National Register of Historic Places

Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive

Morrison, Jefferson County, Colorado
Listed
November 15, 1990
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
90001706

About this property

State Highway 74 (SH 74) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. Running 18 miles (29 km) from Interstate 70 (I-70) in El Rancho to SH 8 in Morrison, the highway roughly follows a hook-shaped path running northwest–southeast. The section of the route north of the town of Evergreen is known as Evergreen Parkway and is a segment with a four- to six-lane roadway, with the section east of Evergreen mostly two lanes. The other section is known as the Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive, or just Bear Creek Road, and primarily parallels Bear Creek, passing through the towns of Kittredge and Idledale. The route, which is on the outskirts of Denver, passes through several of the city's mountain parks, including Bergen, Dedisse and Red Rocks parks. An early road following the current path was established in the late 19th century for miners and loggers. As floods ravaged the road along Bear Creek through the early 20th century, measures were taken to prevent further damage. Other sites along Bear Creek, such as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in Red Rocks Park and the Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive, as the section between Idledale and Morrison is called, have given the route a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. An early designation of the route number went further west than its current-day designation; that section was truncated by the late 1930s. Another eastern segment was added from Morrison east toward Denver in the 1940s, but that section too was removed. Newer improvements to the road include widening the Evergreen Parkway segment to four lanes and constructing an interchange with I-70.

Location

Morrison, Jefferson County, Colorado
39.65689, -105.22713

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREENGINEERINGENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Starbuck Park
Listed
0.8 mi
Little Park
Listed
1 mi
Red Rocks Park District
Listed
1.3 mi
Morrison Historic District
Listed
1.9 mi
Morrison Schoolhouse
Industrial
2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive listed on the National Register?

Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1990.

What type of historic resource is Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive?

Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive?

The period of significance for Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive is recorded as the listed era.

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