76 Historic Homes of Boulder, Colorado. Signed by the author and photographer. $28.00

June 13, 2013:

This is the first of hopefully many entries on either books or buildings-or both-in Boulder, Colorado.  Buildings have stories, and so do books, and often those stories are intertwined.  The buildings are local, but they often have relationships to other times and places, and books are usually from other places, but they sometimes have local significance because of who owned them and used them here.

1976 was Colorado's centennial anniversary, and I bet the reason for the title of my first project has that number in the title; Jane Barker's 76 Historic Homes of Boulder, Colorado.  This is what it looks like in the dustjacket:

Barker had a good eye and told engaging stories; her accounts of the houses she picked are full of biographical details not only of the first owners, but of later ones as well.  

Dates of construction range from the late 19th century through about 1936, with a couple of the houses designed by Glenn Huntington and Margaret Read.  She missed some things, notably the bungalows by Edwin Lundborg, but we all have our vision, which is always changing.

A separate sheet came with the book; a list of all the houses, but without their addresses or dates of construction.  But there is a folding map in the back showing locations.  So you can give yourself a walking tour.  Have a good time with it!  You can do it with our copy if you wish; it is next to Barker's book on Historic Homes of Boulder County, at our shop in Lafayette.