1953 Rabbit Ears Pass Continental Divide Sign Kodachrome Slide #CRA-5321
Brief Description
The top of Rabbit Ears Pass is abound with activity here. This image was scanned from a group of 3 slides, whose images were captured few moments apart at this location in 1953.
While these signs are relatively new here, the stone historical marker in the middle was added in 1929.
Info
- Date: Spring 1953
- Photographer: Unknown
- Medium: Kodachrome Slide
- Size: 35mm
- ID: CRA-5321
- Acquisition Date: March 2024
- Repository: Coloradotopia Archives
Scanned with basic cropping, auto white balance and color correction.
Image use restricted.
Image Dating Comments
This slide, along with the other two that accompany it, all have the number “53” handwritten on them in pen.
The “Colo Dept. of Highways” text on the signs is also a giveaway that the photo must be from 1953 or later, since that is when this department’s name was changed (it was previously the Colorado State Highway Department).
Comments & Discussion
The sign on the left had just been repainted in the months before this image was captured. While it does not look like it, the sign on the right is also new or has been repainted. It is clearly not the same version of the sign that is seen here in 1952, but the off-white color that looks aged or dirty is a bit puzzling. Quite frankly, the sign from 1952 looked much better.
Rabbit Ears Pass is an important route through the mountains. When it was built in the 1800s, it gave travelers a shorter distance to Steamboat Springs. The route became US Highway 40 and was eventually paved. That paved highway can be seen running across the bottom of this photo in the 1950s.
Condition, Aging & Authenticity: This slide’s cardboard mount shows significantly less aging than its unidentical twin, CRA-5318. There are light signs of aging, but the slide is in overall good shape upon entry into the archive.
About the Coloradotopia Archives. The Coloradotopia archives hold a large collection of historical images that document Colorado’s auto history in the mountains. You can read more about the Coloradotopia archive project here.
