DON AND CAROLYN ETTER PAPERS

The materials in this collection range in date from 1870 to 2021 and primarily document the Etters' involvement in the cultural, environmental, and architectural development and preservation of Denver, Colorado.

Series 1 contains a biographical history written by the Etters in 2021; photographs and ephemera belonging to Don Etter's mother (Rose Drtina Etter), grandmother (Helen Drtina), aunt (Marie Drtina Rinne), and uncle (Carl Rinne); greeting cards sent to the Etters; event invitations; and programs and newspaper articles of personal interest to the Etters. Sub-series comprise political figures the Etters supported, including Dr. Francis Brush and Denver Mayor Federico Pena; essays written by the Etters; essays written by students.

Series 2 consists of materials relating to the Etters' efforts in architectural and landscape use and preservation throughout Colorado, but focusing mainly on the metro Denver area. Large parts of the series are dedicated to the time the Etters spent working with the City and County of Denver Parks and Recreation Department and Historic Denver, Inc., and to the 9th Street Park development on Auraria Campus. The series contains correspondence, financial documents, blueprints, photographs, meeting minutes, newsletters, pamphlets and brochures. Two sub-series contain documents and photographs of architectural landscape artists Jane Silverstein Ries and Sam L. Huddleston.

Associations represented include the American Society of Landscape Architects Denver Chapter, the City and County of Denver Parks and Recreation Department, the Colorado Historic Landscape Preservation Committee, the Colorado Historical Society, Colorado Preservation, Inc., Denver City Beautiful, Denver Downtown, the Denver Planning Board, Denver Urban Forest, Denver Water, Historic Denver, Inc., the Molly Brown House Landscape Commission, and the Urban Design Symposium.

Series 3 is divided into two parts: Administration and Programming, which includes Carolyn Etter's school board campaign, budget planning, teacher organizations, and educational programs; and Desegregation and Bussing, which includes documentation of the Etters' involvement with desegregation and bussing, correspondence from parents to the school board, school monitor reports, ethnic distribution reports, and reports on the outcome of school desegregation. The series contains correspondence, financial documents, meeting minutes, campaign materials, civil action records, court order reports, and newspaper clippings.

Series 4 contains materials related to three books authored by the Etters and Don Etter's Yale graduate thesis. The Denver Zoo: A Centennial History includes research gathered in writing the book as well as photographs, negatives, transparencies and slides used in the book. Forgotten Dreamer, Reinhard Schuetze: Denver's Landscape Artist includes four volumes of research notes, correspondence, and photographs. Colorado: Visions of an Amerian Landscape includes research photocopies and promotional materials for the book release. Horace A. W. Tabor: A Lesser Mogul includes Don Etter's research notes and a typed copy of the thesis.

Series 5 consists of images not found elsewhere in the collection, though subject matter may be similar. The first selection of photographs dates to the early 1900s and consists of albums and loose photographs including family portraits, groups of family members and friends, and travel around the United States.

Other photographs, slides, and transparencies cover parks, landscape, and architecture around Colorado. The 9th Street Park, Auraria campus, and The Denver Zoo are covered extensively.

Series 6 contains 9th Street Park master plans, landscape design maps and blueprints for multiple parks, irrigation canal maps, bicycle route maps, and boundary maps used in designating school boundaries. Photocopies of Denver Zoo ledgers, census tracts, large photographs, and two scrapbooks are also included.

Series 7 contains JPEGs transferred from compact discs. The photographs document architecture around Denver. Also included is the application for historic designation of an apartment building in University Park (Microsoft Word document).