Leadville, Colorado

The advent of the railroad in Leadville was hailed with joy, and considered a guarantee of everlasting prosperity. The first distinguished person to arrive over the new line was General Grant, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Fred Grant and child, and Governor Smith and wife of Wisconsin. This was on the evening of July 22, 1880. "The street lights were a blaze of splendor". A magnificent banquet was held the evening of the 24th at the Clarendon. Grant spoke on his first impressions of Leadville.

Excerpt from A History of Leadville, Colorado by Marshall Conant Graff

This iconic western mining scene has been repaired by Western Mining History. Depicted is a street scene at Leadville, Colorado circa 1879.

In this ca. 1880s scene, pack trains on Harrison Avenue (Leadville, Colorado) are loaded with supplies for the mines. Many of the donkeys are carrying lumber, while others carry wooden crates and burlap sacks. The photo was taken by "Brisbois" photo studio which was established in Leadville around 1880. The January 1, 1883 edition of the Leadville Daily Herald described the studio:

...the elegant suite of photographic rooms known as Brisbois' gallery, on East Fifth street. These comprise parlor, office, frame toilet, operating, chemical and dark rooms, each separate but communicating, and cover about one-half the up-stairs space in the Chicago block.

By 1890 Leadville's big boom was over, and both citizens and businesses in the city were experiencing hard times. A march, 1890 advertisement declared that photographs at Brisbois' Studio were now half price at $5 per dozen. The studio is mentioned in newspapers a few more times in 1891 and 1892, but appears to have closed soon after.

Written on the bottom of the photo:

"The fines can be suspended for the go to the school fund; but the costs must be paid because they are fees and go to the court"

An interesting aspect of this photo is it reveals a little know fact about one of Leadville's landmark buildings. The Tabor Grand Hotel changed its name to Kitchen Hotel around 1887, before becoming the Vendome in the early 1890s.

According to the Denver Public Library, the Palace of Living Art and Illusions was a "mini-palace theater on West Seventh Street, Leadville, Colorado. Built by H.C. Dimick for the Winter Crystal Carnival, the theater opened on January 11, 1896 across from the Ice Palace. The theater was 40 x 75 feet, seated three hundred people and was constructed of wood, covered by ice blocks... W. Sunden of Stockholm & E. A. Covell of London operated the theater. Shows were done with reflecting light on a canvas screen while live figures moved behind the screen creating illusions."