Mission
Historic Boulder fosters the spirit and benefits of preservation through advocacy, education, rehabilitation and celebration.
Advocate
Entering our 52nd year, Historic Boulder’s advocacy to save historic places is busier than ever. Together with partners Friends of the Bandshell and Dushanbe Teahouse, Historic Boulder submitted an application to the City to create a new historic district centered on City Park and it’s immediate surrounding buildings–including the Teahouse, the Bandshell, the Atrium Building, BMOCA and the Municipal Building. We are working with City staff and community groups to promote the historic value of this civic center in order than preservation will be considered in future planning for this heart of town. Historic Boulder appears regularly before the Landmarks Board to support preservation of historic buildings, and works with willing owners to assist in the landmarking process.
Educate
Historic Boulder produces numerous live tours and programs throughout the year. Kicking off the year at the Colorado Preservation Inc. conference which was held in Boulder, we presented tours of Pearl Street, "The Little Rectangle" and the Civic Center. We held two walking tours highlighting Mid-Century modern buildings near downtown. We continued our ‘history hikes’ on the trails around Boulder, including little known historical structures on Mount Sanitas, Chautauqua and the Flatirons. Our annual Secondary School Essay Contest drew excellent stories from students about Boulder's legacy businesses. We produced two virtual walking tours available to the public on the PocketSights app: a survey of Modernist buildings in Central Boulder and a tour of "The Little Rectangle" neighborhood which was home to many of Boulder's early black citizens.
Rehabilitate
Historic Boulder gave financial and administrative support for a State Historic Preservation Fund planning grant to prepare for the eventual repair of the façade of the Boulder Theater. This iconic Art-Deco building is in the heart of Boulder's Downtown Historic District (on the National, state and local historic registers). The planning grant was completed in 2023 resulting in construction-ready plans to move forward at a future date.
We also work to assist several homeowners to advise them on restoring their historic properties.
Celebrate
Our Annual Meeting was held on Zoom, but several other events to celebrate our 50th year took place live and in person. These included a member appreciation party at one of the oldest landmarked homes in Boulder.
Our biennial Ghost Walk Ghost Talk event returned in October featuring five historic buildings on and around Pearl Street - tour goers learned the history of the buildings, their former inhabitants and current psychic sensations. We are finishing the year with our ‘Homes for the Holidays’ tour showcasing 9 small accessory dwellings "ADUs" in the historic Mapleton Hill and Whittier neighborhoods.