Milestones Icon: McGuckin Hardware

Bill McGuckin opened the doors to his hardware store in 1955 with four employees and four departments.

Now, more than 50 years later, the Boulder hardware store has 285 employees and 18 departments. The staple green vests employees wear and the packed isles with nearly anything a hardware geek can imagine have become a Boulder icon.

The hardware store was located in a less than 2,000-square-foot space located where Tokyo Joe’s is now. In 1972, it moved to a larger space where Boulder Ski Deals currently sits.

But since 1978, McGuckin Hardware has remained in its 60,000-square-foot building and still has the reputation for customer service and stocking nearly anything anyone could desire.

Founded by Bill McGuckin, in 1960 his son-in-law Dave Hight became a partner until Bill died in 1966. Now, while Dave still owns the store, he has turned the business into a family affair.

Dave and his wife, Dee, own it while their son Barry acts as president. Barry’s wife, nephew and son also work for the store.

Besides the hardware store, McGuckin has a design center nearby and a 55,000-square-foot distribution center in northern Boulder.

Paint, tools, pet supplies, sporting goods, microwaves and wood stoves are just a sampling of what the store stocks. In all, McGuckin Hardware carries more than 200,000 different items.

It’s more a question of where the product is than whether or not the hardware store caries it.

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