Ideal Building
Colossal structures of reinforced concrete are commonplace today. But the first one west of the Mississippi is in downtown Denver, and changed modern construction. In 1907, the Ideal Building housed Charles Boettcher’s Portland cement company, and demonstrated the fireproof qualities of concrete, as Boettcher intentionally set fires in the building that got up to eighteen hundred degrees. Demo after demo, the concrete floor survived, a dramatic and effective presentation that impressed journalists and business leaders alike. Reinforced concrete soon became the material of choice for large buildings, and Boettcher’s business, renamed the Ideal Cement Company, became the world’s largest privately-owned firm of its kind. The Ideal Building got a facelift in 1927, then housed a succession of banks, went on the National Historic Register in the late seventies, and is now named The Vault.
About Colorado Postcards
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.
