Brief Description
This sign was located on top of Loveland Pass for roughly a decade around the 1970s. This iteration of the sign was erected by the US Forest Service, and it sits on top of a stone base that also supported several of the previous signs.
Info
- Date: June 1974
- Photographer: Unknown
- Medium: Slide
- Size: 35mm
- ID: CL-6746
- Acquisition Date: Feb. 2024
- Repository: Coloradotopia Archives
Scanned image, basic cropping, enhancements unknown.
Image use restricted.
Image Dating Comments
This image can be dated to June 1974. While most of the slides from this era were stamped with a development date, this slide’s date is handwritten pen as “6/74”. The snowpack in the background is consistent with a June snowpack on top of Loveland Pass.
This sign has been photographed on this pass as early as 1972.
Comments & Discussion
Look closely at the metal mounting bracket that holds the sign up. The spacing between those 3 vertical posts is not even, and the base of the left side extends much farther out to the left than it does on the right side. The central post is also not aligned with the center perfectly. This is all because that is the same bracket that was used for the previous set of signs, and it once held two separate signs next to each other that were different shapes and sizes.
In the background, Arapahoe Basin’s terrain is visible (but very blurry) in the upper-right. The ridge of the Continental Divide can be seen running all of the way over towards Arapahoe Basin. The divide does not actually include A-Basin. The Continental Divide line takes a turn to the south at Grizzly Peak, just as it nears the ski area.
There are several different iterations of this design that were later used in Colorado, at least 2 of which can be seen in Loveland Pass’s history. The corners of this sign are a bit sharper than the others like it which came later in time. The letter spacing is also different.
Condition, Aging & Authenticity: There is a visible crease that runs from the lower left corner of the slide’s film window to the edge of the slide.
The backside of this slide has an even layer of abrasion that makes it appear as though this may have been mounted into an album at one point. There are no production or developer markings on this slide, so it’s possible that this was all removed when it was ripped out of an album.
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.
