Brief Description
This rare image shows a Vail Pass sign on top of Monarch Pass. Highways crews had put up unauthorized signs renaming the pass after Charles Vail. This renaming became a hot political issue, and the Governor was forced to step in to declare Monarch Pass to be the official name.
Info
- Date: Circa November 1939
- Photographer: Harold Sanborn
- Medium: Postcard
- Size: 5 3/8" x 3 1/2"
- ID: CMO-W-1580
- Acquisition Date: August 2024
- Repository: Coloradotopia Archives
Scanned with basic cropping, no enhancements
Image use restricted.
Backside
Image Dating Comments
The Vail Pass sign was seen here for a period of time in 1939 that was likely shorter than 2 months. The image can be roughly dated to November of 1939 based on the snowpack and historical details about the name changes on the sign.
The County Commissioners Association of the 3rd District adopted a resolution to rename Monarch Pass to Vail Pass in August of 1939.1 The Vail Pass sign appeared sometime approaching the end of October, but the new sign had not been officially authorized.2
It was reported in mid-November that the governor had renamed the pass to Monarch Pass. On November 14th, the governor penned a letter to the H.M. Gousha Company in Chicago that instructed them to refer to the pass as Monarch-Agate Pass on the maps that were to be made.3
The sign had been smeared with black paint by December 5th.4
It is likely that the paint was only smeared over the name. Rather than repaint the sign, a name plate was added with the proper name covering the old one. This can be seen in later photographs such as this one.
What about the snowpack? The pass has clearly gotten its first snowfall in this image, but this is still an early winter season photo. The snowbanks are very low, and the tree wells have no depth. It looks like the pass has probably only gotten a few good snowfalls, so this is consistent with a November photo from this pass.
Full Scan
Comments & Discussion
While the sign says Vail Pass, take notice that the postcard DOES correctly say Monarch Pass. The postcard would have been developed long after the naming controversy had worked itself out here.
In the 1950s, the Monarch Crest building would be built in the location where these signs were erected.
Freshly Graded Highway
The road is perfectly graded in this image. The lines from the final round of grading in November can still be seen running lengthwise in the road. Read about this history of Monarch Pass here.
Has the pass been paved in this photo? When it was paved in 1939-1940, crews used an oiling process. There were many surfaces that would have fallen under this category at this point in time, including some oil + stone combinations that might have looked similar to this right after initial completion. However, another image in this archive, believed to be from 1940, shows that this surface had not compacted like an oil + stone surface, but rather, it broke down and became slightly rougher like a dirt road would have done.
This is what the paved surface looked like...
This photo shows the surface in 1943. The surface here looks consistent with an oiling process that had lots of loose stone after completion, and that stone was then been compacted into a paved surface after a few years of use. The line down the middle would not been painted immediately. This is similar to the modern chip seal paving method that is still used in some rural areas.
Condition, Aging & Authenticity: This postcard has very light cracking and spidering of the surface, however, the damage is fairly widespread across the middle. The backside shows darkening, except for in the 4 corners. It looks like the postcard was previously fixed to an album because light spots with sharp edges can be seen in all 4 corners on the back.
About the Coloradotopia Archives. 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 Coloradotopia archive project here.
References & Credits
1. The World-Independent, Volume LII, Number 168, August 28, 1939, p. 1. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Colorado State Library.
2. The Salida Daily Mail, Volume 4, Number 123, November 1, 1939, P. 4. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Colorado State Library.
3. The Salida Daily Mail, Volume 4, Number 137, November 20, 1939, P. 1. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Colorado State Library.
4. The Alamosa Daily Courier, December 5, 1939, P. 1. Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Colorado State Library.
Images Credits: Denver Public Library [OP-20765]