Sunday, March 6, 2011

Streetcar Sunday - Denver, Colorado

Denver  had horse-drawn streetcars in 1871. It was also one of the few cities that tried cable cars before converting to electric streetcars. Five cable car lines were built in 1888 and 1889, but since there were no major grades in Denver, they were soon replaced with the more efficient electric-powered streetcars.
 The College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado has put together a nice website with information on Denver's streetcar history and new streetcar developments, so rather than repeat the information, I would refer you to their site.

Here are the backs of the cards in the same order.
The message to Mrs. M. Handrick of Binghamton reads:

Dear Mother: Your welcome letter just rec'd - Mine giving all information must have reached you ere this. Wrote soon as I found out. The Elks are here, going to parade now. Snow on streets here for the event brought from mts. - Love Bess 
July 15


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16 comments:

  1. PostcardyMarch 6, 2011 at 6:28 AM

    Those are interesting views. I like the arch and the angular building.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 6, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    The Brown Palace still operates as one of Denver's upscale hotels, famous for its full-building height atrium lobby. I always thought Denver would be hilly before I visited, being the 'mile high city' of the Rockies and all- pretty close to flat as a pancake though, but the mountains are just a short drive away if you want them... That's a rather fancy gate compared to the buildings behind it, seems sorta out of place, I'd expect it at some European palace or garden instead.

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  3. Julie GoucherMarch 6, 2011 at 11:40 AM

    Hi, I have nominated you for the Lovely Blog Award. For details please visit
    http://anglersrest.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-lovely-blog-award.html

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  4. Postcard RoundupMarch 6, 2011 at 12:16 PM

    Boy howdy you find some great cards! I particularly like the first one with the Welcome arch.

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  5. Bruno LalibertéMarch 6, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    in the last shot, it speaks of skyscrappers. what did they consider skyscrappers back then? didn't see any in the postcards...

    HUGZ

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  6. Aimee DarsMarch 6, 2011 at 10:55 PM

    These are great Denver PCs! There's something quite satisfying about the Welcome gate.

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  7. Alan BurnettMarch 7, 2011 at 4:05 AM

    The perspectives and proportions on these cards are wonderful. One has to wonder about the focal length of the camera lens : I suspect it would be almost impossible to reproduce the shots with a modern camera.

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  8. Planet SusanniaMarch 7, 2011 at 6:03 AM

    Hi Christine, I made a postcard correction for you!
    http://planet-susannia.blogspot.com/2011/03/postcard-correction-to-christine-h.html

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  9. RachelMarch 7, 2011 at 7:22 AM

    I love the old Denver cards. The Brown Palace sits unchanged, and icon in downtown Denver.

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  10. AnonymousMarch 7, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    T-bear, I noted that 'skyscraper' label too, which is sort of relative- if the majority of the buildings somewhere is only a few stories tall, one that is say 10 stories does indeed seem like a 'skyscraper'. The skyscraper as we know it is the result of the convergence of two construction technology advances in the last quarter of the 19th century: 1) passenger elevators, because most folks don't want to take stairs to the 10th floor, and 2) steel frame construction, because the stone/brick bearing wall construction used prior to that was not structurally/spatially feasible above a certain height- the exterior walls at the base of the 16 story Monadnock building of 1891 were 6 feet thick, which ate up a tremendous amount of floor area!

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  11. Bruno LalibertéMarch 7, 2011 at 12:18 PM

    @ ANONYMOUS:

    well!!
    it is a rare occurrence to have an intelligent/informative comment from an "anonymous"...
    thanks for the info. i knew about the brick... but i didn't put 2 and 2 together somehow. must have been late or something when i commented. still, usual info. pity for the "anonymous" label though. come again!!
    :)~
    HUGZ

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  12. Christine H.March 7, 2011 at 5:08 PM

    T-Bear,
    Anonymous has had lots of good comments. The problem is that if someone else comes along and also comments as anonymous, we might think it's him. I think I have a solution though. Check back again and see if it worked.

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  13. Archie TechtMarch 7, 2011 at 6:03 PM

    Yeah, truth is I'm always lurking around this site T-bear, hard not to be when Christine is sitting behind me... I sorta like being anonymous, but the postcard lady has now given me a label, so 'howdy'!

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  14. Bruno LalibertéMarch 8, 2011 at 12:07 AM

    AH, AH!!
    that's how she knew this could be fixed...
    clever girl!!
    HOwdy Archi!!
    :)~

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  15. Brian PaperSpongeMarch 9, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    Really, really like that Welcome Arch. Such fine detail. Makes the buildings in the background seem plain in comparison.

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  16. AnonymousMarch 9, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    I'm so jealous of the rich colours and interesting layout of the American streetcar postcards! They are really magnificent.
    Evelyn in Montreal

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