The town of Loveland was only six years old when, in 1883, it was announced that an opera house would be built on 4th Street. The Fort Collins Courier reported the news on November 29th: “And now Loveland is to have an opera house. Messrs Bartholf and Allen will build a two story brick …
After World War II, Fort Collins experienced a population boom. Suburban style developments started popping up on the fringes of town… along West Mulberry, around Stover and Elizabeth, and some were even as far aways as Prospect Road. Colorado A&M was growing so quickly that some students were housed in …
If you’ve ever eaten at the FoCo Cafe, then you’ve been inside of the old local office/warehouse building of the Continental Oil Company. This unassuming building is not only home to one of Fort Collins’ most innovative lunch spots, but it’s also on its way to becoming a local historic landmark. Founded …
In 1903, William Dunham built a substantial stone warehouse on the back half of three lots along Laporte Avenue. In 1910-11, Myron H. Akin (Fort Collins’ mayor at the time) added a large storefront to the south side of the warehouse. The combined building was called the Myron H. Akin …
In 1903, a stone warehouse was constructed behind a small, 1-story office building on Laporte Avenue between Mason and College. Nine years later, the little office building was hauled away and a new, wider, 2-story brick building took its place. The stout new structure was dubbed the Myron H. Akin Block. The …
For 67 years, the Myron H. Akin building was an integral part of the fabric of Fort Collins. It sat prominently right up against the property line, an imposing presence along Laporte Avenue. And with travelers walking right past to get to and from the passenger train depot, it was an …
In 1937, work began on the Loveland Community Building — the result of a public/private partnership between the town of Loveland, the Pulliam family, and the Works Progress Administration. The reinforced concrete building cost $150,000 to build, employed 180 workers, and when it was completed, it was large enough to seat a tenth of …
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” ― Abraham Lincoln Fort Collins is a city that understands the value of a good plan. A well made …
The oldest remaining house in Fort Collins is Auntie Stone’s cabin. Even by the early 1900s its significance in the history of the city was recognized. It was called the Pioneer Cabin and used as a meeting place by the Association of Pioneer Women (an organization that continues to this day). …
On Laporte Avenue, right between Mason and Howes, is an oddly shaped little building often affectionately know now-a-days as the Butterfly building because of its unique roofline. This small little structure was once used as a laboratory and ice cream shop for the Poudre Valley Creamery which was located on this block. It …
On the southeast corner of Oak and Howes Streets stands a grand old building — the Masonic Temple. While the lattice windows and the pocked, cream colored brick are distinctive, it’s the central portico with six tall Tuscan columns supporting a triangular pediment that really grabs the viewers attention. Designed by William …
