The year was 1970. Teens won the right to vote. The world said goodbye to the Beatles and the Supremes, and hello to “All My Children” and Earth Day.
In Denver, evidence of its past was disappearing in the name of progress.
“Denver lost a lot of buildings, particularly in the 1960s, in the name of urban renewal,” says Annie Levinsky, executive director of Historic Denver Inc. “Preservation wasn’t really a movement” yet.
But a Mile High City campaign to save old places was underway and made itself known after development threatened the historic home of Margaret “Molly” Brown.
Citizens saved what became the Molly Brown House Museum, essentially launching Historic Denver Inc. The nonprofit organization marks its 40th anniversary this month with “Pieces of Our Past,” an exhibit featuring photographs, records and architectural salvage at the Central Denver Public Library and the Molly Brown House Museum.
The organization lucked out because at the same time it geared up for this anniversary, the Denver Public Library was processing collections devoted to influential architects. A happy partnership resulted in the display in the Western History Reading Room on the fifth floor of the Central Denver Library.
“Preservation is both about the past and the future,” Levinsky says. “It’s about incorporating historic places into what’s happening now in our city.” Here is a taste of the library display.
What you’ll see in “Pieces of Our Past”
Pieces of Our Past, a two-part exhibit developed by Historic Denver Inc. in celebration of the organization’s 40th anniversary, is on display through Labor Day at the Central Denver Public Library, 10 W. 14th Ave. and the Molly Brown House Museum, 1340 Pennsylvania St.
The library exhibit includes such items as doors from the demolished Denver Theater, a torchiere from the renowned Tabor Opera House, photos and archival collections from such Denver architects as Jacques Benedict, Theo dore Boal and Robert Roesch laub.
At the Molly Brown House Museum, the exhibit showcases how the 1889 home of Margaret “Molly” Brown was almost lost in the 1970s but, with Historic Denver’s help, was saved and restored.
The library exhibit is free during library hours; at the museum, admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors over 65; $4 for children 6-12; and free for those under 6. More at or .
