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As home to the State Historic Preservation Office, History Colorado is responsible for identifying, recognizing, and supporting the places that are important to Coloradans and all Americans. History Colorado does this work in collaboration with local communities, Tribes, and the federal government as part of the National Historic Preservation Act. At the heart of this collaborative preservation work, History Colorado recognizes that those closest to historic sites, histories, and cultural resources have knowledge to share. 

To show appreciation for this important community and cultural knowledge, every year since 1986 History Colorado honors preservation leaders and projects with the Stephen H. Hart Awards for Historic Preservation, named for the state’s first State Historic Preservation Officer. Alongside this annual tradition, History Colorado is unveiling a new exhibition, Keeping Place: Colorado Heritage for All.

“This is such a big night for Colorado preservation. Colorado Heritage for All and the Hart Awards remind us that Colorado is too beautiful for a singular story and that community, elders, and families are always the first keepers of historic knowledge,” said Dawn DiPrince, History Colorado’s President/CEO and State Historic Preservation Officer. “History Colorado is lucky to work alongside so many Coloradans who are true leaders in historic and archaeological preservation and advocacy.”

The annual Hart Awards are among Colorado’s highest recognitions for the projects and people pursuing outstanding archaeology and historic preservation work highlighting innovation, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and stewardship that honor Colorado’s archaeological and built environment. 

As History Colorado commemorates 150 years of statehood and 40 years of the Hart Awards, the award ceremony will recognize five remarkable projects that highlight Colorado’s role as a national leader in centering people and honoring the past to create a better future. 

This year’s Hart Awards recipients are:

• Governor’s Award: Walsenburg Mercantile was recently converted into a robust space for retail, restaurant, hotel, and housing use
• State Historic Preservation Officer’s Award: Pinon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition and Not One More Acre have spent decades fighting to preserve the natural resources and cultural heritage of Southeast Colorado
• State Archaeologist’s Award: Young Ranch LLC owns hundreds of acres of land in Gilpin County where it is committed to sharing the Frontenac Mine Complex historic site with the public through good stewardship and creating public-private connections in order to preserve the site for generations
• History Colorado Board Award: Watershed Inc. thoughtfully rehabilitated the historic McGinnis Gym and the Grove Early Learning Center, helping fill the gap for much needed daycare and space for community activities.    
• People's Choice Award: Montrose Potato Growers Association, housed in the rehabilitated historic Potato Grower’s Building, continues to be an economic driver for Montrose and serves as a community gathering space with vendor booths and food and beverage options

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, State Historic Preservation Officer Dawn DiPrince and State Archaeologist Holly Norton will be among those presenting the awards and providing remarks. 

As part of this year’s ceremony, History Colorado is celebrating the opening of a new exhibition, Keeping Place: Colorado Heritage for All. This exhibition shares a snapshot of History Colorado’s ambitious and ongoing Colorado Heritage for All initiative, which aims to add at least 150 historic sites from previously excluded histories to the State Register of Historic Places. Five years ago, an audit of the State Register showed that only 3.6 percent of sites represented the histories of women, Black, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous, or LGBTQ+ Coloradans. Colorado Heritage for All is working with communities across the state to ensure that the State and National Register of Historic Places reflects the rich and full history of Colorado.

“With Heritage for All, History Colorado is leading the country in changing how we approach preservation. We are focusing on the people and communities that make sites significant. Up until now, that was a novelty, but to us it is how preservation should be done,” said Damion Pechota, History Colorado’s Senior National and State Register Historian.

The new exhibition, Keeping Place, highlights a few of these newly honored places and explores how buildings and landscapes witness our experiences, anchor our communities, and shape the stories we pass down. 

• Alamosa Spanish Cemetery – Alamosa County – Established in 1913, this cemetery served as a burial place for Hispano families who faced segregated burials in established cemeteries, becoming a place of dignity, identity, and community.
• Bunk House Lodge – Summit County – LGBTQ+ Coloradans have gathered for more than 50 years at this safe haven in the mountains.
• Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind – El Paso County – Established in 1876, this is the only school in the state dedicated solely to the education of the deaf and the blind.
• Coronado Lodge – Pueblo County – During the segregation era, African Americans traveling through Pueblo stayed at this motel listed in the Green Book.
• Denver Indian Center – Denver County – This center has spent decades addressing the unique needs of American Indians in an urban setting by preserving cultural identity, sustaining intertribal community cohesion, and advancing Indigenous resilience.
• Gender Identity Center – Denver County – The first permanent home of the Gender Identity Center of Colorado (GIC), one of the nation’s earliest transgender organizations. 
• Granada Historic District – Prowers County – A set of commercial buildings where Japanese Americans operated businesses, including the Granda Fish Market, during World War II Japanese internment at Camp Amache.
• Hicks Homestead House – Weld County – An African American-owned homestead that was a part of the largest Black homesteading settlement in Colorado.
• KRZA – Alamosa County – Founded by a group of Chicana leaders, this community public radio station’s broadcasts in English and Spanish have helped preserve the language and culture of the San Luis Valley.
• Plaza Urrutia Fronton – Mesa County – Dedicated to the Basque people and their descendants, this handball court’s walls are painted with the ancient hooked cross known as lauburu.
• Shorter A.M.E. & Cleo Parker Robinson Dance – Denver County – For more than 50 years, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance has transformed lives by building confidence, community, and cultural connection through movement.
• Sierras y Colores – Costilla County – With a deep sense of pride in heritage, prominent Chicano artist Carlos Sandoval painted this mural in 1986 depicting the people and landscapes of San Luis.
• SPMDTU Concilio No. 2 & SPC Concilio Superior – Conejos County – The Society for the Mutual Protection of Workers was founded in 1900 to protect Hispanic property rights and fight discrimination, and built this chapter in 1916, with the SPC women’s organization next door in the 1930s.
• Tower of Compassion – Boulder County – Built in the style of a traditional Japanese temple, this tower was donated to the people of Longmont by the Kanemoto family as an expression of gratitude.

Keeping Place – on the third floor mezzanine of the History Colorado Center – invites visitors to reflect on how preserving historic sites honors the people who shaped them and those who continue carrying their stories.  

Through photographs of these Heritage for All sites and of the people connected to them, this exhibition explores how this initiative moves us toward a more complete shared history of the state we all love. 

The Hart Awards and Keeping Place opening celebration will be held at the History Colorado Center (1200 Broadway, Denver, CO, 80203) on April 8 from 5 to 8 pm. This event is free and open to the public.

Keeping Place: Colorado Heritage for All opens to the public on April 9. Access to the exhibition is included with general admission to the History Colorado Center, which is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm and provides free admission every day to members and kids 18 and younger.

Colorado Heritage for All is a Signature Initiative of the America 250 - Colorado 150 Commission.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a 146-year-old institution that offers access to our state’s history through enriching experiences at eleven museums and historic sites. As an agency of the State of Colorado and a non-profit organization, History Colorado is committed to serving all Coloradans through generational work that centers communities, deepens knowledge and catalyzes the transformative power of history.

History Colorado is also home to a free public research center, people-centered preservation work done by the State Historical Fund and the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of the State Archaeologist, the State Historians Council, and many other community-driven public history projects such as the Museum of Memory. History Colorado stewards more than 15 million objects, photographs, and archival resources that make up the State’s collection, and serve tens of thousands of learners of all ages each year. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado

      

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