Cheeseburgers and root beer floats
A small monument in Denver marks one of history’s more prosaic moments. It reads, “On this spot in 1935, Louis E Ballast created the Cheeseburger.” Colorado’s first drive-in, the Humpty Dumpty Barrel, once stood at Firth Ct and Speer Blvd. A truer statement on that monument might read that the first trademark for the cheeseburger was awarded there, as eateries across the country make earlier claims to the invention of putting cheese on a patty served inside a sliced bun. But less ambiguous is the origin of another diner favorite. 1893, Cripple Creek brewer Frank J. Wisner gazes east to Cow Mountain. Its snow-covered peak above darkened slopes inspires him. He drops a scoop of vanilla ice cream into a mug of root beer, inventing the root beer float, or as he called it, the Black Cow.
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Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.
