September 14, 2011

Milestones Icon: Pearl Street Mall

By

Since Boulder’s founding on Feb. 10, 1859, Pearl Street has been the center of the city.

Surveyors drove a stake into the middle of Broadway and Pearl and sighted across to Valmont Butte, to the east, to determine a straight line for Pearl Street, according to local historian Silvia Pettem.

The street was believed to be named for the wife of one of the town’s 54 founders, but another rumor has its name stemming from “Madam Pearl” at a brothel along the street’s western edge.

Throughout its history, the street surface itself has undergone several changes. It started as dirt road, later with…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
Categories: BizWest Publications Milestones
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