65 Years Ago
The March 2, 1961 Colorado Transcript featured this photo of construction at 1800 Jackson Street (map). The building in the background (right side) is the Baptist Church.
There are only three buildings on that block, and they all opened in 1961. The Baptist Church held their first service in January; the Conoco gas station held its grand opening in May, and the office building at 1800 Jackson opened in August.
That stretch of Jackson Street was brand-new. For about 60 years, the area along Kinney Run had been a railroad right of way. The railroad shut down in 1953, and for a few years, the area was just a tree-filled lowland with a stream running through it (an exciting playground for kids). In 1960, the City "undergrounded" Kinney Run into buried concrete culverts and extended Jackson from 14th Street to 24th Street (where it merged with Golden Road).
This provided new frontage for business development, and several places were built over the next twenty years, including the Mountain Bell building at 19th and Jackson, another gas station, a bank, Safeway, more office buildings, and most recently the Mines sophomore dorm.
