October 18, 2022
HISTORY COLORADO CENTER
1200 N Broadway, Denver, CO 80203
“The History Colorado Center is a museum in Denver, Colorado, USA dedicated to the history of the state of Colorado. Construction on the $111 million building started on 19 August 2009.” - Wikipedia
Housed in a beautiful building, History Colorado is your typical state historical museum, telling the story of the state and its people. There are a lot of great exhibits, almost too many to take in during one visit (especially when this is the third stop of the day). Some of the exhibits I really enjoyed included “Written on the Land: Ute Voices, Ute History” which tells the stories of Colorado’s longest continuous residents; and “Zoom In: The Centennial State in 100 Objects” which displayed objects that helped shape Colorado and/or were unique to the state.
The Civil War Monument “On Guard,” which stood in front of the State Capitol until it was toppled in 2020 during Black Lives Matter protests, is now on display in the museum. The museum did a good job of explaining why the statue is in the museum, along with presenting written viewpoints on whether or not the statue should or should not still be at the Capitol.
A special exhibit, “Rainbows & Revolutions,” tells the stories of Colorado LGBTQ+ people through history. There are stories about gay bars in Denver, the beginning of Pride festivities in the state, and the groups formed by gays/lesbians to feel safe and find community in a sometimes-hostile world. Stories of the good and bad events in LGBTQ+ history were told in a timeline around the outside wall.
History Colorado provided good insight into the how this state has evolved.
"Written on the Land: Ute Voices, Ute History" Display describing the three different Ute tribes.
Basket made in 2006 using contemporary and traditional techniques to show a nation within a nation.
Woman's pack saddle on a wool saddle blanket
Drum from the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Early 1900s
Sign in the "What's Your Story?" exhibit.
Signs in the "What's Your Story?" exhibit
Shag beaver felt top hat; in the "Zoom In: The Centennial State in 100 Objects."
Ceremonial Silver Railroad Spike
Coors malted milk can. During prohibition the Adolph Coors Company stopped brewing beer and diversified its business.
Aspen Mountain ski lift chair, Lift No 1
John Denver's special edition Yamaha guitar
Reliable No. 3 blasting machine in the Mining exhibit
A recreated Japanese interment camp cabin.
The Fritche - an electric car built in Denver between 1905 and 1920.
This monument stood in front of the State Capitol until it was toppled in June 2020 during protests for Black lives. The small exhibit had a lot of interesting information including opinions from people on all sides of the debate about Confederate statues.
The first exhibit on the LGBTQ+ timeline
The end of the timeline. Unfortunately, some of the final items are not wins or positives for the LGBTQ+ community.
