Whether you’re traveling by road, by printed page, or by imagination; whether you are a lifelong native or visiting for a week, we invite you to explore 100 Colorado landmarks that illuminate the one-of-a-kind story of the Centennial State.
Yule marble… Baby Doe Tabor… the “Richest Square Mile on Earth”… iron horses... Bear Mountain… Gold rushes and silver booms… beehive ovens… fire towers... the CCC... Lungers… trolley parks… kit houses... the golden age of motoring... Colorado Coalfield War… Shorty Scout… Sugar beets… Smoky Hill Trail… hot spring pools… Hanging Bridge… Current Wars… Rural cemeteries… Skiing… utopias… Meskers… City Beautiful Movement… “the Smithsonian of the Rockies”… Cliff dwellings… This book will have you telling stories like a native in no time.
The photos and stories collected here are a fast and fun way to learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Colorado uniquely Colorado. What near ghost town did the New York Times call the “Ruby of the Rockies”? Solved. What was the first steel mill west of the Mississippi River? A mystery no more. What Colorado hotel has the longest run of 5-star designations in the country? Identified. What United States President was on hand to dedicate the world’s longest irrigation canal? Revealed. Who robbed the U.S. Mint in 1922? No one knows.
It is a story only Colorado can call its own. A story told in 100 landmarks. Almost all the selections within are open to the public, or at least visible from public spaces. So, fire up the GPS and see the story of the Centennial State standing in plain sight on Colorado streets!