Barney Ford Building

Barney Ford Building (HM28HG)

Location: Denver, CO 80202 Denver County
Buy Colorado State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 39° 44.985', W 104° 59.995'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 488 views
Inscription

1863

—Lower Downtown Walking Tour —

The significance of 1514 Blake St. lies in its connection to the remarkable life of black pioneer Barney Ford. Ford was born a slave on January 22, 1822 in Stafford, Virginia, but escaped to Chicago, where he worked with the underground railroad helping other slaves flee to freedom.
It was in Chicago that he chose his name from a steam locomotive, the Launcelot Ford, becoming Barney Launcelot Ford.
An active civil rights and civic leader, a prominent politician, and an ardent supporter for the admission of Colorado to the Union as a free state with suffrage for all men, Ford as also a brilliant businessman.
This building is the site of Ford's first Denver restaurant, which he rented, then purchased from E. A. Rice for $673 on March 24, 1862. The original structure was destroyed in the great fire of 1863, which wiped out Denver's business district, but Ford borrowed $9,000 from the Kountze Brothers Bank (later the Colorado National Bank) and opened the People's Restaurant on August 16, 1863. Ford had a barber shop and hair salon in the basement and a saloon on the second floor.
Ford also constructed and owned the Inter-Ocean Hotels in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Denver, was the first African American to serve on a U.S. grand jury in Colorado and was nominated for the Territorial Legislature.
In 1881 he was made a member of the



Colorado Association of Pioneers. Barney Ford died in 1902 and is buried with his family at Riverside Memorial Cemetery in Denver.
Details
HM NumberHM28HG
Tags
Placed ByLower Downtown Historic District
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Thursday, June 14th, 2018 at 4:03pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)13S E 500007 N 4399982
Decimal Degrees39.74975000, -104.99991667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 39° 44.985', W 104° 59.995'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds39° 44' 59.1" N, 104° 59' 59.7" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)303, 720
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 1514 Blake St, Denver CO 80202, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?