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Golden, Colorado: Leap Year Landmark Buildings

Loveland Cottage is the oldest cut wood structure in Colorado. Its birthday is Feb. 29th, 1860, which apparently caused the local historic designation ordinance to go off the rails. The Banks building began construction on the same day. No historical marker.

Loveland Cottage and Banks Building

Address:
711 and 717 12th St., Golden, CO
Directions:
Just east of Washington Ave, at 12th St and Prospector's Alley.
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Banks Building - Another Leap Year Landmark

Recently it has been discovered that across Prospectors Alley from the historic Loveland Cottage another building, first reported under construction the same day of February 29, 1860 in the Western Mountaineer newspaper, still stands. Now known as the home of Banks Insurance (a firm with roots back to 1893), at 711 12th Street, its more modern outside conceals beneath the little log cabin of L. and D. Simpson, which is now the Banks reception room.

Fortunately there are no qualms about historically recognizing a place that just turned 38; this building was already a designated landmark when this new information was found. Now Golden has two Leap Year landmarks.

[Richard Gardner, 01/11/2014]

Loveland Cottage.

Loveland Cottage - Leap Year Landmark

This town's oldest building is a Leap Year baby. The historic Loveland Cottage is a gold rush original, but the first account of it under construction was printed in the Western Mountaineer newspaper on February 29, 1860. With the city's historic preservation ordinance requiring buildings to be 50, this presented a challenge, but Golden leaders were up to the task and made allowance in 2004 for designating the place that had just turned 36.

This otherwise over 150-year-old leap year landmark is very important, being the oldest building made entirely of saw cut wood in the state, and the first Colorado home of the Loveland family, whom many Colorado places are named after.

[Richard Gardner, 03/17/2012]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Coors Plant ToursCoors Plant Tours, Golden, CO - < 1 mi.
Triceratops TrailTriceratops Trail, Golden, CO - < 1 mi.
Fairway IncineratorFairway Incinerator, Golden, CO - 1 mi.
In the region:
Modern Totem Pole of Animal Heads, Denver, CO - 11 mi.

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