Loveland Building and Coors Building

About this property

The Loveland Block and the Coors Building are adjacent historic storefront buildings in downtown Golden, Colorado. The Loveland Block, named for pioneer William A.H. Loveland, once served as the territorial capitol building of Colorado. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a single entity. The Loveland Building is a two-story brick commercial block. Its front, flat-roofed section was built in 1863, and its rear, gabled roof portion was built in 1865–66. The Loveland Block was originally constructed as the forward portion of the present building in 1863, according to the building's cornerstone. It was built jointly by William A.H. Loveland and Golden City Lodge #1, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the first Masonic lodge in Colorado. Its building contractor was Duncan E. Harrison. Loveland occupied the first floor as his mercantile and the second floor served as the Masonic temple. The building was a powerful statement in the face of adversity, signaling Golden's endurance in the face of an economic depression caused by the Civil War. A warehouse addition spanning the present central section of the first story was built by Loveland during the mid-1860s. In 1866 Loveland extended the first floor the rest of the way to the rear property line and built a full second story addition as well. The purpose was to house the Colorado Territorial legislature under one roof, where the houses previously met in separate buildings across Washington Avenue. The House of Representatives met in the Masonic Hall, which became also known as Representatives Hall. The Council (Territorial identity of the Senate) met at the west end of the upper floor. Four committee rooms spanned the space in between, and the Territorial Library (now Colorado State Library, under charge of Edward L. Berthoud, was housed at the west end of the lower floor. Under Territorial Governor Alexander Cummings, the legislature met in Golden and this building from 1866 through 1867. The Territorial Supreme Court met in the Council Chamber throughout this time as well. Loveland served as a member of the Territorial Council in this building and Berthoud served as Speaker of the Territorial House here. "Now that the question of removing the capital has again come up - having passed the lower house by a vote of sixteen for to seven against - Mr. Lawrence, the interpreter of the Council, will have another show for his influence. In 1866, when the capital was removed from Golden, this same Lawrence was a member of the Legislature, and, if report be true, was promised $800 for his vote and influence in favor of removal to Denver. Evans & Co. paid $200 of the money down, and the other $600 was to have been forthcoming when the removal was effected. But Evans & Co., true to their general record, went back on their promise, and our friend Lawrence sought revenge in an affidavit, which he threatened to publish unless Evans & Co. came down according to contract. After some parley a compromise was brought about, Lawrence agreeing to take $400 instead of $600. Should this enterprising linguist be called on in the present instance, he will probably ask for the whole amount in advance, as an affidavit in regard to such a case, following the Las Animas land grab, would not create a ripple of excitement, and even the Denver Tribune would hardly feel called upon to publish it."

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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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