Lakewood Looks Back Over Half A Century

LAKEWOOD, CO - From Lakewood Heritage Center: By Katy Lewis, Lakewood Heritage Center museum curator: 40,000. That is the number of historical objects held in the public trust at the Lakewood Heritage Center.

These 20th century books, postcards, archives, photographs, clothing, accessories, farm implements, household items and appliances, business equipment, furniture and much more have been donated over the past 40 years by interested and generous Lakewood and Denver metro area residents.

About 5 percent of these artifacts are on display at any one time to, for example, tell the story of the Streer dairy farming family or the Gomez beauty salon and barbershop. The museum showcases these pieces to tell the ever-evolving story of human life: the evolution of technology, the transformation of transportation and the alteration of the landscape. These physical manifestations of our collective history describe past experiences and the progression to our experiences today.

Lakewood Heritage Center wants to ensure that more of these artifacts can be seen and researched by the community we serve. Each week, members of the public inquire about historic house photographs, mid century toys, or West Colfax motel postcards. They are searching for information to create exhibits, photographs to include in presentations, or evidence of an ancestor living in Lakewood. We want to accommodate these researchers better.

The first step, which has been in process for the past five years, is to fully document the museum’s permanent collection of objects. This process includes describing, measuring, condition-reporting and photographing or scanning all two- and three-dimensional artifacts. Approximately half of the collection has reached this point!

The next step is to create a space where these artifacts will be accessible to the public if coming to our site is inconvenient or impossible. Enter the project “50 Objects for Lakewood’s 50th Anniversary.” A committee, led by Collections Assistant Jacey Bonavia, has been charged with choosing 50 objects from the permanent collection to make accessible online. These items are significant to Lakewood history and relate to the museum’s interpretive themes such as agriculture, commercial growth, community culture, the Denver Federal Center, education, health and wellness, incorporation of Lakewood as a city, transportation and water.

How To View Museum Objects Online

Beginning in January 2019, visit Lakewood.org/HeritageCenter to access the database of 50 objects, including the 1937 Lakewood-Mountairfire truck and a 1969 Jefferson City road sign. This project kicks off a larger digitization effort, for which staff will be adding additional artifacts to the online database every month during 2019.

We would love to have you join us in adding context to these objects! If you see an object in the online database that you recognize, or a person you know in a photograph, please contact us at CaiLew@Lakewood.org or 303.987.7878to add more information to the entry. Help us celebrate Lakewood’s 20th century history by bringing it into the 21st century!

Share your story: 20th Century Lakewood

Do you have a personal story from the 20th century that is specific to Lakewood and aligns with the themes of agriculture, commercial growth, community culture, education, transportation or water? Let us interview you! Please contact us at CaiLew@Lakewood.org or 303.987.7878.

The audio or video recording of your interview along with a transcript will be added to the museum’s current collection of more than 200 oral histories. The museum will be adding many of these histories to the online database throughout a multiyear project.

Image Courtesy of the Lakewood Heritage Center, City of Lakewood