https://thorntonco.cvlcollections.org/files/original/243b98fa051b9739017e0a2c968b596a.pdf c04efaeac7438cf54ac5455e430f4577 PDF Text Text �Thornton Maps 1956-2006 ...................... pg. 12 Thornton City Councilmembers from left to right: (bottom row) Ward 1: Ron Kuehn, Ward 1: Carol Beckler, Ward 4: Sheila Fushimi, Ward 3: Rebecca Cavanaugh-Miller and Ward 4: Erik Hansen. (top row) Mayor ProTern and Ward 3: Marty Wisniewski, Mayor: Noel Busck, Ward 2: Jan Bach and Ward 2: Steve Lebsock. Thornton Today Photos ...................... pg. 22 Additional Credits ...................... pg. 23 ~ City Council would like to thank members of the City's 50th Anniversary History Committee as well as City staff for putting together this brief overview of the first 50 years of Thornton history. We are proud that the history of Thornton is so rich and varied that it would take multiple books, videos, photographs and Web pages to convey all that has happened in our first 50 years. So, please understand this publication can only tell just a part of the story of Thornton . Back in the early 1950s, when developer Sam Hoffman began building a community to meet the needs of young GI families, we believe that even he could not have imagined the Thornton of today. Today, Thornton is a city with a thriving and growing economy, attracting quality jobs and development. We have people of all ages and backgrounds who take pride in their community and have a sense of belonging. Our residents feel safe and secure in their homes, neighborhoods, schools and businesses. And the City government provides reliable services and emphasizes accountability, efficiency and effectiveness in serving our citizens. Our dream for the future is that these same values and sense of community will continue for the next 50 years and beyond. We know that it's your contributions each and every day that make this the community we have chosen to live in and to raise our families. We also know that the growth and success of our city is largely dependent on having strong and capable residents such as yourself. Thank you for making Thornton the city it is today-and will continue to be tomorrow. We hope you will enjoy this publication. A history exhibit is available for viewing at Thornton City Hall, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. �magine purchasing a new threebedroom brick home for under $10,000 and making a mortgage payment of $70 a month. That's what developer Sam Hoffman proposed in the early 1950s for his new community to be built north of Denver. Soon after the announcement, the Denver Post reported that Hoffman's new community would be named "Thornton" after Governor Dan Thornton. The first residents of Thornton had homes with electricity and water-but little else. There were no schools, phones, paved streets or streetlights. For a while, the closest gas station was in Denver and there were no grocery stores in the area. The Thornton Women's Club started in 1954 and sold City directories listing all local residents for $1 each. The money raised went toward the purchase of an ambulance and the library fund. Soon traditional clubs were in place such as the Kiwanis and Lions clubs. Members raised money to make improvements to the community by purchasing signs and equipment. To get people to attend a grand opening for the model homes, Hoffman invited Hollywood actress Jane Russell (a family friend) to the opening and to choose the interior design for the model homes. The first families to move to Thornton were predominantly exGls who served in World War II; and most veterans only had to put $99 down-that fee even included closing costs. Estimates were that between 60-80 percent of Thornton's early residents were ex-Gls. In January 1954, the first 40 families moved into their brand-new, one-story brick houses. 4 Thornton was rapidly growing as a community, and in just two years Thornton's population exploded to more than 5,000 residents, so they banded together to form the Thornton Community Association December 24, 1952 April 1953 September 21, 1953 F &S Construction announces plans for a $7 million, 5,000-home project outside of Denver. Three model homes open to the public. Work on the first 30 homes begins. www.cityofthornton.net/50th _anniversary The first 40 families move in. Thornton Women's Club is started and they begin printing a City directory, which sold for $1. April 28, 1954 The Thornton Community Association (TCA) is formed. 5 �(TCA ). The TCA was the precursor to a City government, and the goal of the TCA was to promote civic pride. For e.x1ample, the TCA helped organize the purchase of 4,000 streetlights and the TCA took up the cause to incorporate Thornton as a city. To raise money for an incorporation election, the TCA sold raffle tickets for a trip to Hawaii and raised more than $1,000. However, voters decided against incorporation with the total tally at 548 for incorporation and 620 votes against it. At that time, Thornton's population was 6,300, but only 1,168 people cast a vote in the election. The TCA later surveyed the residents and found that despite the recent failure, there was support for incorporation. A second attempt at making Thornton a city was undertaken and the initiative passed by an overwhelming majority-1,280 for incor- 6 poration to 165 against. On May 26, 1956, Thornton was incorporated as the 11th largest city in Colorado. Unfortunately, the struggle to become Colorado's newest city wasn't over. At that time, Colorado law told how to incorporate a community with less than 2,000 people, but not how to incorporate if the community had more than 2,000 people, like Thornton. So a bill was proposed before the state Legislature by two local lawyers, Oyer "Bill" G. Leary and Orrell Daniel and Thornton finally became a city when the the bill passed. Following that milestone, Leary, then president of the TCA, defeated Robert Ducaj to become Thornton's first mayor. In 1957, a surplus Army Quonset hut temporarily housed City offices until a permanent structure could be built. The Quonset hut housed the City Hall, police and fire departments until October 1958, when the first municipal building was built. May 1955 May 26, 1956 August 18, 1956 August 30, 1956 Thornton is incorporated as the 11th largest Colorado city. Oyer "Bill" G. Leary becomes the first Thornton mayor. 1958 Thornton's first shopping center opens on Washington Street. The first City Council meeting is held. The City's first municipal building is constructed on Dorothy Boulevard. www.cityofthornton.net/50th _anniversary 7 �L, -- . • en Sam Hoffman started building his houses, water and sewer services were provided by the Northwest Utilities Company and the Western Hills Utility Company. With the growth in the community and the creation of the new government, the elected officials recognized even way back in 1961 that the key to having control over the future of Thornton was having control over the water system. So they polled the residents to see if they supported the City acquiring a utility company. The results of the study were positive, and Thornton purchased the water and sewer systems formerly belonging to the two utility companies. Citizens went door-to-door to win approval for the $7 million bond issue required for the purchase. 1' the. Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) declared the acquisition invalid. However in 1965, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in Thornton's favor and upheld the purchase of the utility systems. This wouldn't be the last time that Thornton would be faced with going to the Colorado Supreme Court to protect the water rights it had acquired. The City of Thornton continued to come together as a community during the '60s. The City held the first Thornton Festival Days-a celebration that included a 20-mile bike race, square dancing, horse show, carnival, fireworks and a parade. The event was Thornton's official Fourth of July celebration and its theme was "Independence Day of the '20s." People dressed in costume, and the event drew an estimated Because the utility system the City acquired attendance of 8,000 people. also served residential developments in (now) Northglenn and in unincorporated A library was another key piece of the portions of Adams County, there was a lot puzzle needed to create a community. The of scrutiny regarding the sale. In 1964, Adams Count Public Library served 8 May 1960 1960 The library opens in Thornton. Population of Thornton is 11,353. Thornton Junior Football League is formed. April 1963 June 1963 Thornton purchases the Northwest Utilities. City hosts first Thornton Festival Days. Honoring Our Past, Anticipating Our Future Adams County re~idents with: a' ooKmo8i e until 1960. Then the first walk-in facility was opened in the Thornton Shopping Center at 88th and North Washington in the custodians closet of Miller's supermarket. In 1962, it was upgraded to a storefront branch library in the same shopping center. As part of the efforts to establish its identity, the City held a contest to select a City seal that would capture the feeling of confidence and commitment to building a solid community. The City received 29 entries, and the drawings were displayed at City Hall. Jim Cochran, a 17-year-old Mapleton High School student, created the winning seal. by the voters. On July 18, 1967, residents approved home rule for the City and a Charter Commission was soon selected to draft Thornton's charter. Throughout the 1960s, Thornton worked on a plan to build the City through annexation of properties surrounding the original residential developments. In 1964, the City annexed approximately 920 acres on both sides of the Valley Highway ( which became 1-25) from Washington Street to Huron Street and from 88th Avenue to 92nd Avenue. City Council decided that the best way to allow the citizens to control the destiny of this community was to pursue home rule. A key benefit to home rule is that the city charter is.written by local citizers,: rather than by Jhe~ ,~te Legisl~tpry, and mu~t, be approved ' .....,__ :--"' -; . ,' ' ~,.. '-L I ,, \,c ( I ~ •sI 1/'<.j 1 • •1 • 1 • n1,, ... c=--=•~t"-4. May 1965 Thornton name change fizzles. : Thornton selects a City seal. 1966 July 18, 1967 Home Rule Committee forms. Thornton citizens approve home rule for the City. 9 �~, ,, ) I' . • . ••- t ;_4- ; " Y~- I I I •. • • uring this same time period, ton, along with the cities of Northglenn and Westminster, began efforts to acquire Standley Lake from the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company. This was so important for the cities because the only way to ensure an adequate water supply throughout the year is to have a place to store the water that comes from the spring snowmelt. In 1979, after a lengthy legal battle, the cities finally secured a portion of Standley Lake Reservoir for water storage. I • • I I I • • I . I t I . I I . I . .• • • • •. • • • . . • •.• • • I I I I I I . . • I I In 1970, Thornton's water utility system served 50,000 customers, and by the mid'70s, that number increased to 75,000 customers-an increase of 50 percent. To serve the customers on the west side of 125, Thornton constructed a 500,000-gallon water tower at 102nd Avenue and Tejon Street. Following a water study of the projected population growth and water demands, the City soon embarked on the construction of a second water treatment plant. Now, the Wes Brown Water Treatment Plant (formerly the Columbine Water Treatment Plant) is used to process 20 million gallons o water er d ~ .._ ~ illlli_ .... ,,,, -- iii.. .... - During the '70s the City also adopted a long-range comprehensive plan. The Comprehensive Plan was the City's vision of the future, as well as a blueprint to be used by the Thornton City Council and City staff members to lay out the growth and development of Thornton. Thornton also continued to build parks, playgrounds and other facilities for the families living in the City into the '70s. --~ ---------------~- J!!!. ~.... • _.... "'1 ~ ~ - -- - ----~ By the mid-'70s, there were 17 City parks, and just a few years later, the City owned more than 50 acres of developed park land, which included many new playgrounds and picnic facilities. In an effort to maintain Thornton's familyfriendly look, a new program, Thornton Clean-Up Days, began with the assistance of residents. This program continues today under the auspices of the City's Keep Thornton Beautiful program and annual cleanup event. The 2006 cleanup event will begin on Saturday, April 1, and end Sunday, May 14. In 1976 three celebrations converged; the nation celebrated its Bicentennial, Colorado celebrated its Centennial and Thornton also celebrated its 20th anniversary. As a result of the three concurrent celebrations, the city was designated an official Bicentennial City by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. ~ -~~ .::.. - 1970 1970 1971 1974 1974 1975 1975 1976 Thornton's population reaches 13,326. City water towers are constructed. Thornton sues to condemn Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Co. (FRICO). The City's first Parks & Rec. Open Space Plan is adopted, and Loomis Park is dedicated. Columbine Water Treatment Plant opens. Twenty-year. Comprehensive Plan approved. Thornton's first recreation center is constructed and opened on Eppinger Boulevard. Thornton's designated an official Bicentennial City by the American Revolution Bicentennial Admin. 10 www.cityofthornton.net/50th_anniversmy - ----- ---~- - -- - - 1979 ~- November 1979 FRI CO water agreement Margaret Carpenter elected is reached with three cities as mayor, serves for more (including Thornton). than 20 years. 11 �Did y OU Know? In January 1954, the first family to move into Thornton was the Glassman family. Did You Know? Governor Dick Lamm participated in the silve anniversary Thornton Days parade after the 1981 tornadoes. 136th AVE 28th AVE Did You Know? Did You Know? The Carlson family armed the square mile that was to become hornton for many years brier to the development of the City. 12 The original plans for the recreation center were created in the '80s but the plans were shelved due to a lack of construction funds. oring Our Past, Anticipating Our Future 13 �I, 11 l <J"j;, decade of the '80s started with City leaders looking forward to As part of the City's plans to open up this new civic center area, the City Council created the Thornton Urban Development Authority and an urban renewal district to provide funding to construct roads, water and sewer lines. The new 1~25 interchange at Thornton Parkway, 92nd Avenue and Grant Street were built with these funds. Thornton's first municipal building ( after the Quonset hut) was constructed at DoroJune 1981 and celebrating the thy Boulevard in 1958, and it housed all of City's 25th anniversary. But Mother the City departments including police and Nature had other plans and up to a dozen fire. Although it was expanded in the late tornadoes struck the Denver area on June '60s, by 1976 the City needed more space to 3. Thornton was ground zero for several house the administrative offices and purof those tornadoes, which sent 53 injured chased the old North Valley Bank building. people to hospitals, destroyed 25 homes By 1980, the City had outgrown this buildand damaged 239 structures. City workers ing and began planning for a new Thornton stepped in to help residents even while the Civic Center. The new Civic Center opened storm was raging. Crews blocked off the the door for development of a huge section streets in heavily damaged neighborhoods of previously undeveloped land between and the National Guard was called in to Pearl Street and 1-25 from 84th Avenue to help. The Saturday after the tornadoes, the 104th Avenue. On June 26, 1983, a crowd city united for the Silver Anniversary celof about 500 attended the dedication of the ebration and the Thornton Festival Parade. $5.7 million, 97,000-square-foot complex Many residents sported T-shirts saying "I built on Civic Center Drive. survived thx e Thofi;iton tornado." CONOCO I I ,, As always, planning for water was a central focus of the City Council. During this decade the City made several crucial decisions that would set the stage for future development. X ff ~ Ir "Thornton's population is 43,000 and the city is 19 square miles in size. 14 February 1981 June 3, 1981 May-June 1981 1982 City Charter is reviewed by citizens & Council. Worst tornado in Denver history touches down in Thornton. City marks its 25th anniversary. Thornton joins Two Forks project. December 24, 1982 A blizzard buries the metro area. Honoring Our Past, Anticipating Our Future One decision was to sell the City's interest in the Two Forks Water Project-a joint project with Denver and other entities. The City believed that Two Forks was likely never to be built for a number of cost and environmental reasons. / The other major decision was to acquire water rights from farms located in Larimer and Weld counties. Since that time, the City has received approvals from the water court to transfer the water to Thornton for citizen use and is working on plans to use this water in the future. June 26, 1983 August 1984 1985 1985 Thornton Civic Center opens housing the municipal offices, courts, police and fire departments. Thornton Senior Center opens at the former Public Safety building. Thornton raises $3.5 million to build a highway interchange at Thornton Parkway. Current City Manager Jack Ethredge is hired. www.cityofthornton.net/50th _anniversary / 15 �The measure was placed on the ballot but failed, most likely because the earmark didn't recognize an equally strong interest in providing for more sports fields to meet the needs of a growing youth sports population. ne of the main focuses o horn ton in the 1990s was parks, recreation and open space. The City Council asked a group of volunteer citizens to look at the City's current and future needs and prepare a 20-year parks and open space plan. While the City had been successful in growing the number of acres of land developed or designated for public parks to 1,500 acres, there was no existing program to acquire open space within the city limits. Another ballot initiative was proposed by City Council that clearly stated that onethird of the money would be used to purchase open space, one-third of the funds would be used for recreation and developed parks, and the remaining one-third of the money could be used for either. Voters approved this language in November 1997. was the jewel of this future community park and includes a state-of-the art wave pool, "lazy river," workout rooms, spa and gymnasium. The Thornton Recreation Center has since been renamed the Margaret W. Carpenter Recreation Center in honor of former Mayor Carpenter's more than 20 years of public service to the City. Thornton has always been very proud of its heritage. In 1996, the City celebrated its 40th anniversary with a community festival called In the early 1990s, the City was proud to announce the opening of its own par- 72 championship golf course named Thorncreek. Shortly after the opening of the golf course, the City opened the new Thornton Recreation Center. Located on 136 acres of City-owned property, the 78,000-square-foot Recreation Center Included in the committee's proposed Parks and Open Space Master Plan was a recommendation to City Council to place an initiative on the 1996 ballot that would earmark one-quarter of a cent of sales tax for open space. -~~~~- - 1991 Citizens task force is created to determine the community's recreational needs. 16 Thornton opens its own par- 72 championship golf course at Thorncreek. October 1994 Population tops more than 60,000. State-of-the-art Thornton Recreation Center opens. Honoring Our Past, Anticipating Our Future October 1995 May 1996 1997 -- .. ..JI 1997 City of Thornton City repurposes North Thornton turns 40 years old and Recreation and Open Valley Mall into a a festival called Thorntonfest is Space tax is approved Volunteer Program is by voters. started. business center. created for residents. www.cityofthornton.net/50th _anniversary -- -- - - ."b._.,... ----~ 1999 City adds Harvest Fest to celebrate the autumn season. 17 �,._ uring the first half of the 2000s, a number of transportation initiatives, which were begun in the 1990s and earlier, came to fruition. The E4 70 toll beltway took more than 10 years to complete and the last segment, through the north part of Thornton, was finished and opened on January 3, 2003. Thorntonfest. This now-annual event encourages residents to come out with their families for daylong festivities that celebrate the community and provide an opportunity to get to know your neighbors. Each May, residents are treated to a day of free concerts, walk-around entertainment, food booths, a craft fair and free kids carnival rides. This year's Thorntonfest takes place May 20-21 and focuses on celebrating the City's Golden An niversary. In the '90s the City added another free festival called Harvest Fest. Located at Community Park, this festival celebrates the community spirit at a smaller venue than Thorntonfest. Harvest Fest this year will include a parade and will be held on September 9. '\, Line features six rail stops serving the Thornton area, starting at 88th and Welby all the way north to 162nd and Colorado Boulevard. Even before the voters within RTD approved FasTracks, the City began planning for transit-oriented development (TOD) at or near these future stations. Over the past few years, the City has seen The following year, a new interchange on considerable growth in the number of res1-25 at 136th Avenue was completed in taurants, retail developments and employers partnership between the cities of Thornton particularly along the 120th and Washingand Westminster. Until the opening of this ton corridors and at Highway 7 and Interinterchange, there were no interchanges state 25. With the help of residents, in 2005 between 120th Avenue and 168th Avenue/ the City completed an extensive study of Highway 7-a stretch of six miles. the area known as the North Washington Subarea. This area which runs from apConstruction of another new interchange at proximately 128th Avenue between 1-25 and 144th Avenue and 1-25, again in partnership with the city of Westminster, is currently under way. This interchange is expected to open in 2006. A decision that was made by the voters in 2005, but will take more than 10 years to complete, is the plan by RTD to provide FasTracks light rail to the north metro Denver area. The proposed North Metro �': Washington Street, is expected to be a majbf commercial/retail development corridor. Thornton voters approved the issuance of $25 million in bonds to acquire open space, land for parks, and to construct trails and parks projects. Some of the key parcels acquired and facilities built with these funds to-date include: the Gravel Lakes Fishing Facility at 88th Avenue & Riverdale Road, Spratt Platte Lake Fishing Facility, the Thornton Sports Complex, and the total renovation of City Pool-located in original Thornton. An other new festival was added called WinterFest to celebrate the holiday season. per day and to improve water quality. To honor the contributions made by longtime resident Wes Brown in acquiring and supplying Thornton water, the Columbine Water Treatment Plant was renamed the Wes Brown Water Treatment Plant in February 2006. Years of water resource planning were put to the test in 2002 when the Front Range faced its worst drought in more than 100 years. Over the winter of 2002/2003, residents went on mandatory water restrictions, but a record-setting blizzard in March 2003 allowed the City to remove the mandatory restrictions. In the late 1990s, the City began looking at the need for a new police and courts facility to accommodate the growth in police and court services which had increased as Thornton's population tripled. The new center, located at 9551 Civic Center Drive, opened in November 2004, and is planned to allow future expansion as that need arises. All of these buildings, programs, improvements are evidence of a healthy, growing community. We are proud of our origins and prouder still of how far we have come and how far we will go. One thing is for sure, without the support and interest of the residents of this community, we would not have been as successful. We look forward to a continuing partnership as we build this community called Thornton. .,ii• .>. As with previous decades, water continues to be a major focus for Thornton. One of the biggest projects that was undertaken was a major upgrade of the Columbine Water Treatment Plant to increase the water treatment capacity from 30 to 50 million gallons July 2001 August 2002 January 3, 2003 November 2004 Thornton Recreation Center is renamed the Margaret W. Carpenter Recreation Center. E-470 is extended to Hwy. 85. Northwest Parkway interchange is completed. Thornton Justice Center is completed. 20 July 21, 2004 1-25 and 136th Avenue Interchange opens www.cityofthoniton.net/50th_anniversary April 2005 Columbine Water Treatment Plant is upgraded. Larkridge, the largest northern area retail center, opens. North Washington Subarea Plan was adopted as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. 21 �Thornton Today Thanks and Additional Credits Thanks to the History Committee for their input on the content of this booklet: Judy Garcia Bush Nita Carlisle Lee Carlson Bill Lewis Aura Liesveld Carol Norberg Ken Norberg Rick Reeser Michael Sawyer Ruth Winsett Staff Su ort: Erika Barnard - Graphic Artist Joyce Hunt - Writer, Editor Jan Kiehl - 50th Anniversary Coordinator Heather Lammers - Writer, Editor Linda Lowe - History Committee Coordinator Lisa Ranalli - History Committee Coordinator Dena Twinem - Copy Editor A j/fo(Y{Y(/ll/t t/vw,v/vj/ tO/... Debra Neiswonger. Much of the historical information for this booklet was obtained from her 1999 masters thesis about the history of Thornton called "Remembering Thornton: An Oral and Social History of the City and Community of Thornton." Also a special thanks to Scott Perriman at the Thornton/Northglenn Sentinel for allowing the City to use their facility to house our historical information and providing space for the History Committee to work. �.-,1l City of ~Thornton � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Thornton's First 50 Years, 1956-2006 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/</a> Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 2006 Subject The topic of the resource Local government publications United States--Colorado--Thornton--History Description An account of the resource This booklet was created and published by City of Thornton employees to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Thornton's incorporation. It is 22 pages long and describes notable events from 1956-2006. It is organized chronologically and includes images and maps. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Thornton Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource City of Thornton Language A language of the resource eng Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context COTRG0801003 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available City of Thornton Extent The size or duration of the resource. 22 pages Alternative Title An alternative name for the resource. The distinction between titles and alternative titles is application-specific. 50th Anniversary book