How are you spending this beautiful Colorado day? We think it’s a perfect evening to watch a movie on the lawn of @mcgregor_square! Movie Starts at 7pm. #50firstdates #coloradofall #latesummer #coloradogram ...

Did you guess JOHN DEERE PLOW CO. BUILDING @ 1538 15TH ST To yesterday’s tbt?

The John Deere Plow Co Building was originally the home to George Tritch’s hardware business. Tritch’s original building was located in a one room log cabin on Blake that was destroyed in the fire of 1863. George Tritch was a tinsmith and became a successful businessman active in the development of the city. In 1887 the John Deere Plow Company located its regional sales center in this building, which it owned and occupied until approximately 1945. Thank you to Barb Gibson for the great information. ...

Built in 1871 do you know where this building is in LoDo? #throwbackpics #throwback #denverhistory #denverlocal #denverlodo ...

Did you guess The Sugar Building to yesterdays throwback questions?  The building that is shaped like a cube, at the intersection of 16th street and Wazee, was constructed in 1906 to house the administrative offices of the newly incorporated Great Western Sugar Company, formed by Charles Boetcher.  Great Western Sugar was formed by the merger of 6 small independent sugar beet factories. Colorado soil could yield up to 30 tons of sugar beets per acre! The Great Western Sugar company became the largest producer of sugar beets in the country! ...

Did you guess 15th and Blake to our TBT question?  If so, you're correct! Barney L Ford originally built the building now occupied by Hapa Sushi in 1863, a black pioneer and one of the state's most influential black business owners and civic leaders.   

Barney L Ford was born into slavery, escaped to Chicago, and eventually made his way to Breckenridge, Colorado, during the 1860 gold rush.  After being run off his claim, he settled in Denver. In 1862 he bought and operated a barbershop that burnt in the fire of 1863.   Ford secured $9,000 from Banker Luther Kountze to rebuild and expand into a two-story brick building.  In the basement of the building was a barbershop, and on the main and second floors was the People's Restaurant.  Ford offered oysters, lemons, and Havana Cigars. He was so successful that he repaid his entire loan in the three months following the opening.   

Ford purchased the Sargent Hotel on Larimer St. in 1872, renamed to Ford's Hotel, and purchased several other lots on Blake and 16th St. In 1873, he built the Inter-Ocean Hotel, on Larimer, the finest hotel in Denver when it opened in 1873.  

He is also credited with establishing the first adult education classes in Denver, and he became the first black man to serve on a federal grand jury in Colorado.    He was an active member of the Republican Party and was the first black man to be nominated to the Colorado Territorial Legislature.  While he did suffer some financial setbacks, he returned back to Breckenridge during the silver boom.  There he opened another popular restaurant, Ford's Chop House, and In 1882, he built a home in the wealthy residential district in Breckenridge, which still stands today.  He died in 1902 in Denver. ...

In 1859 Charles Blake and Andrew Williams built Denver Hall,  what we now call the Elephant Corral. It served as a trading post—built to serve the gold-seekers and teamsters and also held public meetings as it was the largest building in the Denver and Auraria Settlement. The Elephant Corral grew to include a Livery, a Stockyard, and of course, it wouldn't be complete without a brothel.  The site is the humble beginnings of the National Western Stock Show and housed oxen,  mules, horses, and cows.  But not a single elephant.  

The building was surrounded by a thick groat wall, a mix of mud and cobblestones, topped with gun ports to protect from invaders. The front of the building contained a bar and the gambling tables, which were strategically placed so that patrons could quickly exit through cotton-covered windows if an unexpected gunfight took place!  Behind the bar were 6 bedrooms for nightly rental.   

Blake and Williams were businessmen and used advertisements along the routes to Denver and would send employees out to meet wagon trains to bring them back to the Corral!  In 1863 a fire destroyed the building, which made way for the addition of a 2 story warehouse. The building got its official name, Elephant Corral, when Robert Teats purchased it from Blake and Williams.  Later in 1888, John Thames purchased the building.

Some think that the name was derived from the saying "seeing the elephant," which meant to see or experience something strange or wonderful.  Others believe it was named after the Elephant Corral located in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  

Business transactions were conducted with gold dust.  At that time, a pinch of dust between the thumb and forefinger was worth .25! ...

What do you know about the Elephant Corral? This weeks #tbt is an easy one to guess, but we’d like you to share what you know about this building and it’s unique name! ...