed the baron to beautify the grounds with trees, rose bushes, gravel paths among marble statuary and fountains, and songbirds. Finally relenting, the baroness took up residence in the castle on their first anniversary.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Town Development</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Transportation remained a challenge. Initially, the baron had horse-drawn wagons take potential Montclair customers four miles east from the Tabor Grand Opera House downtown to see property in his new suburban town. Escorted by the baron and his hounds, the parade soon became known as the “Baron’s Circus.” By the late 1880s, Montclair had coaxed three streetcar lines to the new suburb along East Eighth, Seventeenth, and Colfax Avenues.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To assure customers that they were buying a prestigious address, lots were drawn substantially larger than Denver's standard 25-by-125-foot parcels, and owners were required to spend at least $10,000 on their houses. Richthofen urged buyers to purchase an entire block, which they could farm or subdivide. As new residents streamed in, Montclair incorporated as a town in 1888 and was eventually annexed to Denver in 1902.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The scramble for lots in the suburban paradise came to an abrupt halt with the 1893 silver crash. In Montclair, as in other suburbs, construction froze. Montclair was left with roughly one large house per block. More modest infill housing would not arrive until Denver’s post–World War II boom.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Molkerei</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the silver crash of 1893, Richthofen repackaged Montclair as a health spa, the Colorado Carlsbad. Of Richthofen’s elaborate scheme for a grand health spa, only one building was actually built, the Molkerei (milk house), anglicized to Molkery. Modeled after German and Swiss health spas, the Molkerei offered fresh air and sunshine on its open-air sun porches. Patients drank milk fresh from the Jersey cows stabled below and breathed the supposedly healthy barnyard effluvium rising from the stables. Shortly thereafter, however, the Molkerei was converted to a mental hospital. In 1908 Denver acquired the building and remodeled it as the city’s first community center.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Later Years</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The baron lived only a short while in his castle, which he sold in 1891 to fellow German John von Mueller (later Miller). While not traveling in Europe and elsewhere, he and the baroness lived in downtown Denver in the Hotel L’Imperial. After the 1893 crash and Miller’s default on the purchase, the baron and baroness repossessed the castle, which she sold in 1903 to Edwin Beard Hendrie.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Five years before the sale, on May 8, 1898, the baron had died from appendicitis at the age of forty-nine. The body was shipped back to the family vault in Silesia. He is memorialized in Denver by the castle, the Molkerei, and the Richthofen Fountain, constructed in 1900 by the town of Montclair and his widow, the baroness, at Oneida Street and Richthofen Parkway. All of these monuments are included in the 1975 Montclair Historic District embracing the heart of the old town.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 08 Jul 2020 22:07:23 +0000 yongli 3385 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Elizabeth Iliff Warren http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elizabeth-iliff-warren <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Elizabeth Iliff Warren</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-06-10T13:36:55-06:00" title="Wednesday, June 10, 2020 - 13:36" class="datetime">Wed, 06/10/2020 - 13:36</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elizabeth-iliff-warren" data-a2a-title="Elizabeth Iliff Warren"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Felizabeth-iliff-warren&amp;title=Elizabeth%20Iliff%20Warren"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Elizabeth Fraser Iliff Warren (1844–1920) was one of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>’s most influential early citizens and was instrumental in founding the <strong>Iliff School of Theology</strong>. After arriving in Denver in 1869 as a twenty-four-year-old sewing-machine saleswoman, she married wealthy cattleman <strong>John Wesley Iliff</strong>. When Iliff died, Elizabeth Iliff became one of the wealthiest women in the West. Her second marriage, to Methodist bishop <strong>Henry White Warren</strong>, gave her a platform for using her fortune to advance educational and religious training in the state.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sarah Fraser was born on May 24, 1844, in Fitzroy, Ontario, Canada, to Sarah Wright and William Henry Fraser. Lizzie had at least three brothers: Brock, Samuel, and John Jay. Their mother died early, and some of the children, including Lizzie and John Jay, were sent to Henry County, Illinois, to live with Elizabeth and William Miller.</p> <p>&nbsp;In the 1860s, Lizzie Fraser moved to Chicago and went to work for the Singer Manufacturing Company, teaching women how to use their new sewing machines. When Singer expanded into Colorado, she got the job of establishing the company’s presence there. She arrived in Denver by stagecoach on July 18, 1869, along with a fellow female employee. The two women found a display room owned by <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-n-byers"><strong>William Byers</strong></a>, editor of the <strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>, and set up their business.</p> <p>Fraser soon met a rancher named John Wesley Iliff. Iliff had come to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a> in 1859, during the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>gold rush</strong></a>, and invested in a grocery and provisioning store. In 1861 he sold this interest and invested in cattle. By the end of the decade, Iliff was a successful rancher with nine properties spread across Wyoming and Colorado and more than 100 miles of river frontage. He was also a widower with a four-year-old son, William Seward Iliff.</p> <p>Iliff was so taken with Fraser that he followed her back to Chicago in the winter of 1870, and they were married on March 3 of that year. As a wedding gift, the Singer company presented her with a sewing machine inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The couple settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and had their first child, Edna, in September 1871. Elizabeth’s brother John Jay Fraser moved to Colorado and became a foreman for the Iliff cattle operations.</p> <h2>Finding Suffrage Insufferable</h2> <p>When the Iliffs settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory had just passed the first women’s suffrage bill in the nation in December 1869. By October 1870, women were voting in the general election. But suffrage brought a new responsibility for women: jury duty. Elizabeth Iliff worried that if she were called for jury duty, she would be confined in a room with dance-hall girls, gamblers, and saloon-keepers. Opposed to suffrage and its possible social consequences, the Iliff family left Wyoming in late 1871 or early 1872 and moved to Denver, where women could neither vote nor serve on juries. Colorado would not <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/womens-suffrage-movement"><strong>give women the vote</strong></a> for another two decades; when the state debated the issue in 1877 and later enacted suffrage in 1893, Elizabeth Iliff seems to have remained silent.</p> <h2>Cattle Queen</h2> <p>Elizabeth and John Iliff’s second child, Louise, was born in Denver on August 15, 1875. To accommodate their growing brood, in 1877 the Iliff family bought a house known as the Shaffenburg Mansion, at the corner of Eighteenth and Curtis Streets. The family did not enjoy the house for long. December 1877 brought both the birth of their third child, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., and a devastating illness for John Wesley Iliff Sr. The elder Iliff died on February 9, 1878, leaving Elizabeth with an infant son, two young daughters, and a thirteen-year-old stepson.</p> <p>Iliff died without a will. Elizabeth was appointed an administrator of her husband’s estate, which was valued at $463,345.71 (more than $10 million today). The administrators petitioned the court to be allowed to carry on Iliff’s business and were granted three years. Elizabeth took on the responsibility, leading one of the largest cattle operations in the United States. A shrewd businesswoman, she invested in Denver real estate and had stock in the German National Bank and the Union Stockyards in Chicago.</p> <p>After Elizabeth Iliff’s infant son, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., died in April 1879, her interest in religion grew stronger. In May 1880, she met Henry White Warren, who was attending the Methodist Episcopal Church Annual Conference in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown%E2%80%93silver-plume-historic-district"><strong>Georgetown</strong></a>, Colorado. At the conference, Warren was elected bishop of Atlanta, Georgia. Warren, a widower with three children, was no stranger to Colorado—in 1877–78 he had been president of the Rocky Mountain Climbing Club—and after meeting Elizabeth Iliff, he began spending more time in Denver. On December 27, 1883, the couple were married in a ceremony officiated by their mutual friend, Bishop Matthew Simpson, who had given the sermon at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral in Springfield, Illinois. Warren’s bishopric was transferred to Denver, where the couple lived in the Shaffenburg Mansion.</p> <h2>Iliff School of Theology</h2> <p>With her marriage to Bishop Warren, Elizabeth Iliff Warren was not merely a wealthy cattle queen but now in a position of considerable social influence. She had also become interested in expanding her study and knowledge, joining the women’s <strong>Fortnightly Club</strong> in 1883.</p> <p>Her first husband had often expressed an interest in funding technical and religious education, so in 1884 she and the Iliff children promised the <strong>University of Denver</strong> $100,000 to establish a school for ministers as a memorial to John Wesley Iliff, Sr. The gift came with two conditions: first, that the university should select a suitable home for the campus; and second, that an additional $50,000 be raised. A gift of eighty acres five miles south of the city from “Potato King” <strong>Rufus Clark</strong> satisfied both conditions. The Warrens soon built a house in the new settlement of University Park, moving into Grey Gables in 1889. On July 4 of that year, the Iliff School of Theology was established as part of the University of Denver. William Seward Iliff paid for the building, while Elizabeth Iliff Warren and Louise Iliff funded the endowment.</p> <p>The cornerstone for Iliff Hall was laid in 1892, but the next decades were not easy for the school. After the <strong>Panic of 1893</strong>, Elizabeth Iliff Warren’s checkbook was often the only thing keeping the school open. With the finances of the university as a whole still shaky in 1900, the Iliff School of Theology closed until a larger endowment could be secured. It did not resume operations until 1910, with Warren having to sell diamonds from John Wesley Iliff to pay for Iliff Hall to be refurbished before the reopening. The Iliff School now became its own entity, entirely separate from (though still adjacent to) the University of Denver.</p> <h2>Travels and Home Life</h2> <p>The Warrens had barely moved into Grey Gables in 1889 when they began planning another house, <strong>Fitzroy Place</strong>, named for the Canadian town where Elizabeth was born. The elegant new residence was completed in 1892. Located at 2160 South Cook Street, Fitzroy Place was well suited to the type of entertaining the couple enjoyed, with a dining room that could accommodate thirty people. The Warrens often opened their home for musicals, readings, and social gatherings and for the benefit of students at the Iliff School. When this latest house was built, Elizabeth Iliff Warren gave the Shaffenburg Mansion in downtown Denver to the Methodist Church, which turned the building into the Frances Merritt Deaconess Home, a hospital and refuge for the sick and needy.</p> <p>As part of his job as a Methodist bishop, Henry Warren traveled extensively. Elizabeth Iliff Warren and some of the couple’s six children from their previous marriages often accompanied him. Iliff Warren’s papers for the Fortnightly Club reflected her travels to places such as Alaska, Paraguay, India, and the Philippines. She filled Fitzroy Place with art from around the globe. With her eye for beauty, Iliff Warren was also known for funding and personally directing the decorations at Methodist churches throughout Denver.</p> <p>In 1910 an electrical surge sparked a fire at Fitzroy Place, gutting the dining room and turning the family silver into a molten mass. Smoke and water damaged nearly all the rest of the house, too, including the books in their extensive library. A white marble statue of Isaac that Elizabeth Iliff Warren had purchased in Italy became solid black. Cleaning removed the blackened layer, but the marble underneath had changed permanently to a coppery color. The family relocated to 857 Grant Street, staying for nearly two years while Fitzroy Place was restored.</p> <p>In May 1912, the General Conference of the Methodist Church voted immediate retirement for Bishop Warren, who was then in his eighties. Disappointed, the bishop soon grew very ill. His wife moved the family back into Fitzroy Place, which was still undergoing renovations, to care for him. He died on July 23 and was buried at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p> <h2>Final Years</h2> <p>In 1903 Elizabeth Iliff Warren, William Seward Iliff, and Louise Iliff were appointed trustees of the Iliff School of Theology. Warren continued that work until her death on February 14, 1920. She was buried at Fairmount Cemetery. Louise Iliff had her father’s remains—along with a sixty-five-ton statue that Warren had ordered as a memorial—moved from <strong>Riverside Cemetery</strong> to Fairmount, ensuring that Elizabeth Iliff Warren would rest between her two husbands. She is remembered for her lasting legacies in the fields of education and religion in Denver, and the Iliff School awards annual Elizabeth Iliff Warren Fellowships to students pursuing further study.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/wroble-susan" hreflang="und">Wroble, Susan</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/elizabeth-iliff-warren" hreflang="en">Elizabeth Iliff Warren</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/iliff-school-theology" hreflang="en">Iliff School of Theology</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/john-wesley-iliff" hreflang="en">John Wesley Iliff</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/henry-white-warren" hreflang="en">Henry White Warren</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cattle-ranching" hreflang="en">Cattle ranching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/methodist-church" hreflang="en">Methodist Church</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/university-denver" hreflang="en">University of Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/grey-gables" hreflang="en">Grey Gables</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fitzroy-place" hreflang="en">Fitzroy Place</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="http://www.iliff.edu/images/uploads/archives/doc/Chronology-Warren.pdf">Chronology: Bishop Henry White Warren</a>,” Iliff School of Theology, n.d.</p> <p>Marybelle Lyde Iliff, “Fitzroy Place,” National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form, August 21, 1974.</p> <p>Iliff Family Collection, Iliff School of Theology, Denver, n.d.</p> <p>Alberta Iliff Shattuck, “Singer Comes to Colorado,” Denver Fortnightly Club, February 17, 1976, in Box 4, Iliff Family Collection, Iliff School of Theology, Denver.</p> <p>J. Alton Templin, “John Wesley Iliff, and Theological Education in the West,” <em>Methodist History</em> 24, no. 2 (January 1986).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Gail M. Beaton, <em>Colorado Women: A History</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Elizabeth Fraser Iliff Warren (1844–1920) was one of <strong>Denver</strong>’s most influential early citizens. She married wealthy cattleman <strong>John Wesley Iliff</strong>. When Iliff died, Elizabeth Iliff became one of the richest women in the West. Her second marriage to Methodist bishop <strong>Henry White Warren</strong> allowed her to use her fortune to advance religious training.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sarah Fraser was born on May 24, 1844, in Ontario, Canada. Lizzie had at least three brothers: Brock, Samuel, and John Jay.</p> <p>In the 1860s, Lizzie Fraser moved to Chicago. She went to work for the Singer Manufacturing Company, teaching women how to use sewing machines. When Singer expanded into Colorado, she got the job of establishing the company’s presence. She arrived in Denver by stagecoach on July 18, 1869 and set up the business.</p> <p>Fraser soon met a rancher named John Wesley Iliff. Iliff had come to <strong>Colorado Territory</strong> in 1859, during the <strong>gold rush</strong>. He invested in a grocery store. In 1861, he invested in cattle. By the end of the decade, Iliff was a successful rancher. He had nine properties spread across Wyoming and Colorado.</p> <p>Iliff was so taken with Fraser that he followed her back to Chicago in 1870. They married on March 3 of that year. The couple settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming in September 1871.</p> <h2>Finding Suffrage Insufferable</h2> <p>In December 1869, Wyoming Territory had just passed the first women’s suffrage bill. By October 1870, women were voting. Suffrage brought a new obligation for women: jury duty. Elizabeth Iliff worried if she were called for jury duty, she would be with gamblers and saloon-keepers. Opposed to suffrage, the Iliff family left Wyoming in late 1871 or early 1872. They moved to Denver where women could neither vote nor serve on juries. When the state enacted suffrage in 1893, Elizabeth Iliff seems to have remained silent.</p> <h2>Cattle Queen</h2> <p>Elizabeth and John Iliff’s second child, Louise, was born in Denver on August 15, 1875. To house their growing family, the Iliffs bought the Shaffenburg Mansion. The family did not enjoy the house for long. December 1877 brought both the birth of their third child, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., and illness for John Wesley Iliff Sr. The elder Iliff died on February 9, 1878.</p> <p>Iliff died without a will. Elizabeth took over her husband’s estate. The estate was valued at $463,345.71 (more than $10 million today). She led one of the largest cattle operations in the United States.</p> <p>After Elizabeth Iliff’s infant son, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., died in April 1879, her interest in religion grew stronger. In May 1880, she met Henry White Warren at the Methodist Episcopal Church Annual Conference. At the conference, Warren was elected bishop of Atlanta, Georgia. Warren was a widower with three children. After meeting Elizabeth Iliff, he began spending more time in Denver. On December 27, 1883, the couple married. Warren was transferred to Denver, where the couple lived in the Shaffenburg Mansion.</p> <h2>Iliff School of Theology</h2> <p>With her marriage to Bishop Warren, Elizabeth Iliff Warren was in a position of social influence. She became interested in expanding her knowledge and joined the women’s <strong>Fortnightly Club</strong> in 1883.</p> <p>Her first husband had expressed an interest in funding technical and religious education. So, in 1884, she and the Iliff children promised the <strong>University of Denver</strong> $100,000 to establish a school for ministers.&nbsp; On July 4, 1889, the Iliff School of Theology was established.</p> <p>The cornerstone for Iliff Hall was laid in 1892. However, the next decades were not easy for the school. After the <strong>Panic of 1893</strong>, Elizabeth Iliff Warren’s checkbook was often the only thing keeping the school open. With finances still shaky in 1900, the Iliff School of Theology closed. It did not reopen until 1910. The Iliff School became its own entity, separate from the University of Denver.</p> <h2>Travels and Home Life</h2> <p>In 1889 the Warrens began planning another house, <strong>Fitzroy Place</strong>. The new residence was completed in 1892. Fitzroy Place was well suited to entertaining. It had a dining room that could accommodate thirty people. The Warrens opened their home for musicals, readings, and social gatherings.</p> <p>In 1910, an electrical surge sparked a fire at Fitzroy Place. Smoke and water damaged the house. The family relocated to 857 Grant Street, staying for nearly two years while Fitzroy Place was restored.</p> <p>In May 1912, the General Conference of the Methodist Church voted immediate retirement for Bishop Warren. Disappointed, the bishop grew very ill. The family moved back into Fitzroy Place to care for him. He died on July 23 and was buried at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p> <h2>Final Years</h2> <p>In 1903 Elizabeth Iliff Warren, William Seward Iliff, and Louise Iliff were appointed trustees of the Iliff School of Theology. Warren continued that work until her death on February 14, 1920. She was buried at Fairmount Cemetery. She is remembered for her impact in the fields of education and religion in Denver.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Elizabeth Fraser Iliff Warren (1844–1920) was one of <strong>Denver</strong>’s most influential early citizens. She was instrumental in founding the <strong>Iliff School of Theology</strong>. After arriving in Denver in 1869 as a twenty-four-year-old sewing-machine saleswoman. She married wealthy cattleman <strong>John Wesley Iliff</strong>. When Iliff died, Elizabeth Iliff became one of the wealthiest women in the West. Her second marriage to Methodist bishop <strong>Henry White Warren</strong> gave her a platform for using her fortune to advance academic and religious training.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sarah Fraser was born on May 24, 1844, in Fitzroy, Ontario, Canada. Lizzie had at least three brothers: Brock, Samuel, and John Jay. In the 1860s, Lizzie Fraser moved to Chicago. She went to work for the Singer Manufacturing Company, teaching women how to use their new sewing machines. When Singer expanded into Colorado, she got the job of establishing the company’s presence. She arrived in Denver by stagecoach on July 18, 1869 and set up the business.</p> <p>Fraser soon met a rancher named John Wesley Iliff. Iliff had come to <strong>Colorado Territory</strong> in 1859, during the <strong>gold rush</strong>. He invested in a grocery and provisioning store. In 1861, he sold this interest and invested in cattle. By the end of the decade, Iliff was a successful rancher. He had nine properties spread across Wyoming and Colorado.</p> <p>Iliff was so taken with Fraser that he followed her back to Chicago in the winter of 1870. They married on March 3 of that year. The couple settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming in September 1871.</p> <h2>Finding Suffrage Insufferable</h2> <p>In December 1869, Wyoming Territory had just passed the first women’s suffrage bill. By October 1870, women were voting. Suffrage brought a new obligation for women: jury duty. Elizabeth Iliff worried if she were called for jury duty, she would be confined with gamblers and saloon-keepers. Opposed to suffrage, the Iliff family left Wyoming in late 1871 or early 1872. They moved to Denver where women could neither vote nor serve on juries. When the state enacted suffrage in 1893, Elizabeth Iliff seems to have remained silent.</p> <h2>Cattle Queen</h2> <p>Elizabeth and John Iliff’s second child, Louise, was born in Denver on August 15, 1875. To house their growing family, the Iliffs bought the Shaffenburg Mansion at the corner of Eighteenth and Curtis Streets. The family did not enjoy the house for long. December 1877 brought both the birth of their third child, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., and illness for John Wesley Iliff Sr. The elder Iliff died on February 9, 1878.</p> <p>Iliff died without a will. Elizabeth became administrator of her husband’s estate. The estate was valued at $463,345.71 (more than $10 million today). She led one of the largest cattle operations in the United States.</p> <p>After Elizabeth Iliff’s infant son, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., died in April 1879, her interest in religion grew stronger. In May 1880, she met Henry White Warren at the Methodist Episcopal Church Annual Conference in <strong>Georgetown</strong>, Colorado. At the conference, Warren was elected bishop of Atlanta, Georgia. Warren was a widower with three children. After meeting Elizabeth Iliff, he began spending more time in Denver. On December 27, 1883, the couple married. Warren was transferred to Denver, where the couple lived in the Shaffenburg Mansion.</p> <h2>Iliff School of Theology</h2> <p>With her marriage to Bishop Warren, Elizabeth Iliff Warren was in a position of social influence. She became interested in expanding her knowledge and joined the women’s <strong>Fortnightly Club</strong> in 1883.</p> <p>Her first husband had expressed an interest in funding technical and religious education. So, in 1884, she and the Iliff children promised the University of Denver $100,000 to establish a school for ministers as a memorial to John Wesley Iliff, Sr. The gift came with two conditions. First, the university had to select a suitable home for the campus. Second, an additional $50,000 had to be raised. A gift of eighty acres five miles south of the city satisfied both conditions. The Warrens soon built a house in the new settlement of University Park, moving into Grey Gables in 1889. On July 4 of that year, the Iliff School of Theology was established as part of the University of Denver.</p> <p>The cornerstone for Iliff Hall was laid in 1892. However, the next decades were not easy for the school. After the <strong>Panic of 1893</strong>, Elizabeth Iliff Warren’s checkbook was often the only thing keeping the school open. With the finances of the university still shaky in 1900, the Iliff School of Theology closed. It did not resume operations until 1910. The Iliff School became its own entity, separate from the University of Denver.</p> <h2>Travels and Home Life</h2> <p>In 1889 the Warrens began planning another house, <strong>Fitzroy Place</strong>. The new residence was completed in 1892. Located at 2160 South Cook Street, Fitzroy Place was well suited to entertaining. It had a dining room that could accommodate thirty people. The Warrens opened their home for musicals, readings, and social gatherings. Elizabeth Iliff Warren gave the Shaffenburg Mansion in downtown Denver to the Methodist Church. The Church turned the building into the Frances Merritt Deaconess Home, a hospital for the sick and needy.</p> <p>In 1910 an electrical surge sparked a fire at Fitzroy Place. Smoke and water damaged the house. The family relocated to 857 Grant Street, staying for nearly two years while Fitzroy Place was restored.</p> <p>In May 1912, the General Conference of the Methodist Church voted immediate retirement for Bishop Warren. Disappointed, the bishop grew very ill. The family moved back into Fitzroy Place to care for him. He died on July 23 and was buried at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p> <h2>Final Years</h2> <p>In 1903 Elizabeth Iliff Warren, William Seward Iliff, and Louise Iliff were appointed trustees of the Iliff School of Theology. Warren continued that work until her death on February 14, 1920. She was buried at Fairmount Cemetery. She is remembered for her impact in the fields of education and religion in Denver</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Elizabeth Fraser Iliff Warren (1844–1920) was one of <strong>Denver</strong>’s most influential early citizens. She was instrumental in founding the <strong>Iliff School of Theology</strong>. After arriving in Denver in 1869 as a twenty-four-year-old sewing-machine saleswoman, she married wealthy cattleman <strong>John Wesley Iliff</strong>. When Iliff died, Elizabeth Iliff became one of the wealthiest women in the West. Her second marriage, to Methodist bishop <strong>Henry White Warren</strong>, gave her a platform for using her fortune to advance educational and religious training in the state.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Elizabeth “Lizzie” Sarah Fraser was born on May 24, 1844, in Fitzroy, Ontario, Canada. Lizzie had at least three brothers: Brock, Samuel, and John Jay. Their mother died early, and some of the children, including Lizzie and John Jay, were sent to Henry County, Illinois.</p> <p>In the 1860s, Lizzie Fraser moved to Chicago and went to work for the Singer Manufacturing Company, teaching women how to use their new sewing machines. When Singer expanded into Colorado, she got the job of establishing the company’s presence. She arrived in Denver by stagecoach on July 18, 1869, along with a fellow female employee. The two women found a display room owned by <strong>William Byers</strong>, editor of the <strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>, and set up their business.</p> <p>Fraser soon met a rancher named John Wesley Iliff. Iliff had come to <strong>Colorado Territory</strong> in 1859, during the <strong>gold rush</strong>, and invested in a grocery and provisioning store. In 1861 he sold this interest and invested in cattle. By the end of the decade, Iliff was a successful rancher with nine properties spread across Wyoming and Colorado and more than 100 miles of river frontage. He was also a widower with a four-year-old son, <strong>William Seward Iliff</strong>.</p> <p>Iliff was so taken with Fraser that he followed her back to Chicago in the winter of 1870, and they were married on March 3 of that year. As a wedding gift, the Singer company presented her with a sewing machine inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The couple settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and had their first child, Edna, in September 1871. Elizabeth’s brother John Jay Fraser moved to Colorado and became a foreman for the Iliff cattle operations.</p> <h2>Finding Suffrage Insufferable</h2> <p>When the Iliffs settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory had just passed the first women’s suffrage bill in the nation in December 1869. By October 1870, women were voting in the general election. But suffrage brought a new responsibility for women: jury duty. Elizabeth Iliff worried that if she were called for jury duty, she would be confined in a room with dance-hall girls, gamblers, and saloon-keepers. Opposed to suffrage and its possible social consequences, the Iliff family left Wyoming in late 1871 or early 1872 and moved to Denver, where women could neither vote nor serve on juries. Colorado would not <strong>give women the vote</strong> for another two decades. When the state enacted suffrage in 1893, Elizabeth Iliff seems to have remained silent.</p> <h2>Cattle Queen</h2> <p>Elizabeth and John Iliff’s second child, Louise, was born in Denver on August 15, 1875. To accommodate their growing brood, in 1877 the Iliff family bought a house known as the Shaffenburg Mansion, at the corner of Eighteenth and Curtis Streets. The family did not enjoy the house for long. December 1877 brought both the birth of their third child, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., and a devastating illness for John Wesley Iliff Sr. The elder Iliff died on February 9, 1878, leaving Elizabeth with an infant son, two young daughters, and a thirteen-year-old stepson.</p> <p>Iliff died without a will. Elizabeth was appointed an administrator of her husband’s estate, which was valued at $463,345.71 (more than $10 million today). She led one of the largest cattle operations in the United States. She invested in Denver real estate and had stock in the German National Bank and the Union Stockyards in Chicago.</p> <p>After Elizabeth Iliff’s infant son, John Wesley Iliff, Jr., died in April 1879, her interest in religion grew stronger. In May 1880, she met Henry White Warren at a Methodist Episcopal Church Annual Conference in <strong>Georgetown</strong>, Colorado. At the conference, Warren was elected bishop of Atlanta, Georgia. Warren, a widower with three children, was no stranger to Colorado. In 1877–78 he had been president of the Rocky Mountain Climbing Club. After meeting Elizabeth Iliff, he began spending more time in Denver. On December 27, 1883, the couple were married. Warren’s bishopric was transferred to Denver, where the couple lived in the Shaffenburg Mansion.</p> <h2>Iliff School of Theology</h2> <p>With her marriage to Bishop Warren, Elizabeth Iliff Warren was not merely a wealthy cattle queen but now in a position of social influence. She had also become interested in expanding her knowledge, joining the women’s <strong>Fortnightly Club</strong> in 1883.</p> <p>Her first husband had expressed an interest in funding technical and religious education. So, in 1884, she and the Iliff children promised the <strong>University of Denver</strong> $100,000 to establish a school for ministers as a memorial to John Wesley Iliff, Sr. The gift came with two conditions. First, the university should select a suitable home for the campus. Second, that an additional $50,000 be raised. A gift of eighty acres five miles south of the city from “Potato King” <strong>Rufus Clark</strong> satisfied both conditions. The Warrens soon built a house in the new settlement of University Park, moving into Grey Gables in 1889. On July 4 of that year, the Iliff School of Theology was established as part of the University of Denver. William Seward Iliff paid for the building, while Elizabeth Iliff Warren and Louise Iliff funded the endowment.</p> <p>The cornerstone for Iliff Hall was laid in 1892. However, the next decades were not easy for the school. After the <strong>Panic of 1893</strong>, Elizabeth Iliff Warren’s checkbook was often the only thing keeping the school open. With the finances of the university still shaky in 1900, the Iliff School of Theology closed until a larger endowment could be secured. It did not resume operations until 1910, when Warren sold diamonds from John Wesley Iliff to pay for Iliff Hall to be refurbished. The Iliff School became its own entity, separate though adjacent to the University of Denver.</p> <h2>Travels and Home Life</h2> <p>The Warrens had barely moved into Grey Gables in 1889 when they began planning another house, <strong>Fitzroy Place</strong>, named for the Canadian town where Elizabeth was born. The elegant new residence was completed in 1892. Located at 2160 South Cook Street, Fitzroy Place was well suited to the type of entertaining the couple enjoyed. It had a dining room that could accommodate thirty people. The Warrens often opened their home for musicals, readings, and social gatherings and for the benefit of students at the Iliff School. When this latest house was built, Elizabeth Iliff Warren gave the Shaffenburg Mansion in downtown Denver to the Methodist Church, which turned the building into the Frances Merritt Deaconess Home, a hospital and refuge for the sick and needy.</p> <p>As part of his job as a Methodist bishop, Henry Warren traveled extensively. Elizabeth Iliff Warren and some of the couple’s six children from their previous marriages often accompanied him. Iliff Warren’s papers for the Fortnightly Club reflected her travels to places such as Alaska, Paraguay, India, and the Philippines. She filled Fitzroy Place with art from around the globe. With her eye for beauty, Iliff Warren was also known for funding and personally directing the decorations at Methodist churches throughout Denver.</p> <p>In 1910 an electrical surge sparked a fire at Fitzroy Place, gutting the dining room and turning the family silver into a molten mass. Smoke and water damaged nearly all the rest of the house, too, including the books in their extensive library. The family relocated to 857 Grant Street, staying for nearly two years while Fitzroy Place was restored.</p> <p>In May 1912, the General Conference of the Methodist Church voted immediate retirement for Bishop Warren, who was then in his eighties. Disappointed, the bishop grew very ill. His wife moved the family back into Fitzroy Place, which was still undergoing renovations, to care for him. He died on July 23 and was buried at <strong>Fairmount Cemetery</strong>.</p> <h2>Final Years</h2> <p>In 1903 Elizabeth Iliff Warren, William Seward Iliff, and Louise Iliff were appointed trustees of the Iliff School of Theology. Warren continued that work until her death on February 14, 1920. She was buried at Fairmount Cemetery. Louise Iliff had her father’s remains—along with a sixty-five-ton statue that Warren had ordered as a memorial—moved from <strong>Riverside Cemetery</strong> to Fairmount, ensuring that Elizabeth Iliff Warren would rest between her two husbands. She is remembered for her lasting legacies in the fields of education and religion in Denver, and the Iliff School awards annual Elizabeth Iliff Warren Fellowships to students pursuing further study.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 10 Jun 2020 19:36:55 +0000 yongli 3287 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org