The Colorado Register of Historic Properties recognizes the importance of these places to our shared history. As the state’s official record of historic sites, the Register should reflect the full breadth of Colorado’s cultures and lived experiences. In honor of Colorado’s 150th anniversary, History Colorado set out to address long-standing exclusions that left fewer than four percent of listed sites representing women, Black, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous, or LGBTQ Coloradans.

The Colorado Heritage for All initiative seeks to rebalance that record by adding 150 new sites to the Register by the end of 2026. This work begins with listening and continues with recognition, lifting up places that communities have long valued even without formal acknowledgment. By helping preserve these sites, History Colorado honors the people who shaped them and strengthens a more complete and shared history of the state we all love.

We have selected fourteen places that Colorado Heritage for All has already recognized. Through photographs of these sites and of the people who remain connected to them, we explore what makes this initiative so vital.