Three large smelters, the Boston and Colorado, the Omaha and Grant and the Globe, operated in Globeville between 1878 and 1889 and workers moved to the town seeking jobs. As the population grew, the region evolved from a rural outpost to an industrial village and the small country schools that dotted the area became inadequate. The Globeville School was built on the corner of 51st and Washington in 1890 on land belonging to the Globe Smelter, replacing a one-room country school that had been on that site since the 1870s. The community continued to expand and a new and larger Globeville School was completed in 1925 at 51st an Lincoln. However, the increase in the population reached its high point in the 1920s and declined afterward. With a dwindling enrollment, the Globeville School closed in 1943 and the remaining students were sent to Garden Place School.
In 1948, the building was given new life when Joseph and Elizabeth Calabrese created Laradon Hall, an organization that offers support, guidance and training to children with developmental disabilities.
Top photo, Globeville School at 51st and Washington, 1890, photo Denver Public Library
Second photo, Sam's Vintage Parts occupies the remains of the 1890 school, photo Mary Lou Egan
Third photo, new school 51st and Lincoln 1923, photo Denver Public Library
Fourth photo, Laradon Hall today, photo Mary Lou Egan
2 comments:
My grandmother was born in Globeville in 1890. I am wondering if there are any school records from The Globeville School, where I suppose she would have gone. Just drove through today to see the old house and neighborhood.
Frances - how neat! It's hard to get school records because Globeville was part of Arapahoe County until 1902. There was also a fire in 1902 that destroyed many records. When I contacted Denver Public Schools (several years ago) they wouldn't provide any information, citing privacy concerns. (seems pretty crazy, since it was so long ago)
I found information about the five schools in Globeville - Globeville, Argo, Garden Place, Ironton and Retreat Park - in a manuscript "The Story of Garden Place School. Denver, Colorado: 1950" in the Denver Public Library. Information about teachers, principals and a few students - a typewritten 50 page manuscript.
What was your grandmother's maiden name and where did she grow up in the neighborhood?
Good luck - my email is
maryloudesign@comcast.net
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