Are you a Fort Collins history fanatic? Here are some stories you might have missed.
Are you a Fort Collins history lover? Or maybe you just moved to town and are playing catch-up.
Either way, we have you covered with a roundup of some of the Coloradoan's history coverage over recent years.
Whether you're fascinated with true crime or curious about that cute little Spanish-style house on College Avenue that's a ... wait for it ... a Taco Bell — it's all here.
A peek into old Fort Collins
The tale behind Fort Collins' Taco Bell house
The Fort Collins Taco Bell at the intersection of Prospect Road and College Avenue is unlike any other — really. Its clay tile roof, corbelled brick archways and detailed wooden modillions hearken back to another age of architecture. Maybe that's because it wasn't always a Taco Bell. Get to know the history of Fort Collins' Spanish-style house-turned-Taco-Bell and its near brush with a wrecking ball.
11 historic homes of Fort Collins (and the people who lived in them)
From stately century-old mansions to mid-century ranchers designed for the post-World War II housing boom, there are history lessons tucked into so many of Fort Collins' neighborhoods. Check out this list (and pictures!) of 11 historic homes and the backstories of who lived in or built them.
A watering hole history: 9 past bars of Fort Collins
From The Library to Linden's, ghosts of bars past still haunt Old Town and beyond. Take a stroll down memory lane with this roundup of beloved bars that have since shut their doors.
Have you seen Fort Collins' ghost signs? Here are the stories behind 13 of them
There are ghosts lurking in Old Town Fort Collins — ghost signs, that is. If you've ever spotted a fading painted sign on some of Old Town's old buildings, you've likely seen a ghost sign. Get to know when (and why) they were painted so many years ago.
Saying goodbye to an Old Town holdout
For 71 years, Al's Newsstand stood on South College Avenue, at the center of daily life in Fort Collins — selling it newspapers, magazines and tobacco, even through changing times. In 2018, it finally closed, ending an era of penny candy and inky fingers. Check out the Coloradoan's farewell to one of Old Town's final holdouts, including some history on who exactly Al was.
What's in a (nick)name?
Have you ever wondered why Fort Collins is called the Choice City? Don't worry, in 2018 I published the results of a full-on investigation into the matter. Did I find the answer? Eh, nothing concrete. But I do go into some interesting theories in this story.
Inside Fort Collins' hard-fought battle for liquor
For decades, the only alcohol you could buy within Fort Collins city limits was 3.2 beer — a result of the city's prohibition on liquor that started in 1896 and lasted until 1969, more than 30 years after the national Prohibition ended. Read about Fort Collins' prohibition and how — despite the hard-fought battle to bring liquor back — beer was what ended up shaping the burgeoning Choice City.
Photos: The Great Loveland Molasses Spill of 1990
That time the cannon in City Park came under fire
Did you climb all over the cannon in City Park as a kid? There's more history behind it than you'd think. Catch up on the century-old cannon and how it was the center of some controversy in the 1980s and 1990s.
Meet Old Town's OG Elizabeth
Chances are you've popped your head into Fort Collins' ritzy downtown hotel The Elizabeth, but do you know about Old Town's original Elizabeth? Elizabeth "Auntie" Stone came to Northern Colorado in 1864 and soon became Fort Collins' founding mother and first hotelier.
Remember Debbie Duz Donuts?
If you lived in Fort Collins in 1989, there's no way you missed it. That summer, Debbie Duz Donuts — a topless truck stop serving up coffee, doughnuts and controversy — opened on East Mulberry Street. Here's all you need to know about its mighty rise and speedy fall.
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Colorado crime and mystery
Hunted: Could Ted Bundy's killing spree have been stopped cold in Colorado?
From 1974 to 1978, wherever Ted Bundy went, women disappeared. He escaped from custody twice in Colorado before going on to cement himself as one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. Read up on his spree — and Colorado victims — here. Or listen to the Coloradoan's special, 3-part podcast, "Hunted."
Inside the Mata murders
It's been more than 40 years since Fort Collins sisters Rosemary Mata and Julia DeLosSantos were found murdered on a rural roadside up Larimer County's Buckhorn Canyon. In the decades that followed, their murder case would become one of "the most drawn-out and highly emotional cases in Larimer County history." In 2018, we revisited it.
Into thin air: The curious case of Joseph Halpern
On Aug. 15, 1933, the 22-year-old Chicago graduate student Joseph Halpern disappeared during a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. Since then, questions and tantalizing theories have persisted in the disappearance of Joe Halpern, pointing to a possible sighting, an odd alias and, yes, even the circus.
Who killed Jonelle Matthews?
Just before Christmas in 1984, the disappearance of Greeley 12-year-old Jonelle Matthews shook the tight-knit Colorado community. For 34 years, they asked, "Where is Jonelle?" After the discovery of her remains in July 2019, however, a new question gripped Greeley: "Who killed her?"
How Hitler's last soldier evaded the FBI and ended up in Colorado
After evading the authorities for 40 years, at-large German POW Georg Gaertner finally surrendered while living with his wife in Boulder, Colorado. So how did Gaertner become the last known escaped German POW to slip through American life undetected?
'The Way it Was' is coming back: Catch up on our previous 23 binge-worthy episodes
Colorado State University
The history of CSU's sorority and fraternity houses
Are you ready for a Beta Gamma blast from the past? Take a look at our roundup of CSU's fraternity and sorority houses, as well as a throwback gallery of campus Greek Life. With a rich history at CSU, some of Fort Collins' older homes once housed initiations, formals and pledge classes. Do you know which ones?
CSU: Then and now
With 150 years of history in Fort Collins, old photos can easily hearken back to what life was once like at CSU. A few years ago, we picked several historic photos depicting campus life and went to those exact spots to see what they looked like decades later. Enjoy both a gallery and video showing exactly how much CSU has changed.
The infamous Lory Student Center 'beer-in'
In fall 1968, in front of 3,000 fellow classmates piled into CSU’s student center grand ballroom, the university's clean-cut, bespectacled student body president held a Coors to his lips as part of the university's fabled "beer-in" protest. The "beer-in" ushered in change and would become one of the most well-known student protests at CSU.
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MEET REPORTER ERIN UDELL
I keep my finger on the pulse of life in Fort Collins — from weekend happenings and restaurant openings to investigative dives into local history. Support my work with a subscription today.
The legacy of Eddie Hanna
It's been more than 70 years, but the memory of Colorado A&M's star halfback still lingers with his teammates. Hanna, one of the few black football players at Colorado A&M in the 1940s, died suddenly — likely from cardiac arrest — on the train ride home from the team's 1949 season opener. His No. 21 jersey has never been worn by a Colorado State University football player since.
The legend of Lubick
Sonny Lubick is a living CSU legend. The former football coach — who helped put CSU on the college football map in the 1990s — has sat down with the Coloradoan several times to chat about his life on and off the sidelines. Listen to our podcast episode on Lubick's life or read Kelly Lyell's story on what exactly cemented Sonny as a Fort Collins icon.
Remembering Veteran's Village
For nearly 16 years, a network of 190 huts stood in neat rows on CSU's campus — providing temporary housing for the World War II veterans who rushed to enroll in classes with their young families in tow. More than 70 years later, Veteran's Village is long-disbanded and only a handful of huts still remain in the Fort Collins area. Here's what we know about them and their history.
That time The Rolling Stones trashed Moby Arena
You've probably heard about the major acts that have rocked CSU over the years, from The Doobie Brothers to Dave Matthews Band. But have you heard about the particularly raucous Rolling Stones concert at Moby Arena? Here's a fun story with a full list of the damages the show left behind.
Barbara Fleming: You've read her columns. Now get to know Northern Colorado's unofficial historian
Erin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at ErinUdell@coloradoan.com. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a subscription to the Coloradoan today.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Fort Collins history: 22 stories you might have missed
