1917 Berthoud Pass Continental Divide Sign Photograph #RH-511
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Brief Description
This image shows an early Continental Divide sign on Berthoud Pass. This photograph is held by the Denver Public Library.
Info
- Date: 1917
- Photographer: Harry Mellon Rhoads
- Medium: Glass Photonegative, Print
- ID: RH-511
- Repository: Denver Public Library Special Collections
Provided by Denver Public Library.
Image use restricted.
Image Dating Comments
This photograph was dated by the Denver Public Library to the year 1917. At maximum zoom, the year can be seen on the license plate.
Colorized
The enhanced version of the sign below has been digitally colorized. The real text was probably all black, and the ground was probably browner, but the software seems to have done OK with the colorization here.
Comments & Discussion
This sign was located on the opposite side of US Highway 40 from where the signs are located today. The location of the signs and markers here would move around the time that the Berthoud Pass Inn was built in the 1920s.
It is tempting to assume that Mr. Rhoads’s family is in there somewhere—Sade, Harriet, and Mary Elizabeth Rhoads are likely all included. If the child which is only partially seen behind Mrs. Rhoads’s dress is the youngest child, that allows for improved dating of this photograph from Wolf Creek Pass which includes the same family.
WAY in the background, another man and woman can be seen holding up snowballs.
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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.
