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1957 Map of Boulder

Name: 1957 Topographic Map of Boulder
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

Boulder and its mountain backdrop are documented here in the late 1950s, showing the city's development alongside the legacy of Front Range mining. The University of Colorado campus anchors the southern edge of town, while the urban grid extends toward Wonderland Lake. To the west, the landscape shifts abruptly into the Roosevelt National Forest, where steep canyons like Fourmile Creek and Bummers Gulch are dotted with numerous historic mining operations.

Evidence of the region's hard-rock mining history is preserved through labels for the Golden Age Mine, Sunshine Mine, and the Poorman Mine. Smaller settlements and mountain enclaves such as Sunshine, Crisman, and Glendale are tucked into the gulches, linked by winding mountain roads. This period shows the transition from a resource-extraction economy to an established university town and regional hub, with new civic infrastructure like the County Hospital and Municipal Bldg appearing in the valley.