Leadville Walking Tour

"Not only is Leadville the highest incorporated city in the U.S., it is also one of Colorado’s largest historic districts.

Leadville, Colorado is a National Historic Landmark District consisting of over 70 square blocks and was designated by Congress in 1966. It’s a beautiful and interesting area for a short walk anytime of year. This is a brief peek into the history of some of district’s more interesting buildings."

Yesterday, I was sitting in my room wondering what I could possibly do to entertain myself for the day while Erin climbed a mountain, Marea went shopping, and many of my other friends worked on homework. I started off by reading the blogs from the other campus. One blog was about going to the animal shelter and taking a dog for a walk. That sounded like a cool idea, but I didn't really feel like doing it by myself. Then I decided I'd go to the park, but I didn't know where the park was, so I attempted to look it up online. Somehow, the Historic Walking Tour of Leadville, Colorado appeared in the search results. Since I had nothing better to do, I wrote down the buildings and addresses, drove to 10th Street, parked my car, and began walking.

The first stop was Ice Palace Park... I never did find it. The Ice Palace isn't actually in existance anymore. However, when I mentioned it at dinner, after people made sure that I realized that it no longer existed, Jeremiah was getting creative and decided we should build a little tiny ice castle and attempt to get people to drive to Leadville to see it.

Then I walked to Healy House which was easy to find, partly because it was still in existance and partly because I had a better address for it.

Then it was off to the Heritage Museum. They had some sweet old machinery to look at outside. At one time it was the Carnegie Library.

The 4th stop on my walk was the National Mining Hall of Fame & Museum. In my opinion, it looked a lot like a school. This museum was actually open (the others were closed for the winter) but I wasn't interested enough in mining history to pay the admission fee.

Leadville City Hall was the 5th stop on the walk.

After that, it was off to the Deleware Hotel.

Next on the tour was Annunciation Church. The "Avalanche Danger" sign added a little humor to the walk, but considering the height of the building and the fact that their roof was rather sloped, it is probably an important sign when there is more snow around.

On my way to looking for the Iron Building, which was the next stop on the tour, I found a nice little park tucked in between the Columbine Cafe and Pueblo Bank and Trust. The park consists of several benches, two little rocking zebras, and a rock with holes in it whose purpose I am unsure of. The public restroom there was even warm and maintained. Then I went on a search for the Iron Building and the Tabor Home, neither of which I found.

After that I stopped at American National Bank, which was the 10th stop on the walk. American National Bank is the building that is currently Sawatch Backcountry (sorry... I couldn't get the pictures to rotate)

After that, I looked for the Breene Block (Scarlet Lounge) and the Hyman Block. I did not find either of these places.

The 13th stop was the Tabor Opera House.

After the Tabor Opera House, I walked past the Silver Dollar. Then I attempted to find George's Episcopal church before proceeding to Western Hardware. Western Hardware is no longer Western Hardware- it is now an antique mall.

The Lake County Courthouse was the 17th stop on the tour.

For lunch I stopped at a wonderful little place called International Gourmet Coffee (and Snacks, Smoothies, and Ice Cream). The food was amazing and the prices were good. I may just have to enjoy lunch there more often, because I'm beginning to tire of Subway every weekend. (The college only serves breakfast and dinner on weekends, which means that you're on your own for lunch).

Davis Drug and the Tabor Grand Hotel were the 18th and 19th stops on the tour, neither of which I found. While looking for them, I discovered that it's a state law in Colorado that you cannot smoke within 15 feet of the doorway to a building.

The 20th stop on the tour, which was also the last stop on the tour was the Old Church.

I walked past this on the way back to my car, so I thought I'd take a picture of it cause I thought it looked cool.

This concludes my picture tour of Harrison Avenue in Leadville, Colorado. It occupied two hours on a Saturday afternoon and cost nothing. It also allowed me to enjoy some fresh mountain air (if only it was more oxygen-dense, lol). Walking around and enjoying beautiful scenery was also a welcome change from my normal Saturday routine of either messing around on facebook or watching movies.

Until Friday or Saturday, you'll have to survive without me because I'll be in Conneticut visiting my grandparents for Thanksgiving. Goodybye until next time.