Five Iconic Colorado Sites Added To “Most Endangered Places” List

“Cultural heritage sites are a nonrenewable resource. When they disappear, they’re gone forever, a loss akin to the extinction of species.” – Susan Goldberg, “Deciding What to Preserve and How,” National Geographic.

This year, Colorado is turning 150! Celebrating a milestone birthday this big is a huge deal. However, did you know evidence of human occupation actually predates our statehood by thousands of years? That’s why it is also important to preserve the history responsible for shaping our modern communities.

In an effort to keep our state’s physical history intact, a nonprofit organization called Colorado Preservation, Inc, is dedicated to identifying and saving “threatened or endangered” historical sites. So far, a total of 149 buildings and have been identified as endangered. The latest additions to make the “Most Endangered Places” list include, Bent’s Old Fort, the Hartman Castle, La Morada, the Ordway Pharmacy, and the Pearl Theater.

Impressively, 57 sites have been saved through the determination of CPI and true grit within surrounding communities, just as eager to save our history. That said, sadly, the program was unable to save nine sites, which are now considered lost. Though, to be fair, it wasn’t from a lack of trying.