1921 Berthoud Pass Continental Divide Sign Photograph #CB-1921-PAL2
Brief Description
A group of people is seen gathering around the sign at the top of Berthoud Pass in 1921. The modern highway over the pass was being constructed at this point, but was still more than a decade away from being paved.
Info
- Date: July 3, 1921
- Photographer: Unknown
- Medium: Original Photograph
- Size: 3 7/16" x 2 7/16"
- ID: CB-1921-PAL2
- Acquisition Date: December 2024
- Repository: Coloradotopia Archives
Scanned with basic cropping, no enhancements.
Image use restricted.
Image Dating Comments
This photograph and the others that came with it have the date July 3, 1921, written in blue pen.
Full Scan
Comments & Discussion
This sign was added here by the US Forest Service. A traveler’s registration box was also added near the base of this sign. The top of that can be seen sticking up behind the group of people in this photograph. Get a closer look at the sign and the registration box in this photo from the same day.
This photograph came to the archives in a small lot of photos that contained two others showing the sign, all captured on July 3rd, 1921. The photos were all previously mounted into an album together on black album pages. Three of them can be seen below in a photograph taken just after they were removed from the mounting material by the previous owner.
An unknown building can be seen being erected in the background here. During the 1800s, that area was site of a cabin that was erected by L.D.C. Gaskill, one of the builders of the initial toll road. The next abode to be built at the top of the pass would be the Berthoud Pass Inn, which would be built in 1925 on the other side of the highway.
Condition, Aging & Authenticity: Material from the black mounting paper can be seen on the backside still. There is obvious fading of the handwritten on the front. There is some warping in the surface. The front surface has a matte finish with very little visible damage.
About the Coloradotopia Archives Collection. The Coloradotopia archives hold a large collection of historical images and items that document Colorado’s automobile history in the mountains. You can read more about the collection here.
