History Colorado holds a rich collection of architecture-related materials that reflect the history of our state’s built environment, from adobe brick molds of the San Luis Valley to the drawings of Ron Straka, who served as Denver’s first deputy director of urban design under Mayor Federico Peña. But we are actively working to expand our architectural holdings to help tell the many histories of Colorado architecture and urban planning.

Colorado's Urban Indian Experience project is a collaborative endeavor between History Colorado and Indigenous communities where the communities will guide what they share. The primary goals include meeting with Indigenous peoples throughout urban areas of Colorado.  The archive -- including oral histories, photographs and other items -- will be available to anyone interested in Colorado’s Urban Indian communities. It will offer a way to amplify and preserve these stories for future generations.

How has the pandemic changed your life?  Share your experience with us. 

As the number of coronavirus cases grows in Colorado, we want to hear from you about how the outbreak is changing your daily life.

How are you navigating work and family needs?
Has your place of work reduced hours, or been forced to close?
What steps is your family taking to prevent the virus’s spread?
What will you remember about this moment?

Dedicated to documenting the contributions of Latinos in Colorado, the Latino Heritage Curatorial Department is strengthening current holdings while developing, supporting and coordinating projects to preserve, promote, and celebrate Latino culture, history, and arts.  Currently, the Latino Heritage Curatorial Department is working on a contemporary collecting initiative to document Latino Heritage in our state. This exciting and important work seeks to link generations of Latino families and communities to each other and to the history of Colorado. 

Currently, the contributions, history, and voices of LGBTQ+ people are minimally represented in the permanent collection of History Colorado, resulting in limited opportunities for the public to engage, explore, and connect with the LGBTQ+ community. Now with generous support from the Gill Foundation, History Colorado will establish the Gill Foundation LGBTQ+ Archive, which will highlight 25 years of work by the Gill Foundation, preserve the legacy of Tim Gill’s philanthropic impact on LGBTQ+ rights in the state, and document Colorado’s LGBTQ+ community. In our blogs, our publications, our collecting initiatives and more, we've been gathering and telling the stories of LGBTQ+ Coloradans.

Museum of Memory is a public history initiative that works together with Colorado residents to co-author a shared history. We collaboratively work to reanimate, center and amplify the histories that have long existed only in the margins and create the opportunity for the community to decide how to remember its collective past.

History Colorado has assisted in nine Museum of Memory projects to date, some of which are still in progress and with more to come.

Since its founding, History Colorado has been collecting and preserving Colorado history.  Among the most significant holdings in the permanent collection are the Colorado newspapers.  With statewide reach and statewide representation, History Colorado’s newspapers include publications from each of the state’s 64 counties, preserving the extraordinary history of ordinary people and capturing history in the making.