A 90-year-old historical marker disappeared from a Lakewood street corner this month.
The bronze Works Progress Administration marker was installed near the intersection of West Alameda Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard to commemorate the 5,000 workers who extended Alameda Parkway to Red Rocks Amphitheatre during the Great Depression, according to Alameda Connects, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting the corridor.
The nonprofit’s executive director, Tom Quinn, noticed the plaque was missing from its red sandstone base and reported the apparent theft to Lakewood police on April 10. A theft investigation is underway, police spokesman John Romero said.
The bronze plaque is likely worth less than $50 as scrap metal, said Morgan Smith, a buyer at Rocky Mountain Recycling. It holds significantly more value as a historic artifact, Quinn said in a news release.
“This marker was intended as a permanent record of the New Deal legacy Franklin Roosevelt built and what social programs and public investment can achieve,” he said. “It is a somber reflection that trends indicate it was stripped for scrap by those for whom social safety nets were established to prevent this kind of desperate act.”
Brass is selling at slightly more than $3 a pound right now, Smith said, which is about the regular range, although perhaps slightly elevated because of its copper content, which is selling higher.
“So they’re doing thousands of dollars of damage to collect a few bucks,” Smith said of the potential thief.
He noted that if someone brought in the stolen historical marker or any other suspicious object to Rocky Mountain Recycling, the company would alert police, buy the item and collect the seller’s personal information.
“And usually, 99% of the time (the police) get here before the guy leaves,” he said.
