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Programs and Exhibits
Current and Upcoming Programs and Exhibits
Past Exhibits
April: panoramas showcasing scenes and events in Boulder's history
Carnegie Branch Library for Local History's display for the month is a revolving one of panoramas showcasing scenes and events in Boulder's history. Included are towns, scenic views, schools, and landmarks. Every Monday and Thursday throughout the month, new photographs will be placed in the display case in order for the public to view as moany photographs as possible. Carnegie Branch Library for Local History accepts donations of photographs and documents that tell Boulder's history.
March 2009: Boulder Firsts
Carnegie Branch Library for Local History takes a look at the firsts in Boulder’s history. Subjects include the first known photograph of Boulder showing the first brick building on Pearl Street, the first railroad (Colorado Central), first commercial plane flight, first brewery, first livery stable with a telephone, and other events and people who shaped Boulder.
February Photograph Exhibit: Food for thought, The Role of Food in Boulder's History
When Boulder was settled in 1859, the town was made up mostly of men who came to mine. The earliest hotel in Boulder was the Boulder House on the northeast corner of 11th and Pearl. Groceries and mining supplies were sold in the log cabin structure. A year later, Jonathon Tourtellot and Frederick Squires purchased the building, and their wives, twin sisters, began a restaurant of sorts where the miners could get home-cooked meals. Food is the subject of Carnegie’s February display, covering grocery advertisements, cookbooks, restaurants, bakeries, and people eating. As an added bonus, Carnegie staff has compiled a few recipes from early 1900 cookbooks for visitors to take with them and try for themselves.
January: Boulder in 1959
In 1959 Boulder was celebrating Colorado’s centennial. It was a period of growth with new developments like Keewaydin and Frasier Meadows popping up in the city. Fallout shelters and civil defense were promoted as concern about the Cold War mounted, concerned citizens, circulated a petition that resulted in the Blue Line, the building of a new library was underway, Eben Fine Park was dedicated, and the North Broadway Shops opened for business. It was period of tremendous growth and Boulder joined the state in celebrating.
December: Whittier Neighborhood
With its roots reaching back to Boulder's founding in 1859, Whittier is one of the city's oldest neighborhoods. First put on the map when a group of early settlers formed the Boulder City Town Company and divided the land along Boulder Creek into 4,004 lots, the area quickly developed into a desirable residential section. The construction of several fine homes along Pine Street by some of the city's most prominent citizens gave Whittier an early sense of place, and the establishment of Whittier School, then called Pine Street School, created a focal point which attracted new residents. Carnegie Branch Library for Local History showcases the development of the Whittier neighborhood through photographs and documents during the month of December.
November: The Darwin Andrews Collection
Darwin Andrews, for whom Andrews Arboretum is named, was a horticulturist and the owner of Rockmont Nursery from approximately 1899-1937. Rockmont Nursery was located in Boulder on the corner of 23rd and Bluebell. Andrews specialized in collecting and cultivating native plants from the Rocky Mountain region. He ran a world-wide mail order business selling native plants and wildflower seeds. Darwin Andrews was married to Mary Wheeler, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Wheeler with whom he had three children. He and his brother-in-law, Herbert, were the first to discover that the ice mass on Arapaho Peak was a glacier, the discovery made in 1898. The Darwin Andrews Collection was donated to the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History. The display of this collection includes photographs of the Andrews family, scenic views, plants that were sold at the Rockmont Nursery, and catalogs detailing what the nursery sold. Carnegie Branch Library accepts donations of materials that document Boulder County history.
October: The A.T. Wheeler Collection
Alfred Wheeler was the son of a Seventh Day Baptist minister, Samuel Wheeler. The family came to Boulder via Kansas when Samuel was ordained as minister of the Seventh Day Baptist Church. Alfred married Lillian Van Horn with whom he had two daughters, Rena Beth and Oletha. The family lived at Beaver Lake where Alfred was caretaker of the Boulder Watershed. Wheeler was a brother of Mary Wheeler who married Darwin Andrews for whom Andrews Arboretum is named. Darwin Andrews and Alfred's brother, Herbert, were the first white men to walk on Arapaho Glacier.
Carnegie's photographic display features various members of the Wheeler family. The Wheeler Collection was donated to the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, which accepts donations of materials pertaining to Boulder County history.
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September - Downtown Boulder Mall
In the spring of 1872, someone wrote, "We think it would pay those who are doing business on Pearl Street to build sidewalks. It is a small matter for each one owning property on the street to build 25 or 50 feet of sidewalk, but it is disgusting to pedestrians, particularly strangers, to paddle through the mud and water, as they were obliged to do a few days ago."
Pearl Street eventually got its sidewalks. About 65 years later it got its first stop light at the Broadway intersection, the only traffic light in town for a long time. On August 6, 1977 Pearl Street opened as a pedestrian mall in an attempt to restore vitality to downtown Boulder and provide an alternative to the more suburban Crossroads Mall. The Downtown Boulder Mall Photograph Collection, donated to the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, is on display the month of September at 1125 Pine Street. Carnegie accepts donations of Boulder County history from individuals and organizations.
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July/August
The Carnegie Branch Library for Local History archives and preserves our community's history for future generations of researchers. Among our many collections is the Small Document Collection which contains small numbers of photographs donated by separate individuals and placed in their own envelope.
In recent years, patrons have asked Carnegie staff for information about events such as the music scene in Boulder during the 1960-70s, riots on University Hill, the hippie era, protests,North Boulder, and the eastern plains. If you are in possession of such information and would like that history to come alive for others, please contact Carnegie at 303-441-3110.
During the months of July and August, Carnegie will display a variety of photographs from the Small Document Collection, rotating them out at the end of July.
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June: Bridges
The City of Boulder's Central Files Department photographed building projects in Boulder for several decades and placed them in the Carnegie archive. The photograph right of the 9th Street bridge to the right was taken June 24, 1926 after it collapsed. The photograph below is of the new 9th Street bridge, looking south. Click the thumbnails for a larger image.
Carnegie, Boulder's largest history archive, accepts donations of photographs and records from families, clubs, and businesses. If you have documents or photographs that chronicle Boulder County's history, please contact the Carnegie archive at 303-441-3110.
May: Casey Middle School
Almost everyone at the time had an opinion about where the new Northside Intermediate School should be built. Because there were so many different ideas, school board president C.C. Cleveland suggested that perhaps the building should be put on wheels and moved from one location to another. The people who supported the old Boulder Brick Yard site (Thirteenth and High streets) won the location sweepstakes and construction of the junior high began in 1922.
Two years later, Northside opened with a registration of 373 students and Susan Lovelace, an outstanding educator, as its first principal. In 1944 Northside was renamed Casey Junior High in honor of William V. Casey, who for over forty years had been Boulder's superintendent of schools. Today Casey, now Casey Middle School, can boast of being the only school that dates back to the junior high school system in Boulder. The school's history is documented at Carnegie Branch Library for Local History during the month of May.
Information: Mary Jo Reitsema at 303-441-3110 or reitsemam@boulderlibrary.org
Online Exhibits
Boulder: Then and Now - A Photographic Exhibit
Ed Tangen was a photographer who lived in Boulder in the early part of the 20th century. He documented life in Boulder County by photographing a variety of scenes and buildings. Many of his photographs are in the collection of the Boulder Historical Society, which is located at the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, a branch of the Boulder Public Library.
We have chosen this series of photographs representing scenes in Boulder in the early 1900s. Boulder County photographers Michael O'Neil and Ramon Diaz re-photographed the same buildings and sites in 2007. Check back on our website in the near future to view our virtual "Then and Now" tour.