History Museum Location

About a year ago, the Colorado Historical Society met with controversy as they unveiled a plan to build a new museum in Civic Center Park — not just in the neighborhood, but in the park. The history museum was being forced out of their current home by the Colorado Judicial Branch, with which it currently shares the block between 13th and 14th, Broadway and Lincoln. In the past six months or so, the CHS dropped their plans to build in the park and chose a site at 12th and Lincoln instead. This decision was made after a long deliberation of possible sites, the Society’s needs, etc. What’s interesting, though, is that this same process occurred just about 35 years ago. Back then, the CHS outgrew its old building at 14th and Sherman (now the Joint Budget Committee/Legislative Services building). They conducted a location study back then, too — and we have copies of that study here in our library: Location Study, Colorado Heritage Center, 1973. The current museum building and the justice center were both built at that time. Now, only 35 years old, the two buildings will both be demolished within the next few years.