Ground broken for new history museum

Yesterday dignitaries gave speeches and lowered shovels in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Colorado History Museum, which will be built at 12th and Lincoln, just south of the current history museum site. The museum is being forced out of their current location by the Colorado Judicial Branch, which now shares the block at 13th between Lincoln and Broadway, but wants to build a larger facility taking up the whole block. The State is using Certificates of Participation along with ARRA funds to build the new museum. For information on the project, visit the Colorado Historical Society’s project webpage. According to a CBS 4 article, actual construction will begin in September after archaeologists finish sifting through the preserved cellars of a rowhouse that once stood on the site. Meanwhile, until the new building is completed, the museum and its Stephen Hart Library will be closed. The current museum and Judicial Building will be demolished early next year.