New concurrent exhibits celebrating Denver’s preservation story set to open May 19, 2010. Can you imagine Denver without the Molly Brown House Museum, D & F Tower, the LoDo Historic District or the Paramount Theater? For forty years preservation has been an important Denver movement led by the citizen-driven non-profit Historic Denver, Inc. Founded in 1970 to save the Molly Brown House from deterioration and demolition, Historic Denver has spent four decades saving places that matter; protecting and preserving a city that respects its history as it faces the future.
This spring a two-part exhibit, Pieces of Our Past, will examine this preservation story, showcasing the physical artifacts of Denver’s most iconic buildings and telling the stories - both the successes and losses - that define our city’s preservation past. First, the exhibit will be open to the public at the Denver Public Library’s main branch May 19. A carefully preserved window from the demolished Moffat Mansion, remnants of the lost Zeckendorf Plaza, a grand torchiere from the renowned Tabor Opera House and many other rarely viewed pieces of our city’s architectural past will tell Denver’s story in an unusually tangible way.
As part of the library exhibit, recently opened archival collections of well-known Denver architects, including Jacques Benedict (Central Bank Building), Theodore Boal (Grant-Humphries Mansion), and Robert Roeschlaub (Dora Moore School), will be on display. These collections are being carefully preserved by the Library’s Western History & Genealogy Department with support from the Colorado State Historical Fund.
Simultaneously, the second portion of the exhibit will open at Historic Denver’s flagship property, the Molly Brown House Museum, to document the exciting story of the landmark’s transition from run-down apartment home to an opulent portal into Victorian-era Denver. It may be hard to believe, but the 1889 home of Margaret 'Molly' Brown was almost lost as across Denver iconic mansions, department stores and even entire neighborhoods fell victim to the wrecking ball. Fortunately, Historic Denver, came to the rescue and as a result more than a million Denver residents and visitors from around the world have witnessed and participated in its painstaking rehabilitation. Original wall-paper, roof tiles, and hidden architectural secrets of behind-the-scenes preservation will be included.
The library portion of the exhibit will be located in the Western History Reading Room on the 5th floor of the Central Denver Public Library. The space is accessible to the public during all regular library hours and there is no charge for the exhibit.
The Molly Brown House Museum portion of Pieces of Our Past is included in all regular tours of the Museum, which is open Tuesday – Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays 12 pm to 4 pm. In June. July & August the Museum is also open Mondays from 10 am to 4 pm. All tours are guided and ticket prices and visitor information is available at www.mollybrown.org.
You can also join Historic Denver to celebrate 40 years of preservation by attending Night & Day in Historic Denver, August 6th & 7th. Night in Historic Denver is a time-traveling gala honoring our first 40 years, with progressively-themed music, food & cocktails to match each of our four decades – the 1970s, 80s, 90s & 2000s. Cocktail attire in your favorite of these decades is encouraged. The party will be held in the historic St. Cajetan’s Church on the Auraria Campus. Tickets are $40 (Historic Denver members), $50 (non-members), available at www.historicdenver.org or 303.534.5288 x. 6.
Day in Historic Denver is a family-friendly outdoor event on the grassy plaza of the Auraria Campus’s 9th Street Historic Park – an entire block of 19th century homes saved by Historic Denver. Part carnival, part concert & part time-travel to a century-old Denver, the event will feature beer booths, grilled food, tours of the Park’s incredibly restored dwellings, historically-costumed characters and Titanic fun for the kids. A diversity of live music throughout the day will make this the most unforgettable family event of the summer, with a line-up that includes strolling mariachis, the Uptown Relics String Band and the Queen City Jazz Band. Day in Historic Denver will begin at 2 pm and close at 9 pm on Saturday, August 7th. Admission is free, with tickets available for food, beverages and some activities.
