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Museum Closed June 19th for Juneteenth Holiday

Happy Pride Month!

Happy Pride Month! June was selected to celebrate LGBTQ+ pride as Stonewall uprising occurred in June 1969. Boulder County also has a historic role in the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

Only a few months into her term, Bounty County Clerk Clela Rorex issued one of the first marriage licenses to a gay couple. David Bruce McCord and David Robert Zamor were married on March 26, 1975. Throughout the spring of 1975, Rorex granted marriage licenses to five more same-sex couples before she was ordered to stop by Attorney General J.D. McFarlane. Rorex had been issuing marriage licenses on the basis that the Colorado marriage code did not explicitly state that marriage could only be allowed between a man and a woman.McFarlane argued that the licenses did not actually give recipients the same rights that were bestowed on different-sex couples. Despite the short amount of time Rorex was able to provide these licenses, her action was an early step towards marriage equity. In 2014, Colorado legalized same-sex marriage, and same-sex marriage would be legalized nationally in 2015.

Museum First Friday: Soda Parlors

Back by popular demand, June's theme is "Louisville Soda Parlors." Cast your vote for the "right" name—soda, pop, or cola—and make ice cream in a bag! This night will be full of fun facts about Louisville's soda parlors, as well as samples of historic soda floats! 

Walking Tour: Louisville 101

Learn how we got our name (Loui-s-ville, not Lou-uh-ville!), what a spaghetti economy is, and fun stories about buildings downtown in Louisville 101. Registration is required.

Ancestry Series Pt. 1:  Census

Join Bridget Bacon, former Museum Services Supervisor, to learn the basics of how to use Ancestry.com (a free in-house resource available to all Louisville and Superior library card holders). Sign up for any or all of the four sessions, each of which has a different focus. Registration is required.

History Happy Hour: Louisville Trivia

How well do you know Louisville? Join us at Rocky Mountain Tap & Garden for a trivia night. Create a team, test your Louisville knowledge, and try for a prize! Registration is required.

Membership

Join or Renew Today!

We love our members! Members can renew online, via mail, or in person. As a reminder, if paying by check, please make your membership check out to the Louisville Historical Museum and remember to make any monetary donations separately to the Louisville History Foundation. Thank you for your support!

Not a member yet? Join today with the perfect membership type for you. The Historical Museum offers individual, family, and business memberships, as well as gift memberships so that you can give someone who loves Louisville and history full access to all that the Museum has to offer.

Museum members receive the Louisville Historian in the mail four times each year. You can also make a donation directly to the Louisville History Foundation to support the work the Museum does and special projects.

Thank You, Business Members

740 Front

Alternating Current Press
ARC Thrift Stores

Ariel IT Services
Atomic Forge
Berkelhammer Tree Experts, Inc.
Bolder Insurance
Coal Creek Collision Center
Cory Nickerson - 8z Real Estate
Creative Framing & Art Gallery
DAJ Design, Inc.
Deep End Solutions

E & L Team at RE/MAX Elevate

Ferguson's Family Plumbing and Drain

Fingerplay Studios

Gstalder Louisville Law Group

Hofgard & Associates, P.C.
Louisville Cyclery
Louisville Tire & Auto Care

Moxie Bread Co.
Origin CPA Group

Parco Dello Zingaro MHP
Paul's Coffee & Tea
Pine Street Plaza

Pink House Co.

Premier Members Credit Union
Seward Mechanical Systems
Society of Italian Americans
Stewart Architecture
Ters Family Dentistry
The Singing Cook

Historic Photo Feature

Born 1877 in Navarro, Italy, Celeste Romano immigrated to Rock Springs, Wyoming in 1900, and he married Angelina Biella Romano in 1902. The Biella family began relocating to Wyoming from Italy in the 1890s to work mining jobs. Louisville became home to much of the Biella family by 1904. Angelina received a plot of land from her brother, Peter in the early 1910s. The Romanos built a house at 1040 La Farge Avenue where they raised two daughters, Dora and Helen.  

The Romanos operated a bar named Celeste’s from 1910 to 1960. In 1919, Angelina purchased 809 Main, and the business operated as a bar, pool hall, soda parlor, and restaurant during different periods. After work, miners often would drink and relax at saloons. However, Celeste’s was well-known by children in Louisville for particularly big servings of ice cream during the day.

Prohibition in Colorado began in January of 1916. During this time, Celeste’s was officially operating as a pool hall, but the Romanos also participated in bootlegging. Bootlegging attracted visitors from nearby towns, like Boulder, as well as Louisville residents. In 1920, the start of national Prohibition, Celeste Romano was fined $200 (about $3,000 today) for selling whiskey. Even after this fine, Celeste’s continued to sell alcohol in Louisville. This photo shows a few men drinking alcohol with Celeste and his daughters standing to the side in February of 1921.