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Report on social conditions in Boulder, Colo., with a cover letter by the City Manager.

Crista de la Garza is a 42-year-old massage therapist and yoga instructor who lives in Lafayette, CO. This interview focuses on her new home—which includes her 13-year-old son, a dog, a cat, a conure, and a canary—and changes that have come from the COVID-19 pandemic: changes to her work/profession, changes of pace, and other adaptations. Crista talks about the comfort she feels now, compared to her prior living situation in Boulder, in affordable housing, where she observed increasingly volatile behavior from individuals camping, sleeping, and moving about in areas around her building. From her experience as a board member of Thistle (though not representing Thistle) and her own research, Crista reflects on the issue of homelessness and the complexity of addressing the underlying causes. While still feeling shut out of home ownership in the Boulder area, Crista ultimately is extremely grateful for what she has and the level of stability she and her son enjoy together.

This oral history was organized and recorded as part of the “Affordable Housing Residents of Boulder Project,” carried out by Cynthia Torres. Seemanta Seemanta describes how she came to be in Boulder and living at her space in the Mapleton Mobile Home Park after having lived in a number of places in pursuit of affordable housing. Seemanta describes what she likes about Boulder—the outdoor activities, being able to get around easily—and what she enjoys about her home, which is comfortable, provides a good quality of life, and has a diverse, friendly community. She also appreciated her job driving a school bus.

This folder contains newspaper clippings and documents about neighborhoods and neighborhood associations in Boulder County. The clippings were compiled by the Reference Staff at the Boulder Public Library.

Jenny LePage discusses the difficulties of finding affordable, safe housing in Boulder. She recounts her experience of living in a poorly maintained and unhealthy rental unit, which contained asbestos and mold, as well as having insect and rodent infestations. She feared that these conditions were impacting her health. When her landlord failed to address these issues, she tried to work with a mediator and learned about the legal aspects of landlord responsibilities, but she was unable to get the landlord to fix the problems. Finally, she decided she had to move out. She talks about her desire to live in a stable situation, where she might be able to own a home and live near her work location, but fears that the housing prices in Boulder make that impossible.

Annual reports from the Housing Authority of the City of Boulder for the years 1991-1994 and 2000.

Steve Altermatt began living in the Martin Acres neighborhood in 1987 and is intimately familiar with the history of the neighborhood and its housing stock because of his profession as a realtor, in which he has specialized in properties in Martin Acres. In this interview he talks about some of the negative images originally associated with the neighborhood as well as the many positive aspects of living there. He relates history about Martin Acres, ranging from descriptions of the several subdivisions and house models that make up the area; to the building of bomb shelters in the 1950s; the creation of MANA, the neighborhood association; the "Martin Acres Crack", a crack caused in some of the houses by a 1963 earthquake; and the trend toward pop-top housing expansions.

June Howard grew up on a farm in Kansas during the Depression. She won a scholarship to the University of Kansas, which she attended during World War II; married, and then moved to various locations in the U.S. with her engineer husband. They first moved to Boulder in 1946, then returned in 1955. In the 1950s they had a young family and lived in the then-new Martin Acres and Newlands subdivisions. Life in the housing developments is described in detail. She also talks about the developers of the Martin Acres subdivision, George and Everett Williams. She outlines how her life as a woman changed from the 1960s onwards as she became involved in a teaching career and local politics. June describes the huge political changes in Boulder during the 1960s and 1970s.

Architect Bill Deno, who has had a distinguished career as campus architect for the University of Colorado, Boulder, begins this interview by describing his previous, twenty-year career in the neon sign business. He then goes on to talk about living in Martin Acres in the 1960s, just after he and his wife moved to Boulder. He describes many aspects of the subdivision and life there, including a description of the houses, the road layout, and the landscaping, as well as the social life and the mix of people in the neighborhood, the lack of crime, and trash disposal. He also discusses some aspects of 1960s life in Boulder in general, such as transportation, shopping, and the relatively less hectic lifestyle compared to lifestyles in the early twenty-first century.

Conrad McBride moved to Boulder in 1959 to work for the Colorado Municipal League and later for the University of Colorado Political Science Department. He has lived in the Martin Acres subdivision since the early 1960s. In this interview he talks about that neighborhood, including the character and reputation of the neighborhood; how it has changed over time; the quality and cost of housing; social life in the neighborhood; nearby amenities, such as schools and shopping; and building of bomb shelters by some residents during the 1960s. Mr. McBride also talks about politics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, including anti-Communist sentiment during the McCarthy period and the ongoing tension between conservatives and liberals.

Louise Adams moved to the then-new Martin Acres subdivision in 1955. She describes living in Martin Acres in the 1950s and 1960s while raising a family, including the affordability and social make up of the neighborhood; nearby stores, parks and schools; initial landscaping; and the neighborhood compared to other areas of Boulder. She also addresses changes in Martin Acres over the years.

Vivian Carlson has lived in Boulder, in the Interurban subdivision , since 1947. In this interview she describes the Boulder of the late 1940s, including the location of roads and descriptions of stores at that time. She tells about the building of the Interurban subdivision, which, unlike other subdivisions of the mid-twentieth century, was built by a number of different developers in a wide variety of architectural styles. She describes changes in the subdivision, including its move away from families with young children toward more renter-occupied housing. She also describes the Vet Village (Vetsville) housing of central Boulder in the post-WWII years.