Flagler Railroad Centennial
A century ago, in the days of railroad expansion, oilman and hotelier Henry Morrison Flagler built an over-water railroad from southern Florida to Key West. Today, people drive about 100 miles over a causeway to Key West. A couple of days ago, Key West — so changed and still so compelling.
Preview of New Colorado History Museum
Opening next spring, a LEED-Gold Standard building to showcase state’s past & inspire its future The cornerstone of the new History Colorado Center was unveiled yesterday by Governor Bill Ritter, under whose administration the outdated old Colorado History Museum was demolished, and Governor John Hickenlooper, under whose the new History Colorado Center will open sometime in [...]
Fort Lupton’s New Fort Lupton
Fort Lupton, originally built in the 1830s, fell into ruin but lives again. It was painstakingly researched and rebuilt over a six-year period. It required $220,000 and 23,00 hours of volunteer labor. Call it community sweat equity. The walls were completed in 2008, and since then, the interior has been finished and furnished with with period-correct and place-appropriate furniture, tools, equipment, supplies, trade goods and furs. The replica opened as part of the town of Fort Lupton’s annual Trapper Day activities Sept. 9-11, 2011.
Final ‘Summer Hike’ to 3 High Lakes
Abundant wildflowers, sunshine and blue skies on Sunday before temps dropped on Monday On Sunday, my husband and I drove up the 14-mile unpaved Rollins Pass Road, once a railway roadbed, to Corona Station, which in the 1920s had a railroad depot, wooden tunnels and even a hotel at something like 11,500 feet above sea level. All [...]
Montana’s Mining Meccas: Virginia City & Nevada City
Southwest Montana living history (relatively) close to West Yellowstone In the boom days of Western mining, prospectors set out to find gold, and towns sprang up wherever they found it. Tent cities grew into real towns with newspapers, saloons, churches and bawdy houses –and when the gold played out, many were abandoned and are now real ghost towns, [...]
Book a Historic Hotel & Get National Trust Membership
Historic hotels offer atmosphere, charm & for a time, membership in an important preservation organization Historic Hotels of America, a consortium of 235 historically and/or architecturally significant hotels, ir promoting its new website with an add-on bonus. Book a reservation for a Historic Hotels/Preferred Hotels online through September 30 and receive a complimentary one-year family membership [...]
Giant Steps in Denver’s Union Station Redevelopment
Sea change for transportation as Denver goes intermodal Denver is in the midst of a many multi-multi-million redevelopment of the historic 19th-century Union Station area. Except for the landmark station, which will remain, little else will be recognizable on the 20-acre site. The old station, which might become a retail complex like other grand old railroad [...]
Park Service Issues Grants to WWII Internment Camp Sites
Heart Mountain in Wyoming site and Camp Amache in Colorado slated for assistance We usually think of the National Park Service as being in charge of campsites, not camp sites. As part of its mandate to preserve and protect sites of historical and cultural significance, the NPS’s Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program has awarded $3,895,000 [...]
Celebrate Mark Twain’s Birthday
A trio of 175th birthday celebrations (almost) from coast to coast Samuel Clemens was born in Hartford, Connecticu, near Hannibal, Missouri, on November 30, 1835. He took on the pen name, Mark Twain, and became one of America’s most revered writers and humorists whose popular style masked his insightful thinking. I’ve always had an affinity for Twain, and [...]
Images of Baden-Baden
Presidential quote about German spa town nailed it “Baden-Baden is so nice they had to name it twice.” That’s what former President Bill Clinton had to say about this enchanting town of 55,000 in southwestern Germany. I’ve been here for just a few days, as part of a pre-convention trip before the upcoming Society of [...]
